THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



815 



As an illustration of the way in which 

 Recognition of our "Primer of Irrigation" is recognized 

 Our Work. The by readers, we quote part of a letter re- 

 Primer of ceived from Mr. Newton Hibbs, secre- 

 Irrigation. tary of the Lemhi Irrigation and Or- 

 chard Company, Ltd., Salmon, Idaho. 

 Mr. Hibbs states, "The Primer of Irrigation, a copy of 

 which I secured at the Chicago Land Show, has been very 

 highly appreciated. I have been a practical irrigator for 

 a great many years and know the use of water pretty 

 well, but I had never stopped to consider why the good 

 results followed the correct application of artificial water. 

 The science of farming never presented itself with due 

 force until I read your book." 



We are very glad indeed to receive such kindly expres- 

 sions from our readers and trust that those who have not 

 secured a copy of our "Primer of Irrigation" may renew 

 their subscription to the AGE and receive a copy post free 

 without cost beyond the subscription price of the AGE. 

 That is to say, by sending in $1.00 for one year's subscrip- 

 tion, or by paying up your back subscription and signify- 

 ing a desire to have the paper continued we will be glad 

 to place your name on our books as a subscriber and for- 

 ward the Primer immediately. 



The fact of the matter is there can be no true science 

 in soil cultivation unless the farmer has control of the 

 degree of moisture that is to be applied to his various 

 crops from the time the seed is planted. The uncertainty 

 of natural precipitation makes all harvests uncertain, if 

 not uneven. With perpetual sunshine and the correct ap- 

 plication of water, scientific farming is at least possible. 



The author of the "Primer of Irrigation" attempts to 

 furnish such information as will lead to this result. 



The book is paper-bound, and contains 260 pages 

 with numerous illustrations. If you are in arrears for 

 subscription, kindly remit the amount due, which is shown 

 on the wrapper of this copy of the AGE and instruct us 

 to continue your subscription, stating for how long a 

 period you wish it carried, and a copy of the Primer will 

 be forwarded immediately without cost to you. Please 

 give this matter your attention today. 



Are 



Officials 

 Evading 

 Law? 



Word has reached this journal from time 

 to time concerning the matter of employees 

 of the Reclamation Service taking advant- 

 age of the knowledge obtained by them in 

 their work and subsequently making entry 

 upon lands under the various projects. 

 A prominent publisher of South Dakota stated recently 

 that there are several instances where this was done in con- 

 nection with the Belle Fourche, South Dakota project, and 

 he also said that there is much dissatisfaction among the 

 settlers, ;is it was the opinion of many that the localities 

 on which such entries were made have been favored in the 

 way of delivery of water or possibly better construction. 



If this is true, it would be well for the Reclamation serv- 

 ice officials, or the Department of the Interior, to make an 

 investigation. 



If the IRRIGATION AGE properly understands the reclama- 

 tion law, it distinctly prohibits an employee of the Reclama- 

 tion Service from making entry upon any land recla : med 

 under its provisions. It would be well possibly for the De- 

 partment of the Interior to make a general investigation of 

 the various projects and learn if this is a common custom. 

 One may not blame a Reclamation Service official for a desire 

 to obtain some choice piece of land, but the law was so 

 framed that each of its officers were prohibited from making 



entry on account of their knowledge of soil and the other 

 conditions, which would surround development of a tract 

 so far in advance of its actual settlement. 



A man in charge of a tract, or his sub-engineers, could, if 

 he chose, pick off all of the choice locations and this would 

 be eminently unfair if carried so far as the selection of or 

 entry upon lands adjoining town-sites, the location of which 

 is not known to settlers until the majority of entries are 

 made on the tract. 



Some years ago the writer traveled over the Belle Fourche 

 tract with the then Chief Engineer, Mr. Walter, and dis- 

 cussed this subject with him. It was then stated that no 

 definite knowledge concerning the location of the government 

 town-site had been given out, although entry had been made 

 upon lands in all directions from where it was finally located. 



An investigation of these numerous complaints would do 

 no harm, and possibly Belle Fourche would be a good place 

 to start. 



Farmer's Bulletin No. 421, issued by the 

 Problem of United States Department of Agricul- 



Blowing Soils ture December, 1910, covers the subject 

 Important of control of blowing soils and this prob- 



To Farmers. lem is important where there are con- 

 siderable areas of bare soil exposed to 

 the continued action of relatively high winds without 

 accompanying rain-fall. 



In the introduction to this bulletin it is stated that 

 in the sandy sections even frequent rains do not suffice 

 to hold the soil in sufficient check to entirely prevent 

 blowing. The most important problem is the prevention 

 of soil blowing on bare fields, or on fields so recently 

 seeded that the crops have not made sufficient growth to 

 protect the surface. 



It is stated further that other problems, such as the 

 prevention of soil blowing in cuts, embankments, etc.. are 

 sometimes important, but are much less so than the more 

 widely extended blowing which occurs on ordinary culti- 

 vated fields. 



In this publication the subjects of Normal Move- 

 ments of the Soil, Causes of Excessive Blowing of the 

 Soil and Means of Preventing this Damage are all taken 

 up and treated in a comprehensive and instructive manner. 



The subjects of suitable methods of cultivation, keep- 

 ing the soil moist and the addition of humus, as well as 

 artificial protectors are all treated extensively. 



This is a bulletin well worth perusal by all farmers 

 and may be obtained by addressing the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. A re- 

 quest should specify Farmers' Bulletin No. 421. 



It is difficult to tell at this time what will 

 Give become of the report of the Senatorial 



Publicity Committee, who visited all of the recla- 



To Senatorial mation projects under the chairmanship of 

 Report. Senator Carter, who is now retired. 



There was, no doubt, a full report 



made, but a wrangle in the Committee and continued an- 

 tagonism to the report being made public by a few members 

 who were in favor of withholding it on account of their 

 friendship for the principal officers of the Reclamation Serv- 

 ive, resulted in withholding 'this report, although it is stated 

 by certain Washington correspondents that what purported to 

 be the text of the report of the Senatorial Committee was 

 not authorized by the Committee, which never passed on it 

 and has so far refused to indorse it. 



Senator Carter, who is, undoubtedly, better posted on 



