372 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



August 



this task their chief difficulties in the 

 irrigation of their farms would be 

 overcome. 



The history of the vineyards of 

 Fresno, the alfalfa fields of Modesto, 

 or the citrus groves of Riverside in 

 this state, reveals a truer conception 

 of what irrigation really is. It is true 

 that dams have to be built and canals 

 excavated at great expense, and this 

 engineering side of irrigation is des- 

 tined to occupy a prominent place so 

 long as the water resources of the 

 West are undeveloped. But if our 



which have to deal with the settle- 

 ment of water rights and the equita- 

 ble distribution of water. Finally, 

 there is that wide and profitable field 

 of investigation which is now attract- 

 ing so much attention, viz : the proper 

 use of water on cultivated fields which 

 may be fittingly termed "the science 

 of. applied irrigation." 



California, as regards irrigation, is 

 still leading all other western com- 

 monwealths. In 1902 one-quarter of 

 all the irrigated land in the United 

 States was in this State, and it ranked 



Preparing an Orange Orchard for Irrigation by the Furrow Method 



progress in the reclamation of arid 

 lands is to be symmetrical we must 

 build up from all sides. The man who 

 is dependent on a part of the flow of a 

 stream for water to mature his crops 

 should be given a chance to find out 

 how much belongs to him. The late 

 snow as it melts on the c:evated range 

 rightfully belongs to the irrigators of 

 lhe plains, but who will distribute to 

 each his share? These obstacles to 

 progress emphasize the necessity of 

 giving some. attention to the legal and 

 administrative sides of irrigation 



first in the total number of irrigated 

 farms and in the total construction 

 cost of systems. In no other state of 

 the Union is land so carefully culti- 

 vated, water so skillfully and economi- 

 cally applied, or the value of irrigated 

 products so high, and in no other state 

 is there so great an extent of fertile 

 arable land for which the available wa- 

 ter supply is so large. 



Notwithstanding this creditable 

 showing, development in irrigation 

 has not been symmetrical. Some 

 branches of this dominant industry are 



