164 AMERICAN FOKESTRY 



The Arrowrock dam in Idaho, upon which construction has begun, stands 

 in a class by itself among the engineering works of the world. In its greatest 

 height, 351 feet, it ranks all others. Its cubical contents will be 500,000 cubic 



yards. 



Appreciating the difficulties which all settlers encounter during the first 

 few years on the desert land, and the outlay of money required to establish 

 a home and prepare the land for crops, the Secretary of the Interior in sev- 

 eral instances has formulated a plan for graduating the payments, making 

 the early payments small until the crop returns suffice to meet the charges 

 for building and operation. 



There is little or no disposition on the part of the farmers to break faith 

 with the Government. The delinquents are remarkably few and our eastern 

 brothers have no reason to fear that the West will not meet its full obligation 

 in returning the loan which the Federal Government is making. The percent- 

 age of actual failures is surprisingly small and the causes therefor are inher- 

 ent in the individual rather than in any fault in the works or in the country. 

 Given a little capital and an abundance of grit and industry, and there is 

 little cause for failure on the part of any individual. 



In the great construction work in which the Reclamation Bureau has 

 been engaged, it has had its troubles and has made its mistakes. It entered 

 upon a field new and untried, and covering a vast area. A fair judgment 

 upon the work as a whole I believe will be favorable, and will furnish argu- 

 ments for its continuance. 



*From address before the National Irrigation Congress. 



During January 214,749 acres of land in the State of Idaho believed to 

 be underlain by phosphate rock ivere withdrawn on recommendation of the 

 United States Geological Survey. This makes a total outstanding with- 

 drawal in Idaho of 1,167,137 acres of phosphate land. In Wyoming 1,266,688 

 acres are now withdrawn as phosphate land, in Utah 107,745 acres, in Mon- 

 tana 33,950 acres, and in Florida 35,640 acres, a total of 2,611,140 acres. 



The American Historic and Scenic Preservation Society is preparing to 

 carry out the wishes of the late W. P. Letchivorth by turning the meadows 

 and agricultural lands of Letchworth Park, at Portage, into forests for the 

 purpose of demonstrating just how timber can be produced and the depleted 

 wood lands restored. 



Prussia has a forest of 7,000,000 acres. It is very similar to what our 

 Appalachian region would be if we added to it some of the pine lands farther 

 south. In 1865 these forests yielded a net profit of 72 cents an acre. In 1900 

 the profit teas $1.58. In 1904 it was $2.50, and this year it is expected to be 

 around $5. 



There is a prevailing tendency among orchardists to underestimate the 

 danger from hold-over blight in the pear and apple, and with this mistaken 

 idea has crept in a certain amount of carelessness in the attention which is.- 

 given to diseased trees. 



