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THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



Thus is proven the fact that individual efforts have 

 done by far more for the advancement of irrigation than 

 all other agencies taken together and this is really the 

 better method as such farmers and settlers occupy the 

 land, cultivate it, raise crops and gradually form happy 

 and prosperous communities. 



The "Forecast for the Future" contains many timely 

 pointers which it will be well to consider carefully. 

 According to statistics there are now something like 5 

 millions of acres supplied with water, ready for cultiva- 

 tion, but without settlers or tenants, and there are several 

 more millions of acres being made ready for irrigation. 

 These figures touch a vital spot and show that the 

 principal problem at present is to provide settlers for 

 the unoccupied irrigated areas rather than keep up con- 

 struction work to increase the number of vacant acres. 

 Some systematic efforts should be made to induce immi- 

 gration to the irrigated lands and special advantages 

 should be offered bona fide settlers in the way of cost 

 of land and payments for water rights. More missionary 

 work should be done among the city dwellers of people 

 working in shops and factories and the point should be 

 particularly emphasized that a competence on an irri- 

 gated farm in a healthful climate is within their reach by a 

 judicious investment of their savings. Intending settlers 

 should understand that success does not lie so much in 

 the direction of a large acreage but rather on the quality 

 of the work and that farms with a small acreage properly 

 worked will produce larger returns than big units that are 

 improperly worked. 



Elsewhere in this issue appears a very 

 Your interesting letter from J. L. Stinson, who 



Experience describes how to raise corn successfully 



Is in the state of Idaho. It gives his ex- 



Valuable, perience with many disappointments and 



trials, but his efforts are finally crowned 

 with success. The benefits of such work are far reaching 

 and epoch-making, and the endeavors thus made and 

 sacrifices brought by individuals reflect benefits and pros- 

 perity upon whole communities and states, even to whole 

 nations. 



The publicity given to letters of this kind is of vast 

 importance in spreading such valuable information broad- 

 cast and making it available for farmers situated in similar 

 circumstances to those surrounding Mr. Stinson. Hence 

 the necessity of the progressive and successful farmer 

 being a reader of the most up-to-date literature bearing 

 upon the various phases of his work. 



The columns of THE IRRIGATION ACE are peculiarly 

 well adapted for disseminating knowledge of this char- 

 acter, as they reach many thousands of readers all over 

 the world, all of whom are interested in the same objects; 

 hence the experience of individual farmers when presented 

 to them in a form as that of Mr. Stinson will surely 

 prove beneficial to such readers and stir them to action. 

 Some of them may have similar problems which may be 

 solved directly by the methods described; others will 

 have problems that cannot so be treated, but the success 

 attained by the above named writer will fire them to 

 experiment themselves like Mr. Stinson describes and 

 many of them will be successful. But those who are 

 unsuccessful must not feel discouraged but try to locate 

 the trouble or cause of such failure. One of the greatest 

 virtues of the farmer and irrigator is perseverance, which, 

 if persisted in, will finally spell success. 



As irrigators and farmers are mostly living in isolated 



localities they have little opportunity to exchange experi- 

 ences with each other, and the work of Mr. Stinson, re- 

 ferred to above, would probably never be known any 

 farther than a few miles from his ranch. Here then 

 comes the important function of THE IRRIGATION AGE, 

 which periodical carries such information to many thou- 

 sands of readers all over the earth giving every one the 

 benefit of the experiences related. Thus the importance of 

 the correspondence department in our journal must be 

 conceded, and in order to increase its usefulness the 

 editor again calls the attention of all readers to the neces- 

 sity of writing to THE IRRIGATION AGE about their experi- 

 ences in the way of raising crops, handling irrigation 

 water, drainage, spraying and any other work which they 

 deem interesting and instructive. No one is better quali- 

 fied to write upon these subjects than the men who are 

 actually engaged in the work from day to day. They en- 

 counter the difficulties and they discover schemes and 

 methods to overcome them. 



This experience which you gain by using your time 

 and efforts is valuable to you, but more so to the thou- 

 sands of readers of THE IRRIGATION AGE who may be 

 facing the same problems and difficulties and whom you 

 will save much trouble and loss by telling them of your 

 methods and results. Hence don't neglect to inform the 

 world of your successes; it will help yourself and your 

 neighbor and advances the progress of the human race. 



The time is at hand when producers and 

 Economy consumers of every kind must recognize 



Principal the inherent law that economy in all its 



Requirement phases is an essential requirement for 

 for Success success. This applies with especial force 



to the farmer, and particularly to the 

 irrigator. In his case the value of the land is augmented 

 by the value of the water, which increases the cost of pro- 

 duction, as there is an annual maintenance charge to be 

 provided for in addition to a fair rate of interest on the 

 original ' investment. Hence he cannot afford to waste 

 anything that he produces. The time was when the 

 farmers in the Central States would burn the straw after 

 threshing their crops in order to get rid of it. Such 

 folly of course does not exist at this time, as every 

 stalk of straw is made use of everywhere at the present 

 time. Perhaps there is no country in which economy 

 in agriculture is higher developed than in Germany where 

 the density of population is many times greater than here 

 in the United States and where intense methods of farm- 

 ing must be practiced in order to provide for the wants 

 of the nation. 



A new departure has recently been reported from 

 that country relating to the drying of potatoes for the 

 purpose of reducing their bulk and weight. Ordinary 

 potatoes contain about 90 per cent of water and by this 

 new German process 75 per cent of this water is driven 

 off so that 4 tons of potatoes, after treatment, weigh but 

 one ton. The economy involved in the application of 

 this principle in the United States where freight rates 

 are high and distances great is at once easily seen and 

 would have been no mean factor during the present year 

 to reduce the high cost of living. With plenty of potatoes 

 in the Rocky Mountain States the cost of a bushel of 

 potatoes is doubled by the time it reaches Chicago, due to 

 the long distance which it must be hauled by the rail- 

 ways, but with evaporated potatoes the cost of freight 

 for one bushel would pay for the product of four bushels 



