118 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS. 



The Gardner party. — The area in the Sevier Valley was finished dur- 

 ing the first months of the fiscal year, the principal results having been 

 given in my last annual report. Upon the completion of this the 

 party moved to Ogden and surveyed and mapped about 310 square 

 miles, mainly in Weber County, Utah. This area is divided into two 

 agricultural districts — a broad delta plain, upon which Ogden is situ- 

 ated and in which the principal irrigation is carried on, and an upland 

 portion composed of foothills and mountainous land. In addition to 

 these, there is an area of nearly 100 square miles of recent delta, formed 

 by the recession of the Great Salt Lake since the early surveys were 

 made in 1858. This land is now so full of alkali that no cultivated 

 crops are grown upon it. 



The principal crops of Weber County are peaches, pears, prunes, 

 plums, sugar beets, tomatoes, and other canning crops. Eight types 

 of soil were recognized and mapped, each having more or less distinct 

 differences and adapted to different agricultural interests. The pre- 

 vailing type is the Fresno fine sandy loam, which covers about 43 per 

 cent of the area. It is the most important soil agriculturally, as it is 

 adapted to the greatest variety of crops. There is, however, trouble in 

 this, as in most of the other soils, from alkali and seepage water. 

 Lime hardpan extends under considerable areas of the delta soils and 

 occasions some trouble, and it has been the subject of investigation 

 in the laboratories of the Division. The irrigation water of the dis- 

 trict is exceptionally good and free from alkali. There is more than 

 enough water to irrigate all the lands within the area, provided it 

 were distributed at proper seasons of the year. Unfortunately, how- 

 ever, the larger portion of it comes in the early spring, and there is 

 frequently a shortage during the growing season. Plans are being 

 considered for a large storage reservoir to equalize the distribution 

 and to insure against seasons of drought and low water. Many of the 

 canals run over deep sandy soils, with no protection against seepage, 

 and Mr. Gardner estimates that fully half of the water is lost in this 

 way. This is not only an unnecessary waste of water, but it is the 

 cause of a large amount of injury by the subirrigation of large areas 

 in which the ground water is so near the surface as to be harmful to 

 crops. 



The whole area surveyed contains about 198,400 acres, of which 

 137,000 acres could be irrigated. There are actually about 40,000 

 acres under irrigation. In about 83,000 acres there is so little alkali 

 that their use for cultivated crops would be absolutely safe. About 

 16,000 acres have sufficient alkali to make their cultivation at least 

 dangerous, while there are 99,000 acres containing too much alkali 

 for crops. Good lands in this vicinity are worth $100 an acre, and 

 when set with valuable fruit trees much more than this, so that the 

 importance of this alkali problem here is apparent. It was shown that 

 underdrainage will remove the alkali and reclaim most of the aban- 

 doned land. 



The Holmes party. — About 200 square miles have been surveyed 

 in the San Gabriel Valley, California. The problems encountered 

 were purely soil problems, as there is little land injured from alkali 

 or seepage water. The soils are almost altogether derived from gran- 

 ite rocks, disintegrated and carried out by floods. All of the soils are 

 light — sand, sandy loam, and sandy adobe predominating. There 

 are no alkali soils in the valley except a few small spots at the 

 narrows, where the San Gabriel River leaves the valley. 



