232 



THE IBRIGATION AGE. 



All public grazing lands should be classified, ap- 

 praised, divided into range units sufficient to pasture 

 a given number of stock. These uriits> should be open 

 to entry by payment of cash to the extent of one-tenth 

 of appraised value. The other nine-tenths should re- 

 main a perpetual lien upon the land at a low rate of 

 interest. Owners of adjoining tracts, homesteaders, 

 and the like should have preferential privileges to enter. 

 Entrymen should have the following qualifications and 

 mvist observe the following rules. Should reside upon 

 or in the vicinity of the tract, and must occupy and use 

 it individually, subletting in whole or in part should 

 work a forfeiture of claim. This in addition to the 

 ordinary qualifications of citizenship. 



THE residue of interest and payments, after de- 

 ducting fixed fees, should be divided between road 

 fund and school fund, and a new fund which has for its 

 purpose the establishment of experimental farms to in- 

 troduce new grasses and forage plants for the improve- 

 ment of the range. The larger stockmen of the west 

 may be averse to dividing the range into small ranches, 

 but it is the only way to make real homes, and the 

 claimants should have every privilege of ownership pro- 

 vided by ordinary ownership in fee, except the right of 

 transfer, or ownership after abandonment. Occupancy 

 and use should be the title. A home is never a home 

 unless the title to it is vested in the homemaker. 



THE MAYWOOD COLONY. 



The Maywood colony at Corning, Tehama county, 

 Cal., continues to attract the attention of western home- 

 seekers. The reason for the popularity of the colony 

 may be attributed to the good soil, good climate, good 

 water, good rainfall, good drainage, good markets, good 

 shipping facilities, good schools, good churches, good 

 social conditions and good people. 



The soil is classified as sedimentary, gravel and 

 clay loams. Each kind of soil is good for some kind of 

 crop. There is no alkali land in the vicinity. The 

 climate is kind to both human and plant life. Some 

 summer days seem hotter than necessary for human 

 comfort, but these are the same days that make alfalfa 

 grow an inch in a day, and fill with sugar the peach, 

 pear and prune. There is great economy in this dry 

 heat, for by it the fruit crop of the colony is cured. 

 No one has ever been sunstruck there not even pros- 

 trated. The hot days are unfailingly followed by cool 

 restful nights. The climate is not cold enough to 

 affect the orange, or the more delicate lemon. Both 

 grow in profusion and to perfection. 



The water at Maywood is as soft as rain, clear and 

 pure, and is a mild solvent, exerting a healing influence 

 on affections of the stomach, bladder and kidneys. 

 Water can be reached at from 10 to 30 feet below the 

 surface. The average annual rainfall is 28 inches. 

 More or less rain falls in all of the months except July, 

 August and September, but most in December, January 

 and February. Showers fall during the other six 

 rain months. So regular is the rainfall in Tehama 



county that a crop failure is not of record. Wild grass 

 grows and is green for 8 months of the year, and is 

 brown and ripe the remaining four months. 



The slope of the land of the colony is toward the 

 Sacramento river, and the fall is 27 feet to the mile. 

 The river, 4 miles east of Corning, is 108 feet lower 

 than the town. 



The quality of the "Maywood Brand" of dried 

 fruit is so high and well established throughout the 

 east that anxious buyers for the entire colony crop begin 

 to bid for the crop long before it is ready for delivery. 

 The colonists pool their fruit on an equitable basis and 

 thus do away with local competition. Stock companies, 

 in which all stock is held by the colonists, conduct the 

 sun-drying plants, the evaporator and the packing house. 

 Any colonist may buy shares in the corporation and en- 

 joy the benefits which it affords its members in the cur- 

 ing and sale of the fruit, as well as dividends arising 

 from its operation. All fruit is cured on the colony. 

 Eggs are sold through a local poultry association, and 

 cream is sold to the two local creameries. 



Eunning through the center of the colony, for a 

 distance of 7 miles, is the main line of the Southern 

 Pacific railway, with depot at Corning. Corning en- 

 joys the same freight rates to eastern points, on car- 

 load lots, as do Sacramento, Oakland and San Jose, 

 and points of importance. 



In Corning there is a grammar school employing 

 nine teachers, and a high school in which there are six 

 teachers. The high school fits pupils for entry into the 

 state university, or Stanford university. Located so as 

 to accommodate the greatest number of pupils, there are 

 three other grammar schools on the colony, outside of 

 Corning. 



Until recently Corning with a population of about 

 2,500 was without local government, or control no 

 marshal or policemen. Late in 1906 the town was in- 

 corporated, and voted a dry, or no-saloon town. A 

 good theater attracts all theatrical troupes passing up 

 and down the vaUey. The Maywood Woman's club, 

 incorporated under state laws, and owning its club 

 building and grounds, is a most helpful factor in the 

 way of receiving and introducing new comers to the 

 colony. 



THE NORTH PLATTE VALLEY. 



The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad has 

 issued a new 20-page booklet on "North Platte Valley 

 Irrigated Land," handsomely illustrated with agricul- 

 tural scenes in Nebraska and Wyoming. 



The valley of the North Platte river has as many 

 attractions for the homeseeker and as much genuine 

 merit as any recently developed section of America. It 

 may be truly said that this valley is so situated and has 

 such a combination of natural advantages that it should 

 have first consideration of the prospective settler, in 

 which event it is almost certain to receive final ap- 

 proval. The portion of the valley referred to is about 

 100 miles long and, roughly speaking, from five to 

 twenty-five miles in width. 



$2.50 for The Irrigation Age 

 1 year, and The Primer of Irrigation 



