446 



THE IRRIGATION AGE, 



require water in the near future, and 

 with these demands in mind steel 

 flumes will replace wornout wooden 

 flumes, the ditch will be relined and 

 the grade changed in several places, 

 and right of way will be purchased 

 where it has not already been se- 

 cured. The bonds will be payable in 

 twenty years, drawing 6 per cent in- 

 terest the first ten years and becom- 

 ing payable in installments the last 

 ten years. 



The Yelm irrigation project near 

 Tacoma, Wash., is about completed. 

 Costing about $100,000, the Yelm 

 project will increase the value of the 

 3,000 acres which it is to water to 

 more than $100 an acre, or giving an 

 increased value of between 75 and 100 

 per cent. Land, therefore, which now 

 sells at not more than $50 an acre will 

 be sold at $100 and perhaps more, al- 

 though the promoters of the irriga- 

 tion project the farmers themselves 

 hope to attract new settlers to the 

 land and furnish them the land at fair 

 prices. The Yelm project was first 

 mooted in 1910, but no actual work 

 was done. In March, 1912, teams and 

 men started at work digging a main 

 canal to irrigate some of the prairie 

 land. About four miles was dug and 

 it was seen the progress would be too 

 slow and expensive. In October of 

 the same year a steam shovel was 

 purchased and put to work. The main 

 canal is 11J4 miles long. 



Colorado 



A consolidation of the Omer Irri- 



gation Company and the Van Skike 

 Ditch and Reservoir Company of 

 Colorado, has been effected and ar- 

 rangements made for financing the 

 deal which will insure the irrigation 

 of about 25,000 acres of land near 

 Fowler. The plans of the consolida- 

 tion include the expenditure of $350,- 

 000 for the completion of a gigantic 

 reservoir on Apishapa creek and the 

 building of canals and laterals for car- 

 rying the water from the reservoir to 

 the land to be irrigated. Construc- 

 tion work on the reservoir and canals 

 will be started early this month. The 

 consolidation will mean the end of all 

 litigation. The new company is 

 known as the Omer-Van Skike Irriga- 

 tion Company. The plan of financing 

 the project is a new one and does not 

 call for a bond issue. In lieu of bonds, 

 promissory notes are issued which 

 operate as trust deeds on the land of 

 each individual land owner under the 

 project. These notes are issued to a 

 syndicate of eastern and local capital- 

 ists. The land to be irrigated is 

 among the most fertile in the Arkan- 

 sas valley, suitable for melon grow- 

 ing, sugar beets, alfalfa and other 

 products. 



The federal government is progress- 

 ing rapidly with its survey of the 

 topographical map which is to be 

 used by Uncle Sam to determine the 

 extent and final cost of a system of 

 drainage to be established in the San 

 Luis valley. When the system is 

 finally completed it will mean the in- 

 vestment of millions of dollars in this 



valley, known to be one of the most 

 fertile in Colorado. 



California 



The report being prepared on the 

 Iron Canyon project on the Sacra- 

 mento river in northern California is 

 is to be finished and turned over to a 

 board of review this month. This 

 project would involve irrigation, 

 power and flood regulation features. 

 The storage area recommended is 

 700,000 acre-feet, which is to be se- 

 cured by means of a dam with a maxi- 

 mum height of 100 feet and provided 

 with gate capacity of 100,000 second- 

 feet. The irrigated area will be 250,- 

 000 acres. The present flood flow of 

 the Sacramento river at Red Bluff is 

 about 300,000 second-feet, and by the 

 use of the Iron Canyon storage unit, it 

 is stated in the report, this flow could 

 be kept down to a maximum of 100,- 

 000 second-feet. 



As a result of negotiations between 

 the Sierra & San Francisco Power 

 Company and the boards of the Oak- 

 dale and South San Jpaquin Irrigation 

 districts in California it is possible 

 that an arrangement will be reached 

 by which the big San Francisco cor- 

 poration will supply the immense 

 quantities of storage water required 

 by the irrigation districts, when new 

 acreage is put under cultivation. The 

 company is planning new storage 

 basins which will cost in the neigh- 

 borhood of three or four million dol- 

 lars, in the mountains above Oakdale. 

 They now have storage for about 16,- 



The New Era Elevating Grader 



For over fifty years the leader and pioneer for economical earth handling, has advanced still higher in 

 the estimation of practical earth handling contractors by its recent improvements. 



1 . The Austin reversible earth deflector. 



2. The Austin roller bearing disc plow. 



3. The Austin automatic sand pan cleaner. 



AUSTIN MANUFACTURING CO., CHICAGO 



New York Office, 50 Church Street Canadian Agents, Mussens Ltd., Montreal 



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