THE IERIGATION AGE. 



347 



Reclamation Notes 



ARIZONA. 



Engineer F. W. Hanna, formerly project engi- 

 neer of The Boise project, but later in the depart- 

 ment at Washington, was selected as confidential 

 examiner of reclamation projects by George B. 

 French, one of the commissioners named by Secre- 

 tary of the Interior Lane. Engineer Hanna has re- 

 cently completed a thorough examination of the 

 Roosevelt project in Arizona and left for Washing- 

 ton with his report recently. Before leaving Phoe- 

 nix, Mr. Hanna expressed himself as exceedingly 

 pleased with what he had seen and especially de- 

 lighted with the condition of the valley. It is the 

 gem valley of the whole number that have been the 

 subject of the work of the Reclamation Service, he 

 stated to a newspaper reporter. Judging from other 

 comments by Mr. Hanna it is presumed that his 

 report will be exceedingly favorable, although he 

 could take a lesson from some of the other govern- 

 ment officials who have recently talked too much, 

 and confine his opinion to his report rather perhaps 

 than give it to the newspapers in the Salt River 

 Valley prior to its publication by the department at 

 Washington. 



Charles W T hitback of the legal department of 

 the United States Reclamation Service, recently on 

 a visit to Phoenix, Ariz., stated that a big lawsuit 

 will soon define the water rights on the Gila plain. 

 The main parties, numbering three, are now 

 strengthening their positions for the battle. If the 

 lawsuit comes the United States will certainly step 

 in and demand the Indians' rights. The other par- 

 ties are the water users of the Florence region. 



CALIFORNIA. 



Irrigation decisions rendered in the Fresno Su- 

 perior Court years ago will go into effect soon and 

 the Kings County Canal will be entitled to 200 

 cubic feet of water per second out of the Kings 

 River while the Fresno Canal & Irrigation Com- 

 pany will be entitled to the remainder. By this 

 ruling irrigators on the Fresno side of the river 

 will be greatly benefited, as recently there was 

 1,250 cubic feet of water flowing in the river. Of 

 this amount Kings Canal received 250 cubic feet, 

 while the Fresno Canal received the balance of 900 

 cubic feet. 



Judge J. W r . Witten, a government official of 

 the land department, has been at El Centre to in- 

 vestigate best ways and means to open 120,000 

 acres of land withdrawn in 1908. The land has 

 been in demand by hundreds offering applications 

 but they have been rejected on the grounds that 

 the land was not open to entry. These claimants 

 hope to have a new plan adopted to give them prior 

 rights to the land. 



tion work in Yolo County, California. This is by 

 far the largest amount spent on reclaiming land in 

 the history of that section of the country. The an- 

 nual report of County Auditor R. P. Wallace, from 

 which the above information was obtained, shows 

 that the proceeds of the sale of reclamation bonds 

 amounted to $999,000,035 during the fiscal year 

 1913-1914. 



In a single day recently small farms valued at 

 $60,000 were sold to actual farmers in one of the 

 big irrigated land projects of the Sacramento Val- 

 ley (California). This is an indication of the re- 

 sults that must come to that State from the de- 

 velopment of the vast area of valley lands lying 

 along the big rivers. 



The people of Livingston and vicinity endorsed 

 the irrigation district plan at a meeting held in that 

 town recently ; this meeting was attended by scores 

 of residents of Livingston and farmers and water 

 users in the vicinity. 



W. Hanson has been irrigating his corn crop 

 on the river bottom near Glenn. It is perhaps the 

 first time in the history of Glenn County, California, 

 that the corn crop on the river bottom had to be 

 irrigated to be assured. The river bottom soil here- 

 tofore has always carried enough moisture to mature 

 late crops of all kinds. 



The great need of the irrigated West today is 

 not more projects but settlers for the projects that 

 are completed or will be completed within the next 

 few years, says the Fresno (Cal.) Republican. The 

 period from 1899 to 1909 shows that there were 

 'more than 6,000,000 acres brought under irrigation, 

 yet making a liberal allowance for the lands that 

 will probably never be profitably irrigated, the en- 

 terprises on July 1, 1910, were able to supply water 

 to more than half as much more land, and if the 

 next ten years is to see two-thirds of the area in 

 projects not irrigated in 1909, 12,000,000 acres must 

 be settled and irrigated. 



What is declared to be one of the most com- 

 plete and economical irrigation systems ever in- 

 stalled in southern California is now nearing com- 

 pletion at North Whittier Heights the Citrus and 

 Sub-Tropical Orchard Land Subdivision, about two 

 miles northeast of Whittier, which is noted as hav- 

 ing the most valuable and profitable citrus groves 

 in all the world. The source of water for the sys- 

 tem is from a 12-inch well which has been sunk to 

 a depth of 836 feet, and in which the water rises 

 within 6 feet of the surface. 



The first steps towards the formation of the 

 new irrigation district near Oroville, Butte County, 

 were taken at a meeting of the chamber of com- 

 merce held in that city recently. It was decided 

 that a mass meeting of those who will have their 

 lands watered by the system shall be held there late 

 in August. 



During the fiscal year ending July 1, 1913, 

 the sum of $1,055,106 has been spent in reclama- 



Eleven thousand acres will be reclaimed in So- 

 lano County, near Suisun, Cal. 



