THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



169 



and gardens, and on the non-irrigated section with 

 dry farming methods he would raise his grain crops. 

 As it happens this is actually the condition that is 

 found throughout a large part of the irrigated areas 

 of Saskatchewan and Alberta. 



Foreshadows New Legislation. 



The matter .of new legislation which would en- 

 able districts in Saskatchewan to undertake irriga- 

 tion enterprises on the same basis as in Alberta 

 came up for some discussion, and Mr. Motherwell 

 assured the Convention that any need for new legis- 

 lation would be sympathetically considered by the 

 Government. It was indicated that the legislation 

 to create irrigation districts would probably be 

 similar to the legislation in Saskatchewan for drain- 

 age purposes, by which the community may organ- 

 ize itself and incur liabilities chargeable to the lands 

 affected. 



Experts Discuss Agriculture. 



The programme included the names of some of 

 the best known agricultural experts in the West, 

 such as Prof. J. Bracken, of the Field Husbandry 

 Department, University of Saskatchewan; Don H. 

 Bark. Chief of Irrigation Investigation Division of 

 the Canadian Pacific Railway; Prof. W. H. Fair- 

 field, Supt. Dominion Experimental Station, Leth- 

 bridge; F. H. Auld, Deputy Minister of Agriculture 

 for Saskatchewan ; F. M. Logan, Assistant Dairy 

 Commissioner, Regina ; James Johnson, of Nelson, 

 B. C. ; Prof. L. S. Klinck, Dean of the Faculty of 

 Agriculture of the University of British Columbia : 

 G. R. Marnoch, President of the Lethbridge Board 

 of Trade ; A. S. Dawson, Chief Engineer of the 

 Canadian Pacific Railway, Department of Natural 

 Resources; Archibald Mitchell of the Mitchell Nur- 

 sery Company; A. A. Dowell. Animal Husbandry 

 Instructor of the University of Alberta; F. B. Lin- 

 field, Director Montana Agricultural Experiment 

 Station at Bozeman, Montana, and others. The first 

 three named Messrs. Bracken, Bark and Fairfield, 

 devoted themselves entirely to a discussion of alfalfa 

 raising, Mr. Bracken dealing with alfalfa under dry 

 land conditions and Messrs. Bark and Fairfield dis- 

 cussing it under irrigation conditions. Alfalfa is es- 

 sentially an irrigated crop, which is best illustrated 

 by Prof. Fairchild's remark that the Lethbridge irri- 

 gation district is now the principal alfalfa centre of 

 Canada, with about 15,000 acres devoted to this 

 crop. It was grown originally for export, but has 

 become the basis of an important live stock and 

 dairy industry. 



Fish an Irrigation Product. 



The feasibility of increasing the fish supply of the 

 country by employing irrigation reservoirs for that pur- 

 pose was discussed in a very interesting paper by 

 Prof. E. E. Prince, Dominion Fisheries Commis- 

 sioner, of Ottawa. Prof. Prince pointed out that the 

 conditions existing in irrigation reservoirs, and even 

 in irrigation canals, were particularly favorable to 

 the production of great quantities of fish. He dis- 

 cussed the various kinds of fish most suitable for 

 this purpose, and seemed to favor the Yellow Perch 

 as the most desirable species. Arguments in favor 

 of encouraging fish production throughout the irri- 

 gation districts are self evident. Not only would the 

 fish become a valuable and inexpensive item of food 



on the farmer's table, but the sport incidental to the 

 industry would add to the attractiveness of farm life. 

 Prof. Prince assured the Convention of the most 

 sympathetic co-operation from the Fisheries De- 

 partment along any lines found to be practicable. 



Reservoirs in Cypress Hills. 



One of the serious problems which confronts 

 the irrigators in the Cypress Hills district is found 

 in the fact that although there is a heavy spring 

 flow of water in the streams coming out of the hills, 

 this flow has largely disappeared by the time it is 

 required for irrigation purposes. The only means 

 of meeting this situation is found in the creation 

 of reservoirs which will hold the surplus water back 

 until such time as it may be required. F. H. Peters, 

 Commissioner of Irrigation of the Department of 

 the Interior, delivered an interesting paper on this 

 subject. His department has already made exhaus- 

 tive surveys of the Cypress Hills watershed, and 

 he was able to present to the Convention estimates 

 of the cost of reservoirs that would materially in- 

 crease the supply of water available in the Cypress 

 Hills district. It was not proposed that this work 

 should be proceeded with immediately, as there was 

 a general recognition on the part of the Convention 

 that many necessary developments must wait until 

 after the war, but the surveys which have been made 

 and the estimates which have been presented will 

 doubtless constitute the basis of extensive irriga- 

 tion enterprises within the next few years. 



Linked closely with Mr. Peter's discussion of 

 reservoirs was an address by E. H. Finlayson, Dis- 

 trict Inspector of Forest Reservoirs, on the Cypress 

 Hills Forest Reserve. The relationship of forests 

 to water supply is pretty generally understood. Mr. 

 Finlayson brought it home with particular em- 

 phasis to the irrigators of the Maple Creek district. 

 For their water supply they are absolutely depend- 

 ent upon the forest areas in the Cypress Hills, and 

 he appealed to them especially for co-operation in 

 protecting these areas from destruction by fire, 

 which is the greatest enemy not only to the forest 

 reserve, but to the agricultural development of the 

 country. With the various reserves destroyed, not 

 only would the supply of irrigation water be re- 

 duced, but climatic conditions would be induced 

 which would be a menace to the agricultural de- 

 velopment of the Province. 



International Irrigation Convention. 



A. S. Dawson, Chief Engineer of the Depart- 

 ment of Natural Resources of the Canadian Pacific 

 Railway, outlined in a short address the main feat- 

 ures of the International Irrigation Congress at El 

 Paso, Texas, last year, which Mr. Dawson attended, 

 in company with S. G. Porter, B. S. Stockton and 

 Robert J. C. Stead, all delegates from Southern Al- 

 berta. About 400 delegates attended the convention 

 and the Canadian representatives were given places 

 on the programme. Canada's importance as an irri- 

 gation country was further recognized by re-elect- 

 ing Mr. J. S. Dennis, Chief Commissioner of Coloni- 

 zation and Development of the Canadian Pacific 

 Railway, to the position of Vice-President of the 

 Association, and by electing the speaker (Mr. Daw- 

 son) a member of the Board of Control. Mr. Daw- 

 son also gave a brief description of the Elephant 



