306 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



NEW IRRIGATION CONGRESS PROPOSED 



Ogden, Utah, Ready to Furnish Permanent Home for Such an Institution 



A MOVEMENT has been started in the West for 

 the organization of a new Irrigation Congress 

 to supplant the one which was sold to the Canadian 

 land boomers. Ogden, Utah, is in the forefront of 

 the movement and offers a permanent home for 

 annual meetings of the new Congress. 



The Ogden Examiner says editorially of this 

 movement: 



"Utah was the cradle of irrigation in the United 

 States. The thrifty people who came to the Salt 

 Lake Valley were the first to put water on the land: 

 They taught the arid West a lesson that has meant 

 billions of dollars in the cause of reclamation. But 

 with all these years of progress and practical ex- 

 perience we have still much to learn of the scientific 

 use of water, and there are yet millions of acres in 

 this state waiting to blossom like the rose with the 

 coming of water. Each year there is much water 

 wasted in the irrigated districts. The warning has 

 been sounded repeatedly that farmers are using too 

 much water because it is handy. There is need of 

 conservation of water if we are to make the most 

 of our reclamation opportunities. We have had 

 much talk of new -irrigation projects, but action 

 has been deferred from time to time because of lack 

 of organization. Utah and every other state in the 

 West needs a working organization to promote irri- 

 gation and reclamation projects. It is of vital im- 

 portance to future growth. In the face of these cry- 

 ing needs that mean so much to the upbuilding of 

 the West, the Irrigation Congress, a strictly West- 

 ern institution, has been sold to Canada for a mess 

 of pottage." 



The Examiner then quotes in full an editorial 

 demand for an abrogation of the sale of the Con- 

 gress to Canada, which appeared in the July issue 

 of THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



Continuing its comment, The Examiner says: 



"It must be admitted that the Irrigation Con- 

 gress has gone' far afield from its original purpose. 



Its value to the West at the present time is prac- 

 tically nil. It has become cheap trading stock fur 

 personal favors. The last meeting held in the West 

 was at Salt Lake two years ago. The report of 

 that meeting has never been given to the public, 

 though repeated calls have been made for its pub- 

 lication. The constitution provides that this report 

 be published. George W. Snow as chairman of the 

 board of control, and Richard W. Young as chair- 

 man of the board of governors, should see to it that 

 there is no further delay in making a full report of 

 the Salt Lake session. It would not cost more than 

 $1,500 and it would be an invaluable record. If 

 there is no other way to do it the people of Salt 

 Lake should guarantee the expense until such time 

 as an appropriation can be made by the legislature. 

 That report would be a decided advantage to Judge 

 King, who is now in Salt Lake in behalf of the Sec- 

 retary of the Interior in an effort to evolve the best 

 plans for Reclamation Service. His conference with 

 attorneys of irrigation districts would profit by hav- 

 ing access to these records. 



"This is a time for prompt action by the friends 

 of irrigation in the West if the cause is to go for- 

 ward. It is time to organize a new Irrigation Con- 

 gress to take the place of the one which lapsed last 

 year and was this year sold to Canada. The West 

 should not suffer by the failure of the present Con- 

 gress to make good. Ogden offered to entertain 

 the Congress this year and was turned down. Xmv 

 Ogden will offer to entertain an Irrigation Congress 

 next year and make Utah its permanent home. It 

 will entertain such a Congress as will promote the 

 interests of the West. And it will guarantee full 

 publication of the proceedings. This city has 

 always been ready to aid in giving life to such an 

 important organization, and if Ogden is given the 

 opportunity it will build a temple to irrigation that 

 will be a beacon to progress and a signal that the 

 West has come into its own." 



A COVER CROP SHOULD BE SOWN IN THE ORCHARD 



Winter Rye Seeded This Month Can Be Plowed Under In the Spring 



E. P. SANSTEN 



Colorado Agricultural College, Fort Collins, Colorado 



THE success of an orchard depends in a large 

 degree upon the management of the soil. The 

 general tendency of Colorado fruit growers in the 

 past has been to keep the orchard in clean culture 

 from year to year with the result that the vegetable 

 matter in the soil has become depleted and the 

 trees are suffering from improper soil conditions, 

 if not from lack of fertility. Experience shows that 

 an orchard that is permanently kept in clean culti- 

 vation is not bringing the results that it should. 

 Not only this, but in many sections of the state 

 the formation of niter due in a large measure to 

 clean culture has become a serious problem. 



To remedy these defects in orcharding, cover 

 crops should be used ; that is to say, some vegeta- 

 tion should be grown among the trees to shade 

 the soil and also for turning under later in the fall. 



What crop to use in orchards can best be de- 

 termined by local conditions and character of soil. 

 In other words, the choice of plants is a local 

 problem. Any crop that will produce a large 

 amount of green material to be plowed under can 

 be used. Oats sown early in the spring will form 

 a heavy mat of herbage and should be plowed under 

 when in milk. Red clover is another excellent 

 crop, but in this case the cover crop should remain 

 in the orchard for two years. The first crop of 

 (Continued on page 313.) 



