THE IRRIGATION AGE 



VOL. XXII 



CHICAGO, APRIL, 1907. 



NO. 6 



THE IRRIGATION AGE 



With which is Merged 



MODERN IRRIGATION THE DRAINAGE JOURNAL 



THE IRRIGATION ERA MID-WEST 



ARID AMERICA THE FARM HERALD 



IRRIGATION AGE COMPANY, 

 PUBLISHERS, 



112 Dearborn Street, 



CHICAGO 



Entered at the Postoffice at Chicago, 111., as Second-Class Matter. 



D. H. ANDERSON, Editor 



W. J. ANDERSON .. G. L. SHUMWAY 



Associate Editors 



ANNOUNCEMENT. 



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Official organ of the American Irrigation Federation. 

 Office of the Secretary, 309 Boyce Building, Chicago. 



Interesting to Advertisers. 



It may interest advertisers to know that The Irrigation Age is 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 22 yean 

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



On January 1, 1907, Senator Warren of 

 The Warren Wyoming introduced a bill, the object 

 Bill. of which as stated in the preamble is to 



aid in the settlement and irrigation of 

 the lands included in the national reclamation projects. 

 Under the provisions of this bill the Secretary of the 

 Interior is authorized and directed to set aside a tract 

 of 40 acres of land within the limits of each project, 

 which is to be placed at the disposal of the Secretary of 

 Agriculture for experiments in irrigation and drainage. 

 These experiments are to consist of investigations "to 

 determine the best and most economical methods of pre- 

 paring land for irrigation and for applying water to 

 crops, and for preventing or removing by drainage, in- 

 juries caused by seepage water and alkali, and to fur- 

 nish advice and direction to the settlers included in 

 each reclamation project." The necessary water for 

 the experiments upon such farms is to be furnished 

 free of cost and the expenses necessary are to be cov- 

 ered by an appropriation of $50,000. This bill is evi- 

 dently prepared in response to the gradually widening 

 idea that the successful carrying out of the reclama- 

 tion act consists not alone in the construction of im- 

 mense dams, reservoirs, and main and distributing ca- 

 nals, but in the actual occupation and successful tillage 

 of the reclaimed land by the settler. Some of our rec- 

 lamation projects are nearly finished and finished with a 

 thoroughness and skill which speaks well for the effi- 

 ciency of the government engineers. Now, however, 

 comes the crucial test of the Eeclamation Act, which may 

 be expressed by the question : Will the settlers be able to 

 meet their annual payments ? It is useless to reply to this 



question (or attempt to evade it) by impressive figures 

 showing the cost and value of irrigated crops, the gen- 

 eral benefits of irrigation, etc., for the question is too 

 real and pressing a one to be answered by generalities 

 and verbiage. The immensity of the reclamation works, 

 the salubrity of the climate, the variety of products 

 which can be grown, and the comparative cheapness of 

 the land have been well advertised in papers throughout 

 the United States, and it is probable, therefore, that a 

 considerable proportion of the settlers who take up land 

 under these projects will come from the humid sec- 

 tions of the country. Even though many of them may 

 have been well acquainted with practical farming as it 

 is carried on in the East, they will find their knowledge 

 of but small assistance on these arid lands, for it is 

 well known that irrigated agriculture if carried on suc- 

 cessfully requires greater cultural skill and more inti- 

 mate knowledge of soil and soil moisture conditions than 

 does farming in a humid climate. To acquire such 

 skill and such knowledge requires years of practice and 

 study, and it is probable therefore that the first few years 

 for many settlers upon the government project will be 

 years full of struggles and disappointments. Since these 

 projects are government enterprises, it clearly should be 

 the duty of the government to minimize these diffi- 

 culties as far as possible, and in order to do this in- 

 formation should be made available to the settler as to 

 the best and most effective methods of preparing the 

 land and applying the water, the kinds of tools to be 

 used, the time when land should be irrigated, the quan- 

 tity of water to use and the character of the cultivation 

 which should follow this use. Such information cannot 



