268 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



It was the general opinion that he had been wrongly 

 advised. In fact his Jamestown speech seemed to in- 

 dicate to the West that if there was any criticism to his 

 administration relative to public land laws it was due 

 to the advice of his chief forester, Gifford Pinchot. The 

 presence of Mr. Pinchot, of the Secretary of the Inter- 

 ior, James R. Garfield, of Land Commissioner Ballinger. 

 of F. H. Newell, A. P. Davis, C. J. Blanchard and other 

 Federal officials did not cause the convention to swerve 

 from the duty which it had to perform. There was 

 almost an element of sadness pervading that brainy 

 aggregation of western characters in being thus bound 

 to tell Teddy of his Error. 



Murdo McKenzie was there strenuously supporting 

 Pinchot policies. Mr. McKenzie runs some 140,000 

 head of cattle upon Indian lands leased from the Gov- 

 ernment. The large cattle barons and large sheep men 

 favor the administration policy but the home builders 

 and the men of small flocks and herds were practically 

 a unit against the inauguration of new ideas relative to 

 public domain. 



The situation was a most embarrassing one for the 

 chief forester, but from expressions which he made 

 from time to time during the convention we are led 

 to believe that he has miscalculated the mettle and the 

 temper of the West and that he is willing, at least in 

 a measure, to conform his ideas to those as set forth 

 in the resolutions which were adopted. Perhaps this 

 anticipation is born of hope rather than fact. The re- 

 port of the committee on resolutions was unanimous. 

 There were some flurries and debates on the floor of 

 the convention after the report was made but the reso- 

 lutions were adopted without amendment. I would like 

 to go into detail in commenting upon the addresses of 

 the various delegates, of Clark, the poor man's senator 

 of Wyoming, of Teller and others, but space would 

 forbid; one of the strongest points brought out by the 

 latter was his reference to the disappearance of the 

 timbers in northern Michigan. "What became of the 

 forests there?" he asked, and in answer stated they went 

 to build the homes of the people of the land. What 

 became of the land thus denuded, we might ask, and in 

 answer state "It is occupied as homes and used for 

 raising sugar beets and other valuable products." 



IDAHO DATA. 



The following data compiled from the records of 

 the United States weather bureau office at Lewiston, 

 Idaho (covering a period of six years), reveals the fol- 

 lowing facts. The annual mean temperature is 54 de- 

 grees. The coldest month, January, averages 36 de- 

 grees, and the warmest month, July, 75 degrees; the 

 summer months pass the 90 degree mark on an average 

 of 44 days, and the highest point ever reached was 108 



degrees. The average daily maximum temperature is 

 65 degrees and the minimum temperature 43 degrees. 

 The winter temperature averages 37 degrees, or 5 de- 

 grees above the freezing point; the minimum tempera- 

 ture falls to or below the freezing point on an average 

 of 64 times each year, and zero or below readings have 

 been recorded on three days only. 



The annual precipitation (including snow) is 13.73 

 inches; July and August are the dry months, averaging 

 only .67 of an inch, and March and May give the high- 

 est average, 1.60 inches. The annual number of rainy 

 days (.01 of an inch or more) each year is 102; July 

 and August average 3 rainy days each. The summer 

 rains occur in the nature of showers of short duration, 

 while the winter rains are more or less of protracted 

 nature and of a fine misty character. The greatest 

 amount of precipitation ever recorded in 24 consecutive 

 hours was 1.54 inches. The average annual snowfall is 

 9.3 inches. 



The average number of clear days each year is 145, 

 partly cloudy 95, and cloudy 125, foggy days average 3 

 or 4 days each year. During the summer months there 

 is an abundance of sunshine, July and August averaging 

 24 clear days, 5 partly cloudy days and 2 cloudy days 

 each. 



The average wind movement is low (4.5 miles per 

 hour) and it is rare that a storm velocity 40 miles per 

 hour is attained, and the highest velocity ever attained 

 was 62 miles per hour. The prevailing wind direction 

 is east for every month in the year. The topography of 

 the eastern part of the state causes the remarkably mild 

 climate of the Lewiston Valley. The Coeur D'Alene 

 and the Bitter Root ranges are barriers against blizzards. 



The cold winds in passing over these mountains 

 lose much of their moisture by condensation and are 

 warmed by compression as they pass to lower levels, 

 giving the valley of the Snake River tributaries a cli- 

 mate where temperatures below zero are seldom expe- 

 rienced. In summer, daytime temperatures are high, 

 but the nights are usually cool. 



Economical Construction. 



The construction of the Upper Deer Flat reservoir 

 of the Payette-Boise irrigation project, Idaho, by force 

 account, affords an illustration of the economy effected 

 by the government in doing its own work under certain 

 conditions. The lowest offer for moving earthwork for 

 this dam was 36 cents per cubic yard. The actual cost of 

 doing the work during the month of March, 1907, when 

 labor conditions were not particularly favorable and the 

 weather was raw, shows that the total cost to the gov- 

 ernment was less than 18 cents per cubic yard, or less 

 than one-half of the lowest bid received. This includes 

 what is known as the overhead charge, that is, the cost 

 of the equipment and getting the material on the ground. 



While this result is somewhat exceptional, the results 

 justify the stand taken by the secretary of the interior at 

 various times in refusing to accept bids which appear to 

 be high and in ordering the work done by the competent 

 engineers on the ground. Most of these men have been 

 selected with reference to their experience and ability in 

 handling work, and under the present conditions in the 

 west are more competent to carry on work economically 

 and efficiently than the ordinary contractor, more espe- 

 cially as they do not have to provide for extraordinary 

 emergencies which must be considered by the contractor 

 in offering his bid. 



Send $2.50 for The Irrigation Age 

 I year, and the Primer of Irrigation 



