222 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



May 



are tributary to the Southern Pacific, 

 the Nevada, California and Oregon, 

 and the Virginia and Truckee Rail- 

 roads, and the recent enormous activ- 

 ity in gold and silver mining in Ne- 

 vada insures a nearby and profitable 

 market. At the same time the supply 

 of food products will greatly reduce 

 the cost of living and further stimu- 

 late mining development. 



The fact that a very large portion 

 of the lands included in this project 

 belong to the government and have 

 been withdrawn from speculative en- 



land owners, while the opportunity for 

 settlement and increased population 

 has never been extensive. Nevada's 

 land history is one which can be stud- 

 ied with profit by those who are 

 searching for light on the question of 

 proper administration of the public do- 

 main. With exception of the influx 

 of immigration due to mining excite- 

 ment, the population is as a standstill 

 and must continue to remain so until 

 farm lands are thrown open to settle- 

 ment in small tracts through govern- 

 ment irrigation. 



Cement Lined Canal, Nevada Government Irrigation Works. 



try under the desert and other land 

 laws, is a matter for congratulation. 

 Nevada's past history has been one of 

 land monopoly, in fact it has been said 

 that the State was long since stolen 

 by land robbers. In area Nevada is 

 three times the size of Indiana, but 

 her population is scarcely sufficient 

 for a single small county. The popu- 

 lar vote of last year was but little over 

 12,000. The bulk of the inhabitable 

 lands are in the hands of a few great 



When the State was admitted to the 

 Union, in place of receiving the usual 

 donation of alternate school sections 

 16 and 32 in each township it secured 

 a flat grant from the government of 

 two million acres of public land to be 

 located wherever its law-makers saw 

 fit. The State legislature passed as 

 much as desired of this great and val- 

 uable resource into private ownership 

 of stockmen, at as low a figure as 25 

 cents an acre. These lands have been 



