1905 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



319 



the arid regian. In connection with 

 the drainage systems installed by the 

 engineers on the project, it will offer 

 valuable information relative to the 

 efficiency of such drainage systems. 



Beside the two tracts above men- 

 tioned, land has been selected for the 

 installation of under drains on a third 

 ten acre tract. This selection repre- 

 sents typical alkali conditions for the 

 heavy adobe lands lying in large bod- 

 ies in the flats of the Truckee-Carson 

 project. Should it be found possible 

 to reclaim these lands at a reasonable 

 cost, it is believed that the land avail- 

 able for farm entry under this project 

 would be increased by many thousand 

 acres. 



This investigation is of great impor- 

 tance from a financial standpoint, in 

 that a comparatively small cost per 

 acre for relief from alkali may make 

 possible the reclamation of large bod- 

 ies of land under the system, which 

 are now unfit for cultivation. 



Drainage conditions are also being 

 studied in connection with the Kla- 

 math, Minidoka and Huntley projects, 

 and work on soil classification is being 

 generally carried on throughout the 

 field of operations of the service. 



Assistance Asked in Southern 

 California 



A copy of the preamble and resolu- 

 tions adopted by the San Diego Cham- 

 ber of Commerce, California, at a re- 

 cent meeting of that body, has been 

 forwarded to the Director of the U. S. 

 Geological Survey by Senator Per- 

 kins. 



These resolutions deal with the 

 question of water resources of the 

 western slope of San Diego county, 

 and recite that extraordinary oppor- 

 tunities are afforded for the storage of 

 flood waters. So erratic are the 

 courses of the streams of that section, 

 so much do the watersheds overlap, 

 that it is the sense of the board that 

 a solution of the water supply prob- 

 lem can only be solved by a united ir- 

 rigation system, planned as a whole 

 and yet so arranged that each district 

 can be formed separately, although 



remaining a part of the whole. A re- 

 quest is made that the engineers of the 

 Reclamation Service be assigned to 

 the duty of ascertaining the facts in 

 the case. 



The enthusiasm and persistence of 

 the citizens of California in developing 

 their state through irrigation is a 

 source of inspiration. Except in cer- 

 tain localities there is not in California 

 the absolute necessity for irrigation 

 that exists in most Western states and 

 territories. On nearly all the irri- 

 gated lands of the state some crops 

 will grow without the artificial appli- 

 cation of water, yet the irrigation sys- 

 tems of California are known all over 

 the world. Southern California leads 

 the United States in the scientific and 

 diversified methods of distribution, ap- 

 plication and development of water 

 supplies, and in the expensive charac- 

 ter of its irrigation works. 



That the citizens of that state ap- 

 preciate the work of the Reclamation 

 Service is evidenced in their desire to 

 cooperate in every possible way, and 

 in the great number of petitions and 

 resolutions which are being constantly 

 received. 



Bismarck Project Delayed 



The indifference displayed by the 

 land owners has greatly delayed the 

 progress of the Bismarck irrigation 

 project, and their apparent lack of 

 interest is jeopardizing the entire 

 work. 



It is necessary before construction 

 can begin to obtain an agreement from 

 the land owners to abide by the condi- 

 tions of the Reclamation law in re- 

 gard to the subdivision of the land 

 and the repayment of the actual cost 

 of irrigation to the reclamation fund. 

 Any further delay in forming a wa- 

 ter users' association will make it nec- 

 essary to withdraw the field parties 

 and transfer operations to other pro- 

 jects for the present at least. 



The Secretary of the Interior pro- 

 visionally set aside the sum of $550,000 

 for the construction of the Bismarck 

 project, and plans have been under 

 consideration for greatly extending 



