330 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



Water for the crops when needed. The 



in this particular 

 line, who is al- 

 ways glad to co- 

 operate. In this 

 way he can do a 

 great deal of good. 



Fourth : The 

 manager must be 

 tactful in telling 

 the farmer he is 

 using too much 

 water for his own 

 good and the 

 good of his neigh- 

 bors, or that he 

 should raise this 

 crop or that crop ; 



the farmer is the most skeptical and superstitious 

 of any class of men, and at the same time the back- 

 bone of the country. Unless the farmer was of rare 

 makeup he would probably resent information given 

 in this manner, but the same information can be 

 diffused to him through the local newspapers, in 

 articles pointing out some man who has made a 

 notable success by using less water, or who has 

 made a success in specializing. 



Fifth : I am a strong believer in the men in 

 charge owning land in the project over which they 

 have charge; the settler or farmer will probably 

 argue that favoritism is practiced in the vicinity of 

 that farm, but I do not consider this as dangerous 

 a charge as that of not being interested in the enter- 

 prise, as it seems to afford the farmer a good deal 

 of satisfaction to know that the manager has all of 

 these heavy operation and maintenance charges to 

 "dig up," and in turn it gives the manager a cer- 

 tain satisfaction if he can make his farm pay or 

 meet expenses, laboring under the same conditions 

 as the neighboring farmer. This, I think, estab- 

 lishes a sympathy and comes nearer giving the man- 

 ager the viewpoint of the farmer than any other 

 thing that can be done. 



Sixth : I think a great deal can be done to 

 forestall this problem on new irrigation schemes by 

 understanding the failures in the past and making 

 use of the experience gained, as the history of the 

 railroad companies forty or fifty years ago shows 

 the same mad rush that we experienced, only a few 

 years ago, in irrigation development, with a depres- 

 sion following which caused a "survival of the fittest." 



Seventh : Too often the farmer does not realize 

 the fact that a cheap manager may cause partial 

 crop failure which may run anywhere from one dol- 

 lar to ten dollars per acre on a good many thou- 

 sands of acres ; they fail to realize that the best in- 

 vestment is intelligence, and in order to keep this 

 man they must pay a wage comparable with the 

 position he holds. 



Usually a major portion of the complaints 

 registered come from men who have been too opti- 

 mistic or who do not care to succeed, if success 

 means laborious toil and study of soil, climate and 

 market conditions. 



Eighth : The thing demanded on these irriga- 



tion projects is a 

 man with good 

 practical j u d g - 

 ment, who can 

 speak a language 

 that the layman 

 can understand, 

 who can treat 

 them like bank 

 presidents when 

 they come into 

 the office. If they 

 have a grievance 

 the man in charge 

 should be cool 



headgate on a Colorado irrigation canal. and COIllDOSed and 



explain the point 



in question so that the farmer can understand. This 

 will not always satisfy the farmer, but at least you 

 have gained his respect, and this is a long step in 

 the right direction. 



I will borrow an illustration for the point I 

 wish to make from C. H. DeCamp, one of the most 

 successful farmers in the Upper Snake River Valley. 

 The cow that was black on one side and white on 

 the other, when viewed from different sides left dif- 

 ferent impressions, both correct. What the man- 

 ager and farmer want to accomplish is to both get 

 on the same side of the cow at the same time. In 

 order to do this, the water user must understand 

 more of the technical and the manager more of the 

 practical. The manager must secure the confidence 

 and respect of the water users; he must keep in 

 touch with them ; he should take time to show the 

 farmer why the installation of a measuring device 

 is necessary for the successful division of the water 

 and will not deprive him of any of his water. 



The manager should not waste any time telling 

 the farmer about the value of "N" in Cutter's 

 formula. He doesn't know anything about it and 

 cares less. He should talk plain English ; give the 

 farmer to understand he is working for him and 

 that his interests as manager are identical with 

 those of the settler and that his success as a water 

 user and farmer means success also for the manager. 



It will perhaps seem that in this case the man- 

 ager must do the major portion of the teaching (or 

 work), but it is my firm belief that in doing so he 

 will gradually obtain the farmer's viewpoint and 

 thus he puts himself in a good position to cooperate 

 which is absolutely necessary to be successful. 



Send $1.00 for 1 year's subscription to the IRRIGA- 

 TION AGE and bound copy of THE PRIMER OF IRRIGA- 

 TION. If you desire a copy of The Primer of Hy- 

 draulics add $2.50 to above price. 



