326 



THE IREIGATION AGE. 



Canadian newspapers regard the sweeping victory won 

 by the liberal party in the Saskatchewan elections as a 

 sign that the northwestern provinces enthusiastically favor 

 reciprocity with the United States. The Toronto Globe, 

 the leading organ of the liberal party, says that "the Sas- 

 katchewan election and the nomination of Woodrow Wil- 

 son for the United States presidency by the Democrats 

 on a platform that includes the retention of the reciprocity 

 offer to Canada clarify the political situation in both coun- 

 tries. The fight for larger markets and against taxation 

 of foodstuffs is only begun. It wilj be the supreme issue 

 in another general election." 



It may well be said that irrigation, as a 

 Irrigate general proposition is still in its infancy, 



According and that in 90 per cent of the projects in 



To Sound actual operation the application of water to 



nnciples growing crops by artificial methods is very 



crude. This is particularly the case in states 

 and countries where the supply of water is bountiful, or the 

 irrigable land is only partly in use or where both con- 

 ditions prevail. Thus it has come to pass that a great 

 deal more of water is used for irrigation than the land 

 requires, or, in other words, a very low duty is obtained 

 from the water used. 



As, however, the area of land requiring irrigation 

 keeps on growing the demand for more water becomes 

 imperative and it is necessary that the old, crude and 

 wasteful methods be abandoned and modern ideas, based 

 upon scientific principles and practical facts, be sub- 

 stituted. It would be an interesting tabulation if the 

 government, through its hydrographic bureau would ob- 

 serve the total precipitation over the entire United States 

 and show what the average rainfall would be over this 

 tremendous area. This would give us then the volume 

 of the water which sustains animal and vegetable life, 

 and which feeds the springs, lakes and rivers and re- 

 plenishes the oceans. A statistical report of this nature 

 is not published at the present time, so far as we know, 

 but it would certainly be very interesting and useful in- 

 formation. It would show a tremendous volume of 

 water which would be more than sufficient for all the 

 needs of organic life. 



It has been shown that fairly good crops can be 

 grown in countries where the annual rainfall is as low as 

 12 inches, and that a rainfall of 24 inches at the proper 

 time furnishes abundant moisture for the most bountiful 

 crops. From these figures it may be concluded that the 

 application of irrigation water to growing crops exceed- 

 ing 36 inches during irrigation season is clearly ex- 

 travagance. 



A flow of water delivering one cubic foot per second 

 will cover a square mile, or 640 acres 13^ inches deep, or 

 320 acres 27 inches deep in one year. However, as the 

 irrigation season does not extend through the entire year, 

 allowance must be made for a larger volume during such 

 season. Thus, if the season extends over six months and 

 if 27 acre inches of water are required per season, then 

 the stream of one cubic foot per second in six months 

 would cover only 160 acres to the required depth of 27 

 inches, thus making the duty 160 acres per second foot 

 of water. In California the duty range.s from 120 to 200 

 acres per second foot, while in Utah one second foot is 

 allowed for only 70 acres, and on some of the older 

 projects some owners have the right to use as much as 

 a second foot to 20 acres, which means 144 inches in four 

 months. It is, of course, utterly impossible for the soil 



or crops to use that much water in a beneficial way, and 

 such water rights should, therefore, be set aside by law and 

 the water which these old settlers cannot make use of 

 should be made available for new projects which now are 

 without sufficient water. It would be better to leave the 

 water run idly in its bed than to apply it in excessive 

 quantities to lands where it will cause damage by in- 

 filtration or seepage. 



Another cause of waste in water is the heavy evapora- 

 tion during the hot season, especially in the arid regions, 

 and this loss may reach as high as 50 per cent of the flow. 

 The loss from this source cannot be entirely prevented 

 unless the water be conducted through pipes or covered 

 flumes, which method would be quite expensive, but 

 should be applied where circumstances will justify it. 



The carrying of irrigation water in pipes or covered 

 flumes is the ideal method where water is scarce and the 

 maximum duty of the same is desired; it prevents losses 

 due to evaporation and seepage, and thus utilizes every 

 drop of the available water. 



A recent announcement by the Department 

 of Agriculture states that President Taft 

 National nas authorized considerable changes in the 



Forest national forests by modifying boundary 



Reserves lines and eliminating over 200,000 acres 



which are restored to the states wherein 

 they are located. 



Our readers will remember that the area of the na- 

 tional forests reached a maximum in 1909 when they in- 

 cluded over 194 millions of acres. This has been reduced 

 by about seven millions of acres during the Taft adminis- 

 tration, thus leaving still the enormous area of 187 mil- 

 lions of acres, equal in area of over 292,000 square miles, 

 which is equal to the area of a square having a side of 

 540 miles. These forests have been practically alienated 

 from the states within whose boundaries they are by 

 reason of the Federal Government taking control and 

 operating them by Federal employes. 



We concede that moderate forestry reservations are 

 a good thing and should be kept up for many reasons, 

 but we do not think it proper that the national govern- 

 ment should step in to control, nay to appropriate, the 

 forests which are, and always were, the property of the 

 various states. 



We can concieve of no reason why, for instance, the 

 state of Montana should not be just as competent to take 

 care of and preserve the necessary forests within its 

 boundaries than can the Federal Government, and, in fact, 

 it could do so more effectively and at a must less expense 

 account than can the Federal authorities. It would also 

 give the various states, by having control of their forests, 

 the benefits accruing from the proper use of forests in the 

 way of timber production and grazing lands, which are 

 now handled in a rather uncertain way. 



It stands to reason that with the supervision of these 

 forests placed in the national capital it will be impossible 

 to satisfactorily look after all the necessary details re- 

 quired by the administration of such forests, and that, 

 on the' other hand, each state is bes* fitted to look after 

 the forests within its boundaries. The resident population 

 in each state is more competent to judge about its neces- 

 sities than administration officers in Washington, no 

 matter how well they may be qualified and disposed to do 

 the right thing. 



The action of the Taft administration in reducing the 

 total area somewhat, a little over 3J/2 per cent, is a move 



