THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



197 



volunteered to donate his time and energies, or 

 even his financial support. The secretary of the 

 Congress is not only the recipient of a liberal salary, 

 but the beneficiary of various emoluments and 

 privileges. He is almost unhampered in the con- 

 duct of affairs. He exercises or would do so were 

 he the strong character required for such an office 

 a free hand for the execution of anything within 

 reason. The incumbency of such an honorable 

 office is almost dazzling in its prospects of useful- 

 ness to the West to the nation at large the right 

 man in this place could easily become a figure of 

 national importance. 



The AGE, in the past, has never permitted per- 

 sonal considerations to outweigh public considera- 

 tions, and it conceives the present crisis in the af- 

 fairs of the Congress to be of such a nature that 

 anything less than a frank statement and review 

 of the situation would constitute a dereliction of 

 duty towards its readers and the public interest. 

 The office of permanent secretary, with liberal ap- 

 propriations, was created in 1909, and it has been 

 clothed continuously since that time by one man 

 the present incumbent who, however agreeable, 

 personally, must be held responsible for the present 

 condition of the Congress. 



The inevitable conclusion of all the facts is 

 that he, and his administration, have been weighed 

 in the balance and found lamentably wanting. 

 Shall his costly regime be continued indefinitely? 



The Civic department of the Salt 

 Movement Lake Commercial Club has started 

 Favoring work, through its Board of Gov- 



Irrigation ernors, on a campaign for a pro- 



Monument posed International Monument to 



Irrigation, to be erected in that city. 

 It is the intention of the members of the Commer- 

 cial Club of that city to urge the Board of Gov- 

 ernors to make an effort to put through the Suth- 

 erland bill, which 'was introduced in the last Con- 

 gress, for an appropriation of $200,000 for the monu- 

 ment, which is to be in the form of a building 

 that is to be used as a mecca for all irrigation in- 

 terests, and be so constructed that it will accom- 

 modate public meetings of every character asso- 

 ciated with western development. 



It is the plan to raise a similar sum, making a 

 total of $400,000, which will cover the material and 

 construction cost of an elaborate building. This 

 structure is to be erected on ground donated by the 

 City of Salt Lake or the Mormon Church at the 

 spot where water was first diverted from a stream 

 for irrigation purposes by the pioneers. 



This movement should be heartily supported 

 by all interested provided it is to be open without 



restrictions to the water users under Federal and 

 private projects. 



The IRRIGATION AGE would not support a move- 

 ment of this kind if it is to be built and maintained 

 only as a meeting place of the International Irriga- 

 tion Congress. The National Federation of Water 

 Users must be given equal rights with every other 

 body, otherwise a decided stand should be taken 

 by that organization to balk the plan. The fact that 

 there were not over 20 active water users in at- 

 tendance at the International Congress held in El 

 Paso in October would indicate that there is a lack 

 of harmony between these two bodies, and unless 

 the Congress is placed in charge of new men, it is 

 doubtful if these organizations can ever be brought 

 together for harmonious and beneficial work. 



RESULT OF A SIX-YEAR TEST ON 

 IRRIGATED CALIFORNIA LAND 



More water means less instead of more alfalfa, 

 once a certain limit has been reached. 



This is the valuable lesson of a six-year field 

 test just completed by the Irrigation Investigations 

 of the University of California at the University 

 farm at Davis. It was shown that, contrary to 

 accepted belief, a limit is soon reached above which 

 the yield of alfalfa actually decreases with increas- 

 ing amounts of irrigation water applied. 



In these tests, one-quarter-acre checks were 

 used, and each test was duplicated. Quantities of 

 water varying from 12 to 60 inches were applied 

 to the various checks. Two checks were left un- 

 irrigated as check plats. The average yield for six 

 years from the unirrigated checks was 4.07 tons of 

 hay per acre. 



The largest average yield, 9.28 tons, was pro- 

 duced by applying 36 acre-inches of water per acre, 

 in four nine-inch irrigations. 



But the most economical yield was produced 

 with 30 acre-inches of water per acre applied in 

 four 7j4-inch irrigations, 8.99 tons of alfalfa hay 

 being being produced. The average increase in 

 yield of .29 tons per acre by using 36 instead of 30 

 inches in a season was not sufficient to pay for the 

 increased cost in water and labor. Between nothing 

 and 30 inches, the yields increased uniformly with 

 the increased amounts of water applied. 



A slight decrease in yield was shown from 

 four 12-inch irrigations, while a decided decrease 

 resulted from four 15-inch irrigations, which pro- 

 duced but 8.20 tons of hay per acre. 



At the end of the six-year test a fair stand of 

 alfalfa still remained on all checks excepting those 

 receiving either no irrigation, 12 inches, or 60 inches 

 per season. In the latter, not more than thirty per 

 cent of the original stand remained. 



If you want to keep in touch with all sides 

 of the Reclamation Problem send $1.00 for one 

 year's subscription to the Irrigation Age, 30 

 North Dearborn street, Chicago. 



