THE IEEIGATION AGE. 



169 



flows into Canadian territory and then turns back into 

 the United States. 



"Senator Carter wanted the Interior Department to 

 divert the waters of St. Mary's lake into the Milk 

 Eiver, so that it could be utilized for irrigation pur- 

 poses, but the secretary, after investigating, declined on 

 the ground that past experience had shown that the 

 Canadians had utilized the waters of all the streams 

 flowing from American territory into their domains 

 and that if this work were done it would be solely for 

 the benefit of the Canadians, who probably would not 

 permit the waters to flow back undisturbed. The esti- 

 mated cost of the project is $600,000, and this was too 

 much to invest on a questionable transaction, from the 

 secretary's viewpoint." 



The senator then took the matter up with the di- 

 rector of the geological survey and the assistant Secre- 

 tary of State with the result that it is now proposed to 

 cut a new channel through a low range of hills for the 

 waters of St. Mary's lake which will keep all of the 

 water of Milk Eiver on this side of the international 

 boundary. It is estimated this can be done for $600,000. 



BLOCKS PRIVATE IRRIGATION. 



HAS IRRIGATION RETURNS. 



O. L. Waller Learns Value of Foot of Water Compiling 



Results in this State for the Agricultural 



Department. 



0. L. Waller, professor of civil engineering at 

 Washington State College, Pullman, is at the Victoria 

 hotel en route home from a trip through the State, 

 during which he was getting figures on the value of 

 an acre foot of water. This information is being com- 

 piled in the State of Washington for the irrigation divi- 

 sion of the Department of Agriculture. Said Mr. 

 Waller : 



"An acre foot of water is a volume of water one 

 foot in depth that would cover an acre of land. In 

 my investigation I am learning for the Government 

 what monetary returns have resulted from a foot of 

 water put on land that is irrigated. 



"On my present trip I have been investigating the 

 Spokane valley returns. I have also investigated the 

 returns from different crops grown in the Yakima 

 valley and elsewhere in the State. 



"I found that an acre foot of water on Mr. Cal- 

 lister's land at Greenacres netted $240, the land being 

 tomato land. The total result from the acre was $350, 

 but eighteen inches of water were used. 



"In the Yakima valley I found an acre of potato 

 land that yielded more than $90 to a foot of water. 

 In four or five places in that valley I found a foot 

 of water brought eight and a quarter tons of alfalfa 

 to the acre, and alfalfa in the stack is worth $5 a: ton. 

 I found a half acre of Spitz apples, 40 trees, that 

 yielded $350. 



"In making these reports I include the natural 

 precipitation in the estimates. For instance, in the 

 Spokane valley last June there was a precipitation of 

 five inches, almost as much as the rainfall of an entire 

 year in the Yakima country." Spokesman-Review, 

 JSpokane. 



"Eelations between the water consumers of the 

 Yakima country and the Eeclamation Service are be- 

 coming more strained every day," said Manly B. 

 Haynes, secretary of the Hanford Irrigation and Power 

 Company, who returned from Priest Eapids yesterday, 

 says a recent issue of The Post Intelligencer, Seattle, 

 Wash. "There seems to be no possibility at the pres- 

 ent time of an adjustment. 



"It is an outrage the way the water consumers 

 are being treated by the Eeclamation Service. Private 

 irrigation projects that were turned down by the Gov- 

 ernment before they were taken up by private inter- 

 ests are now being blocked by the engineering parties 

 sent out by the Government. It is impossible to tell 

 where the Eeclamation Service proposes to carry on 

 irrigation work, and it is impossible for private inter- 

 ests to carry on their projects until this is definitely 

 known. 



"The Eeclamation engineers have just invaded the 

 Priest Eapids country, where the Hanford Irrigation 

 & Power Company was preparing to commence the 

 construction of canals, laterals and a power plant to 

 water 32,000 acres of rich lands near Priest Eapids, 

 on the Columbia Eiver. More than a year ago the 

 Eeclamation Service investigated the Priest Eapids 

 scheme, but pronounced it too small. After the propo- 

 sition had been rejected by the Government it was 

 taken up by our company, and we have the money 

 on hand to carry out the work during the present low- 

 water period. 



"After the Hanford Irrigation & Power Company 

 has gone into the Priest Eapids country and expended 

 considerable money in preliminary work, and made 

 application for the release of 18,000 acres of Northern 

 Pacific lands, the reclamation engineers do everything 

 in their power to block the enterprise. So far the 

 reclamation agents have succeeded in ha-ving our appli- 

 cation for the release of the Northern Pacific lands held 

 up, and at present it looks as if we would be delayed 

 at least a year in carrying out the work planned. 



"The invasion of the Priest Eapids country not 

 only prevents the Hanford Irrigation & Power Com- 

 pany from continuing its work, but puts a stop to other 

 important projects in the same locality. A. Morrissey 

 has expended $10,000 in building a canal and doing 

 other work to reclaim 8,000 acres of arid lands on 

 the east side of the Columbia Eiver, near Priest Eapids, 

 and by the invasion of the reclamation engineers his 

 project is blocked, as the application for the release 

 of these lands has also been held up at the request of 

 the reclamation people. 



"Under an agreement entered into more than a 

 year ago the railroad company has agreed not to sell 

 its lands to individuals or companies in the districts 

 where the Eeclamation Service contemplated the con- 

 struction of government irrigation works. This suc- 

 cessfully ties up any private projects that the reclama- 

 tion Service may desire to block." 



Send $2.50 for The Irrigation Age 

 1 vesvr, and the Primer of Irrigation 



