170 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



each year by the rapid approach of the incoming 

 settlers. The great range is being divided into small 

 farms of 40, 80 and 160 acres. Where but a short 

 time ago the coyote and prairie dog were the only 

 inhabitants, irrigation has built up large communi- 

 ties; large fields of alfalfa, sugar beets and other 

 crops are taking the place of the native grass. Al- 

 though still in its infancy, this valley is keeping step 

 with the development of community life in other 

 parts of the country, taking great pride in its schools, 

 churches, and other social and intellectual organ- 

 izations. 



The principal towns embraced in the North 

 Platte Project are on the north side ; Guernsey, 

 Lingle and Torrington in Wyoming, and Henrv, 

 Morrill, Mitchell, Scotts Bluff, Minatare, Bayard and 

 Bridgeport in Nebraska. Guernsey is located 8 miles 

 above the headworks of the Interstate and Fort 

 Laramie, Canal, and, although not in the irrigated 

 section, is a thriving town of about 4,000 people. 

 Torrington is the county ,seat of Goshen county and 

 has a population of about 700. Henry, a town of 

 about 100 people, on the state line, attracts many 

 visitors in the summer on account of the good fish- 

 ing nearby. Morrill is a thriving town of about 500 

 people, and is the railroad point for Dutch Flats. 

 Mitchell is a prosperous town with 1,000 inhabitants, 

 containing the headquarters of the Reclamation 

 Service for the North Platte Project. Scotts Bluff 

 is the largest town in the North Platte valley, with 

 a population of 3,500. The second largest sugar fac- 

 tory in the west is located here. Minatare and Bay- 

 ard are thriving towns lying within the irrigated dis- 

 trict with populations respectively of about 500 and 

 400. Bridgeport, the junction of the Bridgeport- 

 Guernsey line with the Denver-Alliance branch of 

 the Burlington railroad, is the county seat of Mor- 

 rill county. It has a population of about 700. The 

 .towns named are from 8 to 15 miles apart; the dis- 

 tance between Bridgeport and Guernsey being 98 

 miles. 



On the south side of the river, the Union Pacific 

 is building a line from North Platte, Nebraska, west- 

 ward through the valley, its terminus on January 1, 

 1916, being about 10 miles west of Gering. Gering 

 is the oldest town in the valley, having now a popu- 

 lation of about 1,800 inhabitants, and is the county 

 seat of Scotts Bluff county. With the advance of 

 the North Platte branch of the Union "Pacific rail- 

 road, the new towns of Haig, Melbeta and McGrew 

 are starting on the south side of the river, none of 

 which has a population exceeding 100 inhabitants. 



Wtih the development of the public and private 

 irrigation systems in the valley, these towns have 

 grown steadily, substantial buildings have been 

 erected and light, water and sewer systems have 

 been built in nearly all the larger towns. 



Splendid Region of Irrigated Farms Now 

 Opened Up by Railway 



The completion of the California Southern Rail- 

 way to Blythe in the Palo Verde Valley and the ar- 

 rival of the first regular passenger train at 9:28 a. m. 

 of August 15th, is an event of great importance in 

 the develop'ment of irrigable lands of the southwest. 

 A regular schedule of one train each way daily will 

 be maintained between Blythe and Blythe Junction 

 on the Santa Fe. Pullman sleeper service will be 

 provided three times a week. The railroad renders 

 unnecessary the mule haul of forty-two miles of all 

 merchandise to and from this fertile and rapidly 

 growing region. The builders are the kind of men 

 who look to the future and they have provided track 

 and roadbed adapted to a permanent and increasing 

 business. Lasting drainage structures are a feature 

 of the work, Armco iron culverts having been em- 

 ployed throughout. 



The Palo Verde Valley contains one hundred 

 thousand acres of irrigable lands, forty thousand of 

 which are now under cultivation. It is believed that 

 the coming of the railroad will make it practicable 

 to extend irrigation to the valley's 250,000 acres of 

 mesa citrus land. Some of the products now being 

 shipped out or prepared for shipment are 20,000 

 hogs, 10,000 sheep, 2,000 milch cows, about 2,000 

 head of beef cattle, 4,000 turkeys and several thou- 

 sand chickens ; 10,000 acres are devoted to alfalfa 

 and it is stated that the average yield is eight tons 

 per acre. Six thousand tons of cotton are produced 

 annually and manganese is now being shipped out 

 at the rate of three cars per day. 



The sources of irrigation water is the old Blythe 

 intake, which is hewn out of solid granite. It is 40 

 feet wide and 20 feet deep and delivers 100,000 inches 

 of water to the valley floor. This water filing is the 

 oldest on the Colorado river, having been taken up 

 in 1877 by O. P. Galloway and Thomas Blythe. 



The first cotton, rice and hemp to be grown in 

 California was produced in the Palo Verde Valley 

 and displayed at the old Blythe building in San 

 Francisco forty years ago. 



Thus another inland empire has been opened in 

 a region which was considered by the first American 

 settlers in California as hopelessly desert. There is 

 every reason to expect even more rapid development 

 in the Palo Verde than has transpired in the famous 

 Imperial Valley. - 



COST OF SILO FILLING 



No definite cost can be given for silo filling, as 

 it depends on many variable factors, such as the dis- 

 tance from field to silo ; weather conditions, it being 

 more expensive during wet weather than clear 

 weather; the efficiency of the machinery and of the 

 meji. The cost has been estimated as low as 40 

 cents, and as high as $1 per ton. Seventy-five cents 

 would probably be a fair average. 



WANTED Superintendent soon open for position. 

 Large orchard, farm or tract proposition. Practical and 

 technical. Long experience. Address A. A., Irrigation Age. 



WANTED Manager, also civil engineer; 68,000-acre 

 project; long experience and proven ability must be shown; 

 give full particulars and references first letter. , Address 

 Alba Heywood, secretary, Cameron County Irrigation Dis- 

 trict No. 2, San Benito, Texas. 



