THE IKRIGATION AGE. 



351 



Lake City. He wrote subsequently to the Busi- 

 ness Association of Wichita, asking if they wanted 

 to entertain the congress at a meeting this fall. The 

 plan is to hold this congress on the same date as 

 that of the Trans-Mississippi Commercial Congress, 

 October 22. Full information as to the final de- 

 cision has not reached us. 



The state board of irrigation has issued notices 

 that bids will be received for the putting down of 

 well, construction of reservoirs, furnishing, install- 

 ing of windmills, engines, pumps and other neces- 

 sary equipment for the installation of state irriga- 

 tion plants in Wichita, Kane and Wallace counties. 



It is reported that in the big orchards around 

 Hutchinson, no trouble is found owing to dry 

 weather, as people in that vicinity are getting their 

 orchards wet by means of irrigation. Scores of 

 gasoline engines are chugging away, lifting the 

 water from the under-flow and sending it through 

 ditches along to the roots of the trees. 



The lands purchased by the state of Kansas, 

 near Larned, for a new state hospital for the insane, 

 are expected to supply enough farm products for 

 all the state institutions, and that the cost bill for 

 maintaining the commissaries of these institutions 

 will be cut in two. A modern irrigation plant to 

 provide water for the entire farm, and a modern 

 canning factory to take care of the crops will be 

 installed on the property. 



The State Board of Irrigation of Kansas will 

 try out test theories of irrigation in Ford county. 

 A Mr. Hines, of Scott City, who recently visited 

 Dodge City, talked on the plan of the board, with 

 the idea of feeling out the sentiments of the farmers 

 toward having the county give forty acres of land 

 to the state for an experimental station. Windmill 

 irrigation will solve the problem of moisture for 

 western Kansas, in the opinion of Mr. Hines, who is 

 urging the farmers to install as many individual 

 pumping plants as possible. 



One of the first big irrigation projects to be 

 constructed in Hodgeman county is now completed 

 on the Harrington ranch on Sawlog creek. A large 

 cement dam was constructed across the creek, and 

 gasoline engines are used to pump the water to the 

 ditches. Though put into operation but recently, the 

 plant has made crop prospects on the Harrington ranch 

 better than any in that part of the county. 



WASHINGTON. 



Although Secretary of the Interior Lane has 

 not authorized a statement as to his decision on 

 furthering the work on the Sun River irrigation 

 project, his remarks to the settlers at several public 

 meetings indicate a favorable attitude. 



Land within government reclamation projects 

 oannot be assessed and therefor taxes do not have 

 to be paid on them while the United States -holds 

 title, regardless of how valuable the development 

 of the land. This according to the Spokesman 

 Review of Spokane is enforcing the important ruling 



that has just been laid down by Judge Frank S. 

 Ueidrick, of the federal court for the Idaho jurisdic- 

 tion, and will have its influence not only on recla- 

 mation projects in Idaho but every State in the 

 Union where the reclamation of land is being car- 

 ried on by the Reclamation Service. 



A new irrigation project of 5,000 acres near 

 Bray's Landing, 25 miles up the Columbia River 

 from Wenatchee, Wash., is now under develop- 

 ment. H. S. Goodrich of Topeka, Kan., a capitalist 

 with whom is largely the control of considerable 

 Kansas money, is the promoter. 



WYOMING. 



That an investigation of the methods of finan- 

 cing The Laramie-Poudre Irrigation Company, 

 which was organized in Denver six years ago, with 

 a capitalization of $375,000, will shortly be insti- 

 tuted was announced in western papers recently. 

 The Laramie-Poudre Irrigation Company took over 

 from The Greeley-Poudre Irrigation District its 

 bond issue of $5,100,000 on September 8, 1909. Of 

 the total capitalization $4,000,000 of the bonds were 

 sold to the banking house of Parson Sons & Co., 

 at 82y 2 cents. 



The Big Wind River Land & Irrigation Com- 

 pany, capital stock $3,000,000, was incorporated 

 under the W'yoming laws recently, and immediately 

 thereafter entered into a contract with the State 

 Board of Land Control to take over the property 

 of and complete the irrigation project of The Wyo- 

 ming Central Irrigation Company. The new com- 

 pany is backed by the Franco-American interests, 

 largely interested in Wyoming oil and represented 

 by the firm of Day & Kennefick. Under its agree- 

 ment with the State the Big Wind River Company 

 must reclaim at least 200,000 acres of the ceded 

 portion of the Wind River Indian reservation. 



The Independent Irrigation Company, which 

 proposes to complete an irrigation system in Park 

 County, Wyoming, begun by the defunct Big Horn 

 Basin Development Company, has deposited with 

 Frank L. Huff a bond for $50,000 to guarantee his 

 performance of the contract under which the State 

 will permit it to proceed with the work. Mr. Huff 

 is Secretary of State. The project which the com- 

 pany proposes to complete is known as The Ore- 

 gon Basin Project and is intended to reclaim 300,- 

 000 acres with water from the Shoshone River. 

 The stock of The Independent Company to the 

 amount of $900,000 has been placed. 



The large irrigation flume over the Laramie 

 River on the Hart Ranch is completed and the 

 structure will be inspected for acceptance soon. 

 The new flume will reclaim considerable land which 

 has been unfit heretofore for cultivation. 



J. M. Cohan, a settler in the Wyoming Central 

 Irrigation Company's "low line" ditch, will fight 

 the company's attempt to foreclose on his place be- 

 cause he has failed to pay out on the water contract. 

 He will allege that the company also has failed to 

 keep its end of the contract. This case will be a test 

 which will be watched with interest by other settlers. 



