306 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



before it could set. There was but one way to overcome 

 this trouble, and that was to keep the temperature in the 

 canal above the freezing point. This would have been 

 easy if it were only the matter of a cellar wall for a cot- 

 tage, but here was a work equivalent to the foundations 

 of a thousand dwellings, all to be done in the space of a 

 few months. There was but one thing to be done, and in 

 doing this the problem was solved. A huge shed was 

 built over the canal, and a large number of stoves were 

 put in, requiring special detail of men to keep up the fuel 

 supply and to watch the stoves and the temperature. This 

 shed was 3,000 feet long, and as the wrfrk progressed the 

 rear sections were taken down and put up at the forward 

 end. The work was unique in the history of canal con- 

 struction. The canal is 65 feet wide on the bottom, and 

 the concrete sides are 9 feet high. This great conduit 

 will carry water for more than 200.000 acres of land. 



The lining of the great ditch was only a part of the 

 winter's work. Throughout the great irrigating system, 

 embracing a total of nearly 1,000 miles of canals and lat- 

 erals, forces of men and teams were engaged in repairing 

 and perfecting the work. The first season's use had been 

 in the nature of a test of efficiency, and every weak point 

 had been exposed. At every vital point throughout this 

 irrigating system the most enduring type of construction 

 is to be found. The weirs and settings for head-gates are 



refreshing sleep on a May morning. There is no air more 

 invigorating than that of Southern Idaho. 



The annual migration from the eastern states is well 

 under way, with every prospect of its unabating contin- 

 uance. People who already have bought farms are taking 

 possession of them with plans for their development and 

 every train brings new arrivals bent upon becoming own- 

 ers of irrigated farms while prices are still within their 

 means. 



Many people whose acquaintance with irrigation is 

 limited are often curious to know what it is that makes 

 an irrigated country so attractive. Perhaps crop insur- 

 ance is the most attractive advantage. Not that there is 

 an organization of capital to make up the losses due to 

 unfavorable weather. It is, rather, an organization of 

 favorable conditions sunshine in great abundance every 

 day during the growing season; water in equal abundance 

 for keeping the crops moist, so that they may respond to 

 the quickening power of the sun's rays; lastly, a soil that 

 is easily tilled and rich with the elements that make big 

 crops. What better assurances of success may any man 

 have? 



The soil of the Twin Falls country contains no prob- 

 lems for the agriculturist or fruit grower. 



The following letter from Prof. Joseph E. Wing is a 

 forceful and convincing statement. Prof. Wing is a mem- 



Main irrigation canal. Twin Falls North Side tract, showing portion of heavy rock cut and concrete lining. 



everywhere made of stone masonry and concrete, insuring 

 a low maintenance cost for all time. 



The people of the Twin Falls North Side tract are to 

 be congratulated upon the superior character of their irri- 

 gating works. A much less thoroughly built system would 

 ordinarily have passed inspection, as irrigating systems 

 go, but in this we have an example of what irrigation 

 works should be, considering that they are to serve the 

 purpose of one generation after another for all future 

 time. It is not an American custom to build at first in 

 such a permanent way. Only in the older parts of the 

 country do we ordinarily see construction work that is 

 intended to serve more than a temporary purpose, so that 

 this departure is especially worthy of note. It says in 

 effect to the observer: "This population has come to stay. 

 This is to be the permanent home of a progressive people." 



The first season upon a newly irrigated tract is cer- 

 tain to be attended with many hardships, plan carefully 

 as one may. More unforeseen, things can happen than 

 Horatio could dream of in his philosophy, and he proba- 

 bly was a pretty good dreamer. But the clear blue of the 

 Idaho sky and the sunshine of hope in the settler's heart 

 make him forget his troubles and see the early prosperity 

 that is sure to come to the industrious irrigator. Spring 

 has opened on the North Side tract with every heart 

 bounding with the energy that a young man feels after a 



her of the faculty of the Ohio State University and a 

 specialist in soils. He is a frequent lecturer in various 

 agricultural colleges, one of the editors of the Breeder's 

 Gazette and also of Bailey's Cyclopedia of American Agri- 

 culture. His opinion of the Twin Falls country may be 

 taken without question by anyone. This letter is positive 

 in its statements. It contains no negatives and serves as 

 further proof that the Twin Falls country is a country 

 without an "if": 



"WOODLAND FARM," 

 Mechanicsburg. Ohio, Feb. 9, 1910. 

 Mr. H. L. Hollister, Chicago, 111. 



Dear Mr. Hollister: I have, as you know, traveled 

 through every western state repeatedly and am familiar 

 with nearly all the movements for settlement in the West. 

 Furthermore, I once myself lived for many years on the 

 frontier and watched the settlement making. I have just 

 returned from Southern Idaho, where I saw your colonies 

 along the Snake River. I am very happy in remembering 

 what I saw there. Nowhere in the history of the world 

 has there been brought together a finer lot of people than 

 you have settled on those Idaho lands. Further, they 

 have such splendid soil that they are sure to prosper. 



I have never seen a more fortunate combination the 



wonderful soil, the abundance of water, the fine climate, 



(Continued on page 334.) 



