THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



307 



Approximately 45,000 acres of land which have been with- 

 drawn from all forms of disposition under the public land 

 laws in connection with the Sun River irrigation project, 

 Montana, have been restored to the public domain, subject to 

 homestead entry only, in accordance with the terms of the 

 Reclamation Act. 



These lands lie in Townships 22 and 23 North, Ranges 

 3 and 4 West, Montana Principal Meridian. 



The settlers under the Buford-Trenton irrigation project, 

 North Dakota, finished planting their crops about the middle 

 of June, and practically all the farmers who will use water 

 this season have completed work on the farm laterals. The 

 excessive rainfall during June has put the crops in very fine 

 condition, and so far no water has been required for irriga- 

 tion. 



The June rise of the Missouri river was the highest on 

 record, the water reaching a stage of 16.7 feet above normal 

 water level. 



On the Williston project the water stage exceeded the 

 high water reading of 1906 the previous maximum attained 

 on this stream by 1. 6 feet. The large quantities of drift 

 running in the stream made the moorings of the barge 

 carrying the pumps unsafe, and the discharge pipes were dis- 

 connected temporarily on that account. 



The power plant was in operation part of the month for 

 the purpose of priming the canals, and during the last week 

 in June water was delivered to 100 acres of hay land. The 

 lignite mining continued with an average output of about 

 thirty tons per day. Water is available for about 6,350 acres 

 this season, but it is probable that not more than 2,000 acres 

 actually will be cultivated and irrigated. 



Contract has been awarded to the Northern Electrical Man- 

 ufacturing Company of Madison, Wis., for furnishing con- 

 trolling apparatus for the operation of sluice gates in Laguna 

 dam, Yuma irrigation project, California-Arizona. The con- 

 tract amounts to $4,628.60. 



The Secretary of the Interior is now advertising for pro- 

 posals for the construction of the last Park dam, spillway and 

 dikes in connection with the Orland irrigation project, Cal- 

 ifornia. The work involves the placing of about 13,500 cubic 

 yards of concrete and the excavation of about 8,500 cubic 

 yards of material. 



An extension of three months has been granted to Messrs. 

 A. Y. Bayne & Co., of Minneapolis, Minn., within which to 

 -complete their contract for steen highway bridges in con- 

 nection with the Lower Yellowstone irrigation project, Mon- 

 tana-North Dakota. It was impossible for the contractors 

 to paint these bridges during cold weather, and the date of 

 completion therefore was advanced. 



Approximately 128,000 acres of land which were with- 

 drawn from all forms of disposition under the public land 

 laws in connection with the Minidoka irrigation project, Idaho, 

 have been restored to the public domain and will become sub- 

 ject to settlement and entry on such dates and after such 

 notice by publication as the Secretary of the Interior may 

 prescribe. The lands lie in Townships 7 to 9 North, Ranges 

 30 to 32 East, Boise Principal Meridian. 



Approximately 12,000 acres of land which were withdrawn 

 from all forms of disposition under the public land laws in 

 connection with the Payette-Boise irrigation project, Idaho, 

 have been restored to the public domain and will be subject 

 to settlement on and after August 11, 1908, but will not be 

 subject to entry, filing or selection until September 10,1908. 



These lands lie in Township 7 North, Ranges 1, East and 

 1 West, Boise Principal Meridian. 



During the month of May 3,350 cubic yards of masonry 

 were laid in the Pathfinder dam, which is being constructed 

 -near Casper, Wyo., in connection with the North Platte irri- 

 gation project. Progress was somewhat retarded on account 

 -of raising four derricks on the wall. The dam is now 67 per 

 cent completed. 



Water has been running continuously in the Interstate 



Canal since April 16, and in the first seventy miles and most 



of the laterals since the middle of May, but owing to the 



abundant rainfall but little irrigating has been done. In the 

 first lateral district about 50 per cent of the co-operative work 

 on lateral extensions and placing of lateral headgates has 

 been completed. A force of about forty men and fifteen teams 

 has been engaged in building wooden drops, check gates, 

 waste gates and siphon road crossings and in cleaning laterals. 

 Contracts involving the excavation of about 70,000 cubic yards 

 in extending laterals have been awarded under the co-opera- 

 tive plan during May. All the principal structures on the 

 second fifty miles of the Interstate Canal are now completed. 



The pumping barge in connection with the Buford-Tren- 

 ton irrigation project, western North Dakota, has been put in 

 commission and the pumps were started on May 19. The 

 settling basin was filled on the 25th and on the 26th the water 

 was pumped into the high line canal, demonstrating that the 

 Government is prepared to successfully furnish water to the 

 farms under the first unit of the project. 



Approximately 300,000 acres of land which were with- 

 drawn in connection with the Lower Yellowstone irrigation 

 project in eastern Montana, have been restored to the public 

 domain and will become subject to settlement and entry on 

 such dates and after such notice by publication as the Sec- 

 retary of the Interior may prescribe. These lands lie in 

 Township 18 to 27 North, Ranges 56 to 60 East, Montana 

 Principal Meridian. 



On July 1 the Reclamation Service lost two of its fore- 

 most engineers, Mr. Douglas W. Ross, Supervising Engineer 

 in charge of the Idaho Division, and Mr. F. C. Horn, Con- 

 struction Engineer for the same district, who resigned to take 

 up more lucrative work. 



Mr. Ross has been connected with irrigation work in Idaho 

 for many years, having been in charge of the construction and 

 operation of several canal systems in Boise Valley, which are 

 now being enlarged and extended in connection with the 

 Payette-Boise project. For four years he occupied the posi- 

 tion of State Engineer, and he also conducted investigations 

 for several years to determine the duty of water in irrigation 

 in that state. He has been in charge of the Government work 

 in Idaho since the inception of operations under the Reclama- 

 tion Act. Mr. Ross and his connection with Idaho irrigation 

 works are so well known that further comment is hardly neces- 

 sary. 



Mr. Horn has had wide experience in all kinds of engineer- 

 ing work, including railroad construction, building of sewage 

 and waterworks systems, shafts, docks, masonry of all kinds, 

 and the erection of buildings such as warehouses, grain ele- 

 vators, roundhouses, foundries, machine shops, power plants 

 and dams. The Intramural elevated railroad at the World's 

 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the first third-rail system 

 electric road built in the United States, was constructed under 

 Mr. Horn's direction, as well as the controlling works of the 

 Chicago Sanitary Canal at Lockport, 111. In this construction 

 which is composed of heavy masonry and steel, several sluice 

 gates of the Stony type, and the next largest gates of this 

 type in the world, were put in operation. Lake Cheesman dam 

 in Colorado, constructed of granite masonry, and at present 

 ranking as the highest in the world 236 feet high filter beds 

 for the water supply of Denver; the Swan Falls Power plant 

 near Boise, and the Economy Light & Power Company's plant, 

 Joliet, 111., were all constructed by Mr. Horn. 



To the thorough knowledge of the irrigation possibilities 

 of the State of Idaho which Mr. Ross brought to the Service, 

 and Mr. Horn's varied experience in construction work is due 

 the exceptional record made in the construction of the 

 Minidoka project and the excellent progress on the great 

 Payette-Boise system. 



The Minidoka project, covering about 85,000 acres of land, 

 was completed on record time. The first contract was let in 

 the fall of 1904, and water was available for almost the entire 

 tract in the spring of 1907. Not only was water ready for 

 settlers, but there was a settler on practically every farm unit 

 under the gravity system, regular trains were running over a 

 new branch of the Oregan Short Line Railroad built through 

 the center of the project, and three towns, with banks, schools, 

 churches, newspapers, etc., had sprung up along the line of 

 railroad. A portion of the lands on the south side of the 

 river lie too high to be served with water by th gravity sys- 

 tem, but power developed at the dam will be utilized to pump 



