FARM IRRIGATION 275 



private water company is likely to cost 20 cents per 

 1,000 gallons, which is $32.40 per acre for three 

 irrigations of 2 inches each. The average cost of 

 water for irrigating citrus fruits in California is 

 about $10 per acre. 



The cost of a water right, which is bought with 

 the land, varies as much as the annual cost of the 

 water. Under the Fresno Canal in California it is 

 about $40 per acre. Census reports show that the 

 average first cost of constructing reservoirs, canals, 

 etc., and bringing water to the land is about $8.15 

 per acre; while me average cost of maintenance is 

 about $1.10 per acre. Irrigation in the humid 

 states usually costs more, largely because Eastern 

 farmers have not the skill and the economy in 

 handling water that comes natural to one born in 

 an arid region. The average cost of irrigation in 

 Connecticut in 1899 was $34.21 per acre, which is 

 about four times the average cost of irrigation in 

 arid regions. 



NATIONAL AID IN IRRIGATION 



Few Eastern farmers realise the area of land in 

 the West that is still owned by the United States 

 Government. It amounts to over six hundred 

 millions of acres and is located chiefly in Arizona, 

 California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, 

 Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Utah, 

 Washington and Wyoming. A large part of this 

 vast area possesses great inherent fertility, which 

 is rendered valueless by the lack of water. As 

 President Roosevelt states it, "In the arid regions 

 it is water, not land, which measures production." 



Much of this area is traversed by streams that 

 can be used to reclaim it. But most of the land 



