24 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



(Continued from page 14.) 



by the enormous increase in the production of petroleum, 

 most of which is used for fuel. The oil produced in Cal- 

 ifornia in 1910 aggregated between 65,000,000 and 70,000,- 

 000 barrels, which, on the basis of 3J/z barrels of oil for 

 each ton of high grade coal, would be equal to a produc- 

 tion of nearly 20,000,000 tons of coal. 



The use of petroleum by the transportation and manu- 

 facturing industries of California has practically eliminated 

 coal as a steam-raising fuel in the state. Oil is also used 

 in the manufacture of gas, which is employed for cooking 

 and for heating residences as well as for lighting. Oil is 

 now also coming into use as a direct fuel for household 

 purposes. 



IMPORTANT NOTICE TO INTENDING SETTLERS. 



Complaints have been received from settlers on recla- 

 mation projects that by reason of the m-srepresentations 

 of land agents they have been induced to purchase lands 

 which were afterward found to be without any rights to 

 water from the government canals. The Secretary of the 

 Interior today issued the following warning which, while 

 it refers particularly to the Rio Grande project in New 

 Mexico and Texas, is equally applicable to other projects 

 containing large areas of private lands: 



"All persons are warned against accepting any state- 

 ments concerning this project, without inquiry from the 

 officers of the Reclamation Service. Experience has shown 

 that some warning of this kind is necessary because mis- 

 leading statements have been issued regarding the project 

 and the conditions existing upon it. The project has many 

 advantages and would not have been taken up and pushed 

 unless it was considered feasible and worthy of develop- 

 ment. These facts, however, do not warrant certain exag- 

 gerated statements which have been made. 



"In particular, attention is directed to the require- 

 ments of the Reclamation Act regarding residence and 

 cultivation. The act prescribes that no right to the use 

 of water for land in private ownership shall be sold for a 

 tract exceeding 160 acres to any one landowner, and that 

 no such sale shall be made to any landowner unless he be 

 an actual bona fide resident on such land or occupant 

 thereof, residing in the neighborhood of said land. 



"It is also required that the landowner shall reclaim 

 at least one-half of the total irrigable area of his land for 

 agricultural purposes before any right to the use of water 

 shall permanently attach. Ignorance of these and similar 

 requirements has resulted in great embarrassment to pur- 

 chasers. 



"It is not known how many years will be required 

 for the construction of the storage dam, nor is it safe to 

 make predictions as to when water will be available in 

 view of the many uncertainties existing. 



"Warning is also given that the amount of available 

 water power has been grossly exaggerated in many current 

 discussions. It is not definitely known that there will be 

 any power available for sale, and there is no assurance 

 that it will produce dividends reducing the cost of water 

 rights. 



"Purchasers are warned against being misled by the 

 statement that certain tracts are 'signed up' under the gov- 

 ernment irrigation project. This 'signing up" is the land- 

 owner's subscription to the water users' association. It 

 designates tracts of land and subjects to liability for wa- 

 ter charges so much thereof as shall hereafter be fur- 

 nished with water from the government works, but it 

 does not in any way bind the government to furnish water 

 in any particular tract. On the contrary, considerable 

 areas have been thus designated in subscriptions to which, 

 because of location, elevation, physical conditions, or other 

 reasons, water can never be furnished. Prospective pur- 

 chasers should not rely upon the statement that land is 

 'signed up,' but should carefully investigate and satisfy 

 themselves that the tracts offered to them are in fact 

 likely to be furnished with water under the project. 



"While it is not possible to give definite assurance on 

 many of these points, the persons interested are advised 

 to read carefully the terms of the Reclamation Act or 

 consult the publications such as 'Questions and Answers,' 

 which have been prepared to explain some of the require- 

 ments of the law." 



IMPROVEMENTS IN THE STATE OF WASH- 

 INGTON. 



Bv AUGUST WOLF, 225 HUTTON BLDC., SPOKANE, WASH. 



Official announcement will be made before the end of 

 September by the Pacific Power and Light Company of 

 its plans to develop 1,000,000 horsepower by hydro-electric 

 installation in the Columbia river at Priest Rapids, south- 

 west of Spokane, at a cost of from $6,000,000 to $10,000,000, 

 according to advices from White Bluffs, Wash. It is esti- 

 mated that from six to nine years will be required to com- 

 plete the work. 



The project includes the construction of an enormous 

 dam across the river at the foot of the rapids, the face of 

 the wall being 75 feet in height, or equal to the drop of 

 the stream in a distance of nine miles; the building of the 

 high line canal of the Hanford irrigation project, which 

 the Pacific company owns, and the stringing of a network 

 of transmission lines through the White Bluffs country, 

 to supply power and light to a large part of eastern 

 Washington. 



A wing dam, diverting part of the current of the 

 Columbia river from the main channel into a power canal 

 is now furnishing electric power for the Pacific company 

 at Priest Rapids. The use of this method of developing 

 power will be continued until the larger dam is ready to 

 take the load. 



The measure recently passed by Congress, giving the 

 Pacific company authority to dam the Columbia river, also 

 provided for locks whereby navigation will be aided rather 

 than hindered by the building of the dam. The lands un- 

 der the present low line ditch of the irrigation project, 

 and the proposed high line ditch, are being reclassified. 



The construction of the Chicago, Milwaukee & Puget 

 Sound Railroad from Beverly on the main line, 60 miles 

 up the Columbia river from White Bluffs, has been de- 

 layed until the power company determines upon its plans 

 and establishes its rights at the rapids. The railroad 

 company made four surveys around the face of a rock 

 wall 400 feet in height, and the line will now follow a 

 75-foot grade to keep above the level of the dam. To 

 carry out this survey a cut will be made in the face of 

 the rock wall for nine miles, one of the most expensive 

 pieces of railway construction in the western country. 

 The company has secured the right-of-way between Bev- 

 erly and White Bluffs, and announcement has been made 

 that grading will be started within 90 days. 



(Continued from Page 23.) 



S. H. Brown is installing a novel pumping plant on 

 his farm, a half mile from Gervais. Mr. Brown has just 

 completed a reservoir 14 feet in diameter and 35 feet in 

 depth and through the bottom of this well he will have 

 two 6-inch wells drilled. The plant consists of an 11 horse- 

 power gasoline engine equipped with a pumping apparatus 

 to pump 500 gallons per minute. 



The Powder Valley Irrigation and Development Com- 

 pany of Baker has given a $4,000,000 mortgage to the 

 Union Safe Deposit Company of New York. This mort- 

 gage is given on 70,000 acres of land in Baker county, 

 known as the Thief Valley project. This project will now 

 be rushed to completion. 



E. P. Hopson of the U. S. Reclamation Service is au- 

 thority for the statement that the Government will spend 

 approximately $200,000 in Klamath county next year. The 

 principal work to be done is to build a canal for irrigating 

 lands in Poe Valley and a strip along the east side of Lost 

 River is also to be supplied with water. 



A proposition to carry out the project of reclaiming 

 27,004 acres of land in Crook county is being considered 

 by the State Desert Land Board. The land lies on the 

 west side of the Deschutes River near Laidlaw. The segre- 

 gation was made on behalf of The Three Sisters Irrigation 

 Company, which promised to reclaim the land with water 

 from the regular flow of Tumalo Creek. This company 



(Continued on Page 26.) 



