418 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



application of water to crops. This includes all of the Territories of 

 Arizona and New Mexico, the States of Colorado, Utah, Nevada, 

 Montana, and Wyoming, and large parts of California, Oregon, Wash- 

 ington, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and 

 Texas. The greater attention paid to the problems of this section of 

 the country is justified b}^ the fact that here irrigation is a necessit}^ 

 rather than a valuable adjunct to agriculture. It measures agricul- 

 tural settlement and very largely controls the development of other 

 industries, because both the cost and comfort of living are very 

 largely determined by the production of a home food supply. In the 

 regions farther east, the adoption of irrigation is determined by 

 whether or not it will improve conditions already favorable, but in the 

 arid region it is the choice between civilization and desert condition. 



The work in this region has followed two general lines — agricul- 

 tural and engineering, legal and social. Of these, the legal and social 

 problems present the greatest difficulties and stand most in need of 

 an early solution. The success of irrigated agriculture in this region 

 requires first of all the creation of institutions which shall offer a just 

 and adequate foundation for future development. Such a foundation 

 requires that the users' rights to streams must be clearly defined in 

 order that those who now use streams and those who expect to use 

 them may understand how much of the water supply is appropriated 

 and how much remains open to appropriation. The litigation and 

 controversy which now menade communities and which are a constant 

 source of anxiety and loss to irrigators should be brought to an end. 

 In order to effect these desirable reforms, a knowledge of certain 

 essential facts is required. Among these are the quantity of water 

 required to grow crops, the losses from seepage and evaporation in 

 distribution, the character of the control over streams already vested, 

 and the kind of administrative measures needed to insure effective 

 division of streams among the multitude of users who depend thereon. 

 Specific information along these lines is indispensable to wise and 

 effective action in the future either by the Government or by individ- 

 uals. It is the information which should have been gathered at the 

 very outset of this development, but the long delay in its collection 

 renders it all the more urgent that it be carried on now to an early 

 and effective completion. 



The work along agricultural and engineering lines has been largely 

 carried out in cooperation with the agricultural experiment stations of 

 the different States, and with the State engineers in States having 

 such officials. By undertaking systematic work on some of the gen- 

 eral problems of irrigation, this Office has been able to supplement and 

 extend the work of the experiment stations, and at the same time has 

 aided them to take hold of other studies, such as problems relating to 

 the economical use of water on different crops. It makes possible the 



