442 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



October 



The total sum set aside for these 

 projects is $32,870,000, and the 

 amount of land to be irrigated is i,- 

 859,000 acres. 



The average value of irrigated land 

 in the United States is $47 per acre. 

 This acreage therefore will add $87,- 

 373,000 to the taxable property of the 



United States in land values alone. 

 According to the census report of 1900 

 the average annual income from irri- 

 gated land is $15 per acre. On this 

 basis an income of $27,885,000 per 

 annum will be added to the nation's 

 wealth by the projects already ap- 

 proved. 



PROJECTS APPROVED BY THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR. 



State. 



Projects. 



Ore. & Cal Klamath Falls . . 



Oregon Malheur 



Montana Milk River 



N. Dakota ^Bismarck 



Pumping }Buford-Trenton . 



*Washington .... Palouse 



Idaho Payette-Boise .... 



*Secretary of Interior approved p 

 Board of Consulting Engineers post 

 upon. 



Amt. set aside 

 for beginning 

 construction. 

 . $1,000,000 

 2,250,000 

 1,000,000 



Acres 

 irrigable. 

 236,000 

 100,000 

 200,000 

 15,000? 



550,000 i8,oooj 



2,800,000 80,000 



1,300,000 250,000 



reject, but at a subsequent meeting of 

 ponement of construction was decided 



Effect of The authoritative an- 



Copper nouncements which have 



on Germs , . ,, . ., 



appeared in the daily 



news and scientific journals during the 

 past year concerning the efficiency of 

 copper in the destruction of germs of 

 disease, have led to many interesting 

 speculations, some of which have been 

 altogether promising. Among these 

 was one which occurred in connection 

 with the employment of field men, 

 geologists and engineers, in the U. S. 

 Geological Survey. 



It is well known that men perform- 

 ing field work are obliged frequently 

 to resort to supplies of water which, 

 even if they are not absolutely pol- 

 . luted with the germs of some disease, 

 appear suspicious, and the field man 

 is frequently in a state of indecision 

 concerning the water with which he is 

 provided in camp. 



It was recognized that if copper pos- 

 sessed all the germicidal properties at- 

 tributed to it, the question of water for 

 soldiers, as well as for engineers and 

 field parties, would be solved if can- 

 teens were constructed of this material. 



Accordingly a supply of canteens 

 were procured through the of- 

 fice of the Quartermaster, U. S. Army, 

 and subjected to a series of tests. The 

 work was performed at the Laboratory 

 of Chemical Research connected with 

 the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- 

 nology, by Mr. Earle B. Phelps, hydro- 

 graphic aid. Mr. Phelps was provided 

 with samples of water from various 

 streams in all parts of the country, the 

 idea being to thoroughly investigate 

 the effects of waters of various char- 

 acters, such as occur in different sec- 

 tions of the United States. 



After an extended investigation cov- 

 ering a period of several months, it 

 was found that while there is undoubt- 

 edly some small degree of germicidal 

 property in the copper canteen, it is 

 not sufficiently marked to be of value, 

 and certainly not to be depended upon 

 to render safe and pure such polluted 

 waters as may be encountered by field 

 and army men. Even the slight ger- 

 micidal property which appears when 

 the canteen is new gradually disap- 

 pears, and in the end there appears to 

 be no difference between the effect of 



