176 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



of 600 gallons. Following this computation, and assum- 

 ing that all of the 230 wells are to be only sixty feet 

 deep, it is seen that the total output of the well should 

 be 138,000 gallons of water per minute which is con- 

 sidered a very conservative estimate. Some of the wells 

 tested have been in use for more than five years and 

 that time they have shown no decline from the 



THE PRAIRIE DOG. 



BY LIEUT. TOM COONET. 



in 



original capacity. 



Idan-Ha Hotel, Boise. 



The tract of land which is to be irrigated in this 

 unusual way has heretofore been practically valueless 

 for the reason that it had no water. It is known, how- 

 ever, to be a very fertile soil, and when the system is 

 put in operation it is expected to produce large crops. 

 The owners of large tracts, in fact, have already put 

 it to the test by installing private systems, and it ha. 

 been found equal to expectations. The Arkansas River, 

 which passes through the region, is not at all reliable, 

 since it is subject to a very uneven flow, and furnishes 

 scarcely water enough to water the first bottoms, which 

 ordinarily require very little. The area's best paying 

 crop is sugar beets, and the new irrigation system, which 

 is to be in operation within a year from the coming 

 spring, is expected to greatly increase the acreage of 

 Western Kansas. 



Residence of William Howell. Boise. 



This system is to serve as a precedent for several 

 others of the same kind. Much of the western lands 

 which are now barren have not river water sufficient to 

 supply irrigation systems, and where it is to be found 

 beneath the surface as in Western Kansas similar plants 

 will some day be installed. It is even probable that in 

 time some of the old river systems will be thus replaced. 

 Some of them already show signs of failing, and on this 

 account the experiments of Western Kansas are being 

 eagerly watched. 



Send $2.50 for The Irrigation Age 

 1 year, and The Primer of. Irrigation 



His name is a misnomer, as there is nothing canine 

 about the little frontiersman. 



He keeps good hours daylight is a vegetarian, 

 pure and simple, gregarious, living in large "towns," 

 and even extends hospitality to those not of his kind, 

 notably the little burrowing owl and the rattlesnake. 



This lack of exclusiveness is detrimental to his 

 reputation, as some of his associates are no better than 

 they should be. 



As to his looks : Take a woodchuck three-quarters 

 grown, give him a yellowish grey coat, with a suggestion 

 of red, a short tail, slightly reached to the tuft, short 

 ears, full, round eyes, the four front teeth prominent, 

 and you have the prairie dog or marmot of the plains. 



During the summer he so combines profit with 

 pleasure, that, when the plains are swept by winter, he 

 has retired on an ample competency fat and never 

 lets the roaring storms disturb his dreams of spring and 

 warm chinooks. 



It is my belief, based on many years' observations, 

 that the prairie dog only tolerates one of his lodgers 

 the rattlesnake because he can't help himself. Know- 



Methodist Church, Boise. 



ing the dog keeps open house, the snake is self-invited 

 and makes good his welcome on his reputation of being 

 "bad." 



But the dog and the owl are boon companions. I've 

 spent many an hour watching the two, sitting cheek by 

 jowl, for all the world as if the owl were relating some 

 rakish exploit of the night before, and enjoying the 

 wonder in the round eyes of his credulous and unso- 

 phisticated landlord. 



A widespread belief obtains that in every "town" 

 one burrow goes down to water, making a "well" the 

 village pump, so to speak. 



It is the exception, however, to find a town near 

 water, and the nature of the site, for the most part, 

 precludes the possibility of the "well." 



The idea is doubtless grounded on the error that 

 all animals must have water, but it is a fact that 

 many wild animals never use it, although in captivity 

 drink becomes a necessity. 



This is true of many birds, and a vast army of 

 small quadrupeds, more particularly those of arid re- 

 gions. Coming under our immediate observation are the 

 field-mice, the ground and timber squirrels and some 

 grouse. 



