AMERICA'S GREATEST IRRIGATION 



SCHEME 



BY 



Agnes Dean Cameron, Vice- President Canadian Women's Press Club 



Irrigation was practised on this 

 continent long before the discovery by 

 Columbus or the conquest by Cortez. 

 The Indian was the first water-farmer, 

 and the Canadian has the biggest irri- 

 gation scheme in America today. The 

 scene of this gigantic project is in tin- 

 new province of Alberta, where the 

 Bow River sparkles through the cattle 

 country of the Canadian foot-hills ; in 

 that great region where the people <>! 

 all the earth are building up a Xatimi 

 of the Plains, the country which 

 claims the dual name of the Sirloin 

 of Canada and the Bread-Basket of 

 Britain. 



EXPLODED THEORIES 



The application of water to lands 

 other than those which produce 

 fruit has upset many theories of mer- 

 chant, manufacturer, and agricultur- 

 ist. These used to join in considering 

 the large farm the only farm really 

 worth while; now all three unite in 

 the verdict that on every irrigated 

 area a hundred farms of ten acres 

 each will produce nearly a hundred 

 times as much business as one farm of 

 a. thousand acres. 



It is now an exploded theory that 

 the advantages of irrigation are re- 

 stricted to the hot, arid countries of 

 the South. Irrigation is by no means 

 confined to areas where the rainfall 

 is so scant that nothing will grow 

 without it. On the contrary, in many 

 countries where irrigation has been 

 brought to the highest state of per- 

 fection, the natural rainfall is very 

 heavy. For example, the States of 

 Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and Ohio, 

 and the provinces of Ontario and Que- 

 bec, are generally supposed to be am- 



ply supplied with rain and snow, anci 

 able to produce excellent crops under 

 ordinary culture without the artificial 

 application of water. Yet, in all of 

 India, except the northwestern part, 

 throughout China, Japan, Siam, Italy, 

 France, and Mexico, where millions 

 of acres are brought under irrigation, 

 the rainfall is quite as heavy as in 

 the States and Provinces mentioned, 

 namely, from 23 to 51 inches per 

 annum. 



The average rainfall during the past 

 u-n years in the Provinces of Alberta 

 and Saskatchewan, where irrigation 

 by gravity is practised, is as follows: 

 Calgary, 17.69 inches; Macleod, 13.18 

 inches; Medicine Hat, 15.83 inches: 

 and Swift current, 16.40 inches. The 

 average rain-fall of the State of 

 Xorth Dakota is somewhat less, being 

 over 10 inches, but under 20 inches 

 per annum. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE WATER IDEA IN 

 CANADA 



When the construction of the Can- 

 adian Pacific Railway was pushed 

 across the Great Plains region of west- 

 ern Canada, in 1882-83, scattered set- 

 tlements followed closely in its wake. 

 By the time the line had reached the 

 foothills of the Rocky Mountains, 

 some of these settlements had been 

 established in what is now the south- 

 ern portion of the provinces of Al- 

 berta, and from them the cities of to- 

 day have grown. 



For many years stock raising was 

 the only occupation of these settle- 

 ments, the country having been found 

 specially adapted to the grazing at 

 large of cattle, sheep and horses dur- 

 ing the whole year. But, by degrees, 



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