boring States, it would seem as though we had an adequate foundation for 

 rapid growth. But for vaiious causes we have never got beyond the 

 foundation. The evidences of growth are largely absent. 



AREA OF CULTIVATED LAND. 



One can travel, or could last summer, over every mile of operated rail- 

 way in the state, a distance of over one thousand miles, without seeng a 

 field of wheat. The census report of 1890 says that this county, wit 

 million dollar investment m irrigation works, managed tn grow thirty-Ufa* 

 acres of wheat. Albany county grew six acres and Carbon county fifty-six 

 acres. The three most populous counties combined grew one hundred and 

 one acres. In all this great State with its sixty-three million acres of 

 laud only 19,000 acres were cultivated, about one per cent of the land 

 under ditches. In the light of facts like these it is not surprising that 

 our agricultural standing is low; that our modest exhibit at Chicago sub- 

 jected us to the charge of having had to go out of the State to procure it. 

 One could not remain m that exhibit a day without hearing expressions of 

 surprise and amazed conjecture as to whereabouts in the State it was 

 produced. 



I speak of this becsuse of the contrast to the reception accordec 

 exhibits of adjoining States. 'While Colorado's magnificent display of farm 

 products was a constant subject and commendation it occasioned no 

 surprise because it was in accrrd with popular anticipation, and the same 

 was true of the superb collection of cereals from Montana, but when the 

 report went around that Wjommg wheat had scored the highest percentage 

 i ,f any in the building there was a general agreement that the State was 

 traveling outside its class. The same result occurred a few years ago when 

 Wyoming won the first prize in a national potato contest. The winner of 

 the second prize demanded an investigation and wrote to the journal con- 

 ducting the contest that the result showed fraud on its face because any one 

 who knew anything of Wyoming knew it had no farmers and no farms. 



I could consume all the time that 1 shall tax your patience with similar 

 illustrations, showing that our actual agricultural production is small and 

 our reputation poor. 



I thiuk, however, that enough h;;s been said on this unpleasant feature 

 of irrigation development iu this State. It has only been referred to as a 

 prelude to a discussion of the causes for this couditiou of aff.iirs. Why i 

 it that with equal natural advantage?, with as ready access to home seekers, 

 this State has fallen so far behind its neighbors in population and agricul- 

 tural development V Why is it that the census of 1890 shows that Colorado 

 cultivated under irrigation, two hundred and sixty-five thousand acres >k of 

 land, Utah one hundred and fifteen thousand acres, Montana seventy-five 

 thousand acres, while Wyoming dragged along at the tail of the piocession, 

 with only nineteen thousand acres. This result has not been due to 

 superior! y in natural conditions. It has been due in part to lack of organ- 

 i/ation a. id lack of interest iu securing emigrants, but in a -greater part to 

 unfavorable legislative conditions, which have stood as a bar to success 

 wherever organization and effort have been put forth. 



Before entering upon all explanation of these factors I wish to state 

 that the reclamation and settlement of an arid State requires agencies and 

 aids not required in the settlement of states line Kansas and Nebraska. 



