12 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



As all of the public land is covered with water it 

 can not now be filed upon under the Homestead Act. 

 Settlement will not be possible on these lands until they 

 are fully reclaimed. The large holdings in private 

 ownership are under contract to be subdivided and sold 

 to actual settlers who will reside on the land. A large 

 area is now on the market at prices ranging from $10 to 

 $50 per acre and opportunities are exceedingly favorable 

 for intending home-seekers to secure valuable farms at 

 reasonable prices. 



In order to facilitate the dissemination of accurate 

 and reliable information concerning this region, its cli- 

 mate, crops, and the opportunities for purchasing prop- 

 erty thsrein, the farmers have formed an association 

 known as the Klamath Water Users' Association at 

 Klamath Palls, Oregon, and home-seekers and investors 

 may address this association with the assurance that 

 their inquiries will receive prompt and careful consid- 

 eration. 



The Klamath Basin lies on both sides of the boun- 

 dary line of California and Oregon about equi-distant 

 from San Francisco and Portland, and about one hun- 

 dred and fifty miles east of the Pacific coast between the 

 Cascades and the main range of the Rocky Mountains. 

 It is situated in Modoc and Siskiyou Counties, Cali- 

 fornia, and Klamath County, Oregon, and embraces 

 about one-half million acres, a considerable portion of 

 which is occupied by a string of lakes, the largest being 

 Upper Klamath Lake, and the others, Lower Klamath, 

 Tule, Clear, and Gcose Lakes. 



The Klamath Indian Reservation is in this basin 

 and contains a large area of irrigable lands which ulti- 

 mately may be thrown open to settlement under an ex- 

 tension of the government system of irrigation. 



The altitude of the basin is about 4,000 feet and 

 the climate healthy. Settlers from any of the northern 

 tier of States will not need to become acclimated here. 

 Surrounding the basin is a region of wild beauty con- 

 taining some of the greatest natural wonders of the 

 world, among which is the weirdly beautiful Crater 

 Lake. Forest-covered mountains surround the valley 

 and the timber resources of this section are enormous. 

 The estimates of the experts as to the pine and red fir 

 forests tributary to Upper Klamath range from ten to 

 fifteen billion feet. 



Owing to the comparatively high altitude and the 

 consequent occurrence of frosts, the growing season is 

 short and the products restricted to grasses, grains, vege- 

 tables and hardy fruits. Alfalfa will always be an im- 

 portant crop, the two cuttings annually yielding four 

 tons or more per acre worth $5 per ton in the stack. 

 Cattle can then be pastured in the same field for the 

 balance of the year and such pasturage rents readily for 

 $3 per acre. The vast area of out-range surrounding 

 the basin and extending far up the mountains assures 

 the permanence of an important live stock industry pro- 

 viding a first-class market for the hay and forage of the 

 farmers. More than 25,000 head of beef cattle are 

 shipped annually to market from this section now and 

 the horses from this region are in demand by the United 

 States army at from $125 to $150 each. Soil experts 

 predict the establishment of beet sugar factories in the 

 valley, as the conditions are particularly favorable for 

 the cultivation of this vegetable. The beets grown ex- 

 perimentally here show a very high percentage of sugar. 



Tests show that the Tule lands are especially adapted to 

 the growing of celery, asparagus, potatoes, and fodder 

 for dairy animals. 



STATUS OF GOVERNMENT IRRIGATION. 



The following figures from official records show 

 how the reclamation of the arid lands is progressing 

 rapidly under the direction of the Reclamation Service. 

 Nearly every project is capable of extension so as to 

 redeem many more thousand acres. The total sum set 

 aside for all three classes of projects is $32,870,000, 

 and the amount of land to be irrigated is 1,859,000 

 acres.. The average value of irrigated land in the United 

 States is $47 per acre. This acreage will therefore add 

 $87,373,000 to the taxable property of the United States 

 in land values alone. According to results in the West 

 the average annual income from irrigated land is $25 

 per acre. On this basis an income of $46,475,000 per 

 annum will be added to the nation's wealth: 



PROJECTS UNDER CONSTRUCTION. 



Amount Set Aside 



for Beginning 



Construction 



$3,600,000 



2,500,000 



Acres 

 Irrigable 

 180,000 

 125,000 

 60,000 

 100,000 

 100,000 



lo.ooa 



80,000 

 125,000 

 236,000 

 250,000 



STATE. PROJECTS 



Arizona Salt River . . 



Colorado Uncompahgre 



Idaho Minidoka 1,300,000 



Nebraska and Wyoming North Platte 3,500,000 



Nevada Truckee-Carson 2,740,000 



New Mexico Hondo 280,0.00 



South Dakota Belle Fourche 2,100,000 



Wyoming Shoshone 2,250,000 



Oregon and California Klamath Falls 1,000,000 



Idaho Payette- Boise 1,300,000 



PROJECTS FOR WHICH BIDS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED. 



California and Arizona Yutna $3,000,000 85,000* 



Montana Huntley 900,000 35,000 



Montana and North Dakota. .Fort Buford 1,800,000 60,000 



PROJECTS APPROVED BY THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR. 



Oregon Malheur $2,250,000 



Montana Milk River 1,000,000 



North Dakota Bismarck 



Pumping Buford-Trenton 550,000 



Washington Palou^e (postponed) . . 2,800,000 



ioo,ooa 



200,000 

 15,000 



is.ooa 



80,000 



P. Maginnis, Kimball, Neb., the well known manu- 

 facturer of galvanized steel irrigation flumes and water 

 troughs, has sold over $12,000 worth of steel flumes for 

 the Big Horn Basin. Mr. Maginnis not only makes 

 excellent flumes, the quality of which is creating a 

 growing demand, but he also advertises in THE IRRIGA- 

 TION AGE hence his large sales. 



CAN YOU ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS? 



Where did alfalfa come from? What soil is best 

 suited to alfalfa? What are the advantages of grow- 

 ing it? How is it best harvested, cured and fed? 

 What kind of grain should be fed with alfalfa? How 

 does it enrich the soil. How should alfalfa be sown? 

 What is the best method of selecting seed corn? How 

 should it be stored? How can you improve the stand 

 and increase the production of corn per acre? What 

 is the best method of testing seed corn? What is a 

 germination box? How is corn best prepared for the 

 planter? What is necessary to get rid of the barren 

 stalks? What are the best methods of cultivating corn? 

 How can the wheat yield per acre be increased ? What 

 constitutes a good seed bed? Should clover he plowed 

 under for wheat? Is corn stubble a good place for 

 sowing wheat? How should wheat be sown in order 

 to produce the best results? How should wheat be 

 fertilized? Why does your soil run down? What are 



