THE IRBIGATION AGE. 



has in the opinion of competent engineers thus far been 

 admirably executed, remarkably free from error, and 

 with no suspicion of either extravagance or "graft." 

 It has been and is today an honest, faithful, economical 

 and enduring work of high merit. 



It should not be forgotten that this is not a charity 

 on the part of the general Government, but an invalu- 

 able help and an inestimable boon to the people and 

 the State, who repay the money expenditure in annual 

 installments. The Government having withdrawn the 

 public lands from ordinary entry fixes a value upon 

 them of $36.00 per acre, which is not the value of the 

 lands when irrigated, by any means, but is the cost 

 of the water supply. This amount is payable in ten 

 annual installments commencing on the first day of 

 December of the vear in which the water shall be 



gives the water to the farmer and he reimburses only 

 the expense of making it available. As rapidly as this 

 expenditure is repaid it may be expended upon other 

 irrigation projects. 



It is difficult to adequately describe what this means 

 to the settler and to the State of Nevada. It not only 

 reclaims a certain area of land, but makes a new com- 

 munity and reclaims the State to social prosperity. 

 No one can speak of this subject more intelligently than 

 Professor Chandler, who beside his experience in the 

 Reclamation Service is the State engineer of Nevada. 

 He says in Sunset : 



"The regulation of the streams in addition to build- 

 ing up these many homes will allow excellent facilities 

 for the generation of electric power. Cheap power and 

 a population increased by many tens of thousands should 



A Concrete-Lined Curve, Truckee-Carson Canal. 



delivered to the lands during the previous April. As ex- 

 plained by Professor Chandler : "The irrigation works 

 will be maintained and operated under the direction 

 of the Secretary of the Interior until all payments are 

 made for the major portion of the lands irrigated. The 

 system will then pass to the owners of the irrigated 

 lands and be maintained at their expense under such 

 organization as may be acceptable to the Secretary of 

 the Interior. The management and operation of the 

 reservoirs and works necessary for their protection and 

 operation must remain under the control of the Gov- 

 ernment." A widow was the first person to file a claim 

 upon these lands. 



Not only is no homestead allowed exceeding 160 

 acres of land, but that is the maximum allowed to be 

 held by any single individual, and where there be exist- 

 ing ownership of land exceeding that amount the owner 

 is required to sell the surplus in similar tracts to actual 

 settlers. The price of water furnished these lands in 

 private ownership is the same as for the public lands 

 an annual payment of $2.60 an acre for ten years. 

 This is an extremely cheap rate; but the Government 



justify the introduction of various lines of manufac- 

 turing. 



"The mineral wealth of Nevada, despite the hun- 

 dreds of millions that have already been taken out of 

 her mines, is as yet unknown. The remarkable advances 

 in metallurgy have greatly lessened the cost of work- 

 ing ores, so that with the cheap supplies offered by 

 the growth of both agriculture and manufacturing, 

 mines long since closed on account of the expense of 

 operating will become paying properties. The great 

 extension of the irrigated area will make the life of 

 the prospector far easier, and with more territory within 

 the scope of his careful examination new mines will 

 be discovered. In this way new home markets for 

 farm supplies will constantly be springing up until 

 the Nevada irrigator will become independent of the 

 outside world. 



"Thus the lonely Sage-brush State will awaken 

 from her slumber to listen to the gladsome shouts of 

 youth in field and orchard, to the clatter of the stamp 

 mill and the roll of ore cars, to the whirl of busy fac- 

 tory machinery, to the unknown sounds of city life. 



