530 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



November 



of the drainage basin, so that the river 

 in this section is now practically dry 

 after the spring run off, except during 

 passing storms. As a result orchards 

 are dying and many farms have been 

 deserted, and the settlers who remain 

 are receiving a very inadequate water 

 supply. 



When the attention of the Reclama- 

 tion Service engineers was called to 

 the situation in 1904, it was thought 

 possibly the water supply might be 

 regulated by storage reservoirs, or 

 supplemented by a diversion from Las 

 Animas River, which lies just to the 

 east of the La Plata drainage basin. 



A feasible reservoir site was located 

 on the La Plata River at the state line. 

 An investigation of the Las Animas 

 valley disclosed a good reservoir site 

 just above the town of Durango, but 

 the site is traversed by a railroad, and 

 the heavy cost of moving this railroad 

 would fall upon the irrigators. The 

 diverting canal would have to be car- 

 ried through town lots and over valu- 

 able mining property, making the right 



of way through Durango alone an ex- 

 pensive one. Then the dividing ridge 

 between the two drainage basins pre- 

 sents another obstacle, and a tunnel 

 three miles long through the moun- 

 tains would add further to the ex- 

 pense. 



The soil in the La Plata valley prop- 

 er and on the various meses which 

 could be irrigated is unusually well 

 adapted to the sucessful growing of 

 all kinds of grains, grasses, vegetables, 

 deciduous fruits, and melons. The 

 yield in all cases when sufficient water 

 is properly applied is large, and the 

 products of fine grade, but the engi- 

 neers have found the cost to be in ex- 

 cess of anything that the limited area 

 with its present lack of transportation 

 facilities could bear. 



In view of the limited fund avail- 

 able and the many more attractive 

 schemes which are being presented for 

 consideration, the engineers have rec- 

 ommended that this propject be aban- 

 doned for the present at least. 



FORESTRY AT FORT RILEY 



The Commandant Recommends Forest 

 Work as a Help for Maneuver Grounds 



IN the Annual Report of the Com- 

 mandant of the School of Applica- 

 tion for Cavalry and Field Artillery at 

 Fort Riley, Kans., for 1906, the fol- 

 lowing reference to forest work is 

 made: 



"As the greater part of this reser- 

 vation of nearly twenty thousand acres 

 is open, treeless country, intersected by 

 numerous ravines bordered by rim 

 rock, the opposing forces, during ma- 

 neuvers, come in view of each other at 

 long distances and thus come in con- 

 tact much sooner than would be the 

 case in actual hostilities. Moreover, a 

 force exposing itself but a short time 

 to the fire of modern artillery, is pre- 

 sumed to suffer great loss. The award- 

 ing of many casualties at maneuvers 

 interferes with the exercise and, there- 



fore, in order to increase the tactical 

 value of the terrain, it is desirable to 

 screen the operations as much as prac- 

 ticable. This can only be done, on this 

 reservation, by forestry. 



"On December 8th, last, a request 

 was made to the War Department for 

 the assistance of the Bureau of For- 

 estry of the Department of Agricul- 

 ture for advice and assistance in mak- 

 ing comprehensive plans to carry on 

 this work. The latter deparment cor- 

 dially co-operated, and this spring sent 

 Mr. Charles A. Scott, assistant forest- 

 er, to the post. Mr. Scott examined 

 the reservation and made a report with 

 map and plans and added practical 

 suggestions as to the work. Unfor- 

 tunately, this report did not reach me 

 until June too late to procure the 



