992 



THE IRKIGATION AGE. 



A good example of the benefit of irrigating, even in 

 Reno county, Kansas, where irrigation is not exactly a 

 necessity, is shown at the State Reformatory Farm. Here 

 part of the big farm has been irrigated. There is a strik- 

 ing contrast between the fresh, healthy looking potatoes 

 where the water has been applied and the plants which 

 have not been watered. The small expense of irrigating 

 will be more than paid in the potato yield alone. 



South Dakota has thousands of acres of land, which, 

 when improved through irrigation, will provide homes for 

 more than 2,000,000 more people, according to Governor 

 R. S. Vessey. He spoke at a meeting of the Nineteenth 

 National Irrigation Congress at the La Salle Hotel, Chicago. 



By a deal between the state land board, Wyoming, 

 and the Kansas City-Big Horn Irrigation Company, the 

 Medicine Wheel Irrigation project in Big Horn county. 

 Wyoming, is to be taken over at once by the company and 

 rushed to completion. The project embraces 19,000 acres 

 east of lona, which will be ready for settlers next year. 



Aurora, Illinois, men, interested in the Wyoming Ir- 

 rigation Company, have done exceedingly well on their 

 investment. The company has sold 20,000 acres of land 

 which will be occupied by 150 Boer families as a settle- 

 ment, the consideration being about $900,000. 



One of the most important irrigation deals, assuring the 

 irrigation of bench lands between Ontario, Oregon and Nyssa, 

 Idaho, was closed recently, 10,000 acres being included. 

 The water will be pumped from the Snake river, 4J4 miles 

 above Nyssa. The result of the pumping on this project 

 will be watched with great interest over the Northwest 

 generally, as it is the first large tract upon which an at- 

 tempt has been made to pump water for irrigation. 



Irrigation projects are receiving serious government 

 attention in Brazil, particularly in the northern states, 

 with their total irrigable area of 500,000 acres and their 

 2,000,000 people. 



THE BELLE-FOURCHE IRRIGATION PROJECT. 



The Secretary of the Interior has issued the following 

 order for the purpose of relieving the present situation on 

 the Belle-Forche irrigation project, South Dakota, pending 

 the issue of public notice modifying or abrogating the notices 

 heretofore issued. 



A stay of proceedings looking to the cancellation of 

 entries or water right applications because of failure to make 

 payment will become effective as to all water right applica- 

 tions subject to public notices heretofore issued upon the 

 payment of $1.50 per acre on or before March 31, 1911, 

 subject however to future compliance with the conditions 

 of a public notice to be hereafter issued making an increased 

 building charge which shall be between $35 and $38 per acre. 

 Such stay of proceedings shall remain in effect until further 

 announcement by means of a public notice or otherwise. No 

 water will be furnished in any case unless the holdings of 

 the applicant shall have been conformed to the farm unit 

 shown on the approved farm unit plats. 



Upon failure to make payment as herein required on 

 or before March 31, 1911, the entry, or water-right applica- 

 tion, or both, as the case may be, which would otherwise 

 be subject to cancellation will be promptly canceled without 

 further notice. 



All applications for water rights filed under the provi- 

 sions of the notices heretofore issued and for which the pay- 

 ment necessary to avoid cancellation shall have been made 

 on or before March 31, 1911, shall be continued in effect at 

 the same building charge as fixed in such prior notices. 



The Secretary of the Interior has authorized the Recla- 

 mation Service to extend the contract with the W. J. Hoy 

 Contracting Company, Saint Paul, Minnesota, in connection 

 with its work of enlarging the Main South Side Canal 

 of the Boise irrigation project, Idaho, to include the lining 

 of a part of the canal. The contract which is now executed 

 involves the payment of $18,000 upon completion of the work. 



WHAT IRRIGATION HAS DONE. 



In his annual report, recently submitted to the Presi- 

 dent, Secretary James Wilson, of the United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture, devotes much space to the irriga- 

 tion investigations conducted by his department. As is well 

 known to those interested in the subject of irrigation, in- 

 vestigations have resulted in the accumulation of a vast 

 quantity of information about the progress and practice of 

 irrigation throughout the West. In recent years, in addi- 

 tion to the general investigations heretofore conducted, much 

 attention has been given to assisting new settlers on the 

 many public and private irrigation projects that have opened 

 new irrigated land for occupancy. 



"During the past year," says the Secretary, "the Office 

 of Experiment Stations, while maintaining most of the old 

 lines of work in its irrigation investigations, has endeavored 

 to modify its plans as to meet the demands for information 

 on the new issues which are constantly arising. 



"This is particularly true as regards the assistance which 

 has been given to the new settlers. The task of converting 

 desert land into productive fileds is not :easy under the most 

 favorable conditions, but when the one who attempts it 

 knows little or nothing about irrigated farming the difficul- 

 ties are greatly increased. Those in charge of irrigation 

 investigation in the West, have, therefore, devoted a con- 

 siderable portion of their time to advising the newcomers as 

 to the methods best adapted to their individual needs. This 

 personal advice, supplemented by practical bulletins, has done 

 much to prevent mistakes and to safeguard the settler from 

 either partial or total failure. 



"In former days water for irrigation purposes was both 

 plentiful and cheap and in attempting to use it much was 

 wasted. In many parts of the West the old wasteful methods 

 still prevail, although the value of water has increased many 

 fold. The results of seepage measurements of irrigation 

 channels obtained by the Department, coupled with the high 

 price of water rights and the rise in value of agricultural 

 products, have induced many companies to line their main 

 canals. As a result, many channels which formerly lost from 

 20 to 30 per cent of their total flow are now practically water- 

 tight. In many cases such improvements would not have 

 been made if the attention of the managers had not been 

 called by our engineers to the large losses sustained and the 

 best means of preventing this waste. In other cases farmers 

 used farge amounts of water without realizing how excessive 

 was the use until measurements were taken. When the irri- 

 gators of the San Joaquin Valley in California first began to 

 apply water on what had been dry farmed grain fields they 

 frequently used over nine feet. Now about one-third of this 

 amount is found to be ample. The water users of Greeley 

 and neighboring districts in Colorado used to think their 

 crops would burn up unless they had a miner's inch of water 

 to the acre. Now they are raising crops on the same ground 

 that are worth about four times as much with one-fourth 

 the water formerly used. They are learning that cultivation 

 takes the place of irrigation to a great extent. 



"The demonstration farms established in former years 

 have been maintained. These have been of great value during 

 the past year in showing, among other things, the benefits to 

 be derived from the use of scanty water supplies on smalt 

 fields in connection with dry farming. At the Cheyenne farm 

 during the past season, 54 bushels of oats were raised per 

 acre with the application of only eight inches of irrigation 

 water, while the crop grown without irrigation was practic- 

 ally a failure. Alfalfa yielded 4,805 pounds of hay per acre 

 with the application of 13.2 inches, while the unirrigated fielcf 

 yielded only 550 pounds. Beardless barley, with the applica- 

 tion of 9.7 inches of water, yielded 31 bushels per acre; that 

 unirrigated and raised on summer fallowed ground yielded 

 only 2'/2 bushels. At Gooding, Idaho, 8.8 tons of red clover 

 was harvested from land which received only 19 inches of 

 irrigation water. These results show what can be done with 

 a limited supply of water when properly applied. 



PERSONAL. 



Mr. R. E. Wilson, formerly Industrial Agent of the At- 

 chison, Topeka & Santa Fe Ry., has been appointed Industrial 

 Agent of the Union Depot Bridge and Terminal Ry. Co.. 

 with headquarters at Kansas City, Mo. 



