Year 



THE IRRIGATION AGE 



VOL. XXV 



CHICAGO, DECEMBER, 1909. 



No. 2 



THE IRRIGATION AGE 



With which is Merged 



MODERN IRRIGATION 

 THE IRRIGATION ERA 

 ARID AMERICA 



THE DRAINAGE JOURNAL 

 MID- WEST 

 THE FARM HERALD 



IRRIGATION AGE COMPANY, 



PUBLISHERS, 



112 Dearborn Street, 



CHICAGO 



Entered as second-class matter October 3, 1897, at the Postoffice at 

 Chicago, 111., under Act of March 3, 1879. 



D. H. ANDERSON, Editor 



ANNOUNCEMENT. 



"The Primer of Irrigation" is now ready for delivery. Price, 

 $2.00. If ordered in connection with subscription, the price is $1.50. 



SUBSCRIPTION PRICE. 



To United States Subscribers, Postage Paid 11.00 



To Canada and Mexico, . 1.50 



All Other Foreign Countries 1.50 



In forwarding remittances please do not send checks on local banks . 

 Send either postomce or express money order or Chicago or New York 

 draft. 



Official organ Federation of Tree Growing Clubs of 

 America. D. H. Anderson, Secretary. 



Official organ of the American Irrigation Federation, 

 Office of the Secretary, 212 Boyce Building, Chicago. 



Interesting to Advertisers. 



It may interest advertisers to know that The Irrigation Age it the 

 only publication in the world having an actual paid in advance 

 circulation among individual irrigators and large irrigation corpo- 

 rations. It is read regularly by all interested in this subject and has 

 readers in all parts of the world. The Irrigation Age is 25 year* 

 old and is the pioneer publication of its class in the world. 



Although it has been freely predicted dur- 

 Secretary ing the past two months that Secretary 

 Ballinger Ballinger would demand the removal of 

 Asks for the chief forester for insubordination and 

 $30,000,000. conduct unbecoming a public official, no 

 tangible proof of this action has yet been 

 recorded. It is presumed that the secretary of the in- 

 terior has reached the conclusion that if sufficient "rope" 

 is given to the creator of the "water-power trust" he will 

 accomplish his own official demise. 



In his report of work accomplished by the depart- 

 ment during the year, Secretary Ballinger points to the 

 need for additional funds with which to complete Ihe 

 reclamation "work undertaken by the government, but 

 which must be carried forward slowly unless financial 

 assistance is given. He advocates an act by Congress 

 to authorize the issuance of bonds aggregating $30,000,- 

 000 against the reclamation service and that these be 

 used as needed for the completion of works in which 

 the government is now involved. 



It is probable that the secretary named a bond issue 

 somewhat in excess of the amount desired in order that 

 Congress may record an economy by pruning the figure 

 to one-half or one-third the sum asked. 



Whatever may be the criticisms directed 

 Many Attend against the methods employed by the Chi- 

 Chicago cago Tribune, in conducting the United 



Irrigation States Land and Irrigation Exposition in 

 Exposition. Chicago, the fact cannot be disputed that 

 the show has exerted a powerful influence 

 for the development of the west. Chicago, the great 

 vortex for the activities of the middle west, and ihe 

 gateway through which the east gathers much of its 

 information concerning western deeds and doings, has 

 been stirred to its center. Land irrigation is now 3 

 known quantity and its fruits have excited the interest 

 of a Chicago public. 



Chief among the problems before the irrigation pro- 

 jector today is the method by which his reclaimed areas 

 may be populated and given proper cultivation to insure 

 the production of food stuffs, thereby bringing return for 

 the energy and money expended in the engineering 

 works. 



In the cities is a public that is far more frighted 

 at the prospect of a temporary suspension of its pay 

 envelope than at an old age ol poverty and ill-health. 

 To this class of people there is but one convincing argu- 

 ment demonstration of the financial returns to be ex- 



