THE IKRIGATION AGE. 



1015 



The state of Colorado appears to have 

 An Innovation taken the lead in a move to advance the 

 Which interests of Irrigation to a considerable 



Promises degree by the legislature appropriating $10,- 



Good Results. 000 for experimental work and investiga- 

 tion in irrigation and drainage. Although 

 this appropriation was later on cut to $5,800 by the governor 

 to bring it within the revenues of the state, it marks the 

 beginning of a new era in the development of irrigation 

 and drainage, as this $5,800 will prove to be an enter- 

 ing wedge, which is sure to be followed by more and greater 

 appropriations in the future. And another fact should be 

 noted here in this connection which is that the federal gov- 

 ernment is highly in favor of such a policy and has agreed 

 to add $5,800 of the government funds to supplement the 

 state appropriation. Thus state and federal government go 

 hand in hand to develop the resources of the state along 

 scientific lines, as it ought to be done. 



The work will undoubtedly be under the direction of 

 the Colorado Agricultural College and will embrace investi- 

 gations as to how best apply water for the growing of 

 various crops and comparing various systems with each 

 other; also the determination of the best time to irrigate 

 crops on different soils and the amount of water necessary 

 for the best results; the subject of pumping plants for irri- 

 gation purposes ; best form of flumes, ditches, pipes, etc., 

 to carry the water will also be duly considered. 



What Colorado is doing now should be done by all other 

 states having problems of irrigation and drainage, and that 

 means that practically every state in the union should take 

 action to begin systematic work in the development of its 

 agricultural resources, either in conjunction with or inde- 

 pendent of the national government. The problems involved 

 are nation-wide and of sufficient importance to have Congress 

 enact a law to have the federal government give aid, both 

 scientific and financial, to all states that are making progress 

 in solving their agricultural problems on modern and scien- 

 tific lines. 



Should be 

 Watched. 



Crop failures by drought in many states 

 Rain where the rainfall is supposed to be suffi- 



and cient to raise abundant crops is making the 



Auxiliary affected farmers think of means to help 



Irrigation. out by irrigation when the rain fails to 



arrive in time. Many farmers on the At- 

 lantic coast in Maryland and Delaware are investigating 

 the possibilities of irrigation to supplement the rainfall and 

 thus insure themselve's against crop losses due to a deficiency 

 in rainfall. 



This principle of irrigation in the rain-belt is by no 

 means new but has proven to be highly profitable in almost 

 every instance where it was tried. The progressive, up-to-date 

 farmer will no longer entirely depend upon the rain for 

 the growing of his crops if he has any means at hand 

 whereby he can irrigate his fields and there are few farms 

 so situated as to have no means for some irrigation as a 

 windmill and pump can be made to do sprinkling duty on 

 most any farm. Small reservoirs built at the higher part 

 of the land with piping and sprinkler attachment would help 

 out wonderfully in a very dry spell and turn the water into 

 money at the harvest time. 



Elsewhere appears another forcible let- 

 The Financial ter by Mr O'Neill bearing upon the sub- 

 Situation j ect and shol ,i d be thoroughly and care- 

 fully considered by our readers. The 

 very idea of a banking trust is repug- 

 nant to the fair play loving American 

 citizen and any attempt for the formation of such a trust 

 should be combated to the bitter end. 



Whether Wall street will be able to dictate the finan- 

 cial policy of the country much longer, after the real 

 wealth of the country is centered in the west is a question 

 which the observant mind doubts very much. The estab- 

 lishment of postal savings bank, while by no means a 

 perfect or even satisfactory measure is, however, an enter- 

 ing wedge which by judicious amendments and extensions 

 should form an impassible barrier for a financial trust 

 such as Mr. O'Neill describes. 



It is, however, necessary to watch developments and 

 In doing so Mr. O'Neill is performing a valuable service 

 to the entire country. 



THE IRRIGATION AGE reaches irrigators all over the world, 

 but 90 per cent of its readers are residents of the United 

 States. Manufacturers of irrigation and farm appliances will 

 do well to consider this fact when placing advertisements. 



And now Paradise is to be reclaimed and 

 Thoughts reconverted into a paradise by the Turk- 



That ish government by irrigating a 600,000- 



Come acre tract between the rivers Tigris and 



and Go. Euphrates in Mesopotamia. 



* * * 



A year's subscription to THE IRRIGATION AGE costs but 

 one dollar; the cost of the "Primer of Hydraulics" is $2.50, 

 and the combined cost of book and journal is $3.00. The 

 "Primer of Hydraulics" is the only book giving a scientific 

 treatise on hydraulics intended for plain people without a 

 college education. 



* * * 



The Madero government in Mexico is evidently trying 

 to make good and is making plans for a national irrigation 

 propaganda. There is nothing that will make a nation more 

 patriotic than prosperity and peace, and if the Madero gov- 

 ernment carries out its plans the happiness of Mexico will 

 become an established fact. 



* * * 



The irrigator, like any other mortal, must learn many 

 lessons by experience, but those he learns from the experi- 

 ences of others don't cost him anything. Moral : Read THE 

 IRRIGATION AGE and write us your experience for publication, 

 so as to help the other fellow. 



* * * 



Water may be wasted in many ways, but it cannot be 



destroyed ; much of what is called wasted water does duty 



^n various ways, such as in springs and wells, and much 



of it comes back in the form of rain and dew to refresh and 



nourish nature. 



* * * 



Next to a fully irrigated ranch, with its full quota of 

 accessories, comes a good road to enable the irrigator to 

 take his produce to market. A highway in good condition 

 means prosperity and comfort for the community wherein 

 it is located. * * * 



Public highways of today are a distinct improvement 

 over those of a decade ago, yet there is considerable op- 

 portunity for further improvement in this direction. 



* * * 



The "Primer of Hydraulics" will be ready about Janu- 

 ary 1, 1912. Send in your order now as you renew your 

 subscription to THE IRRIGATION AGE and save fifty cents by 

 so doing. 



