30 IRRIGATION INVESTIGATIONS IN CALIFORNIA. 



wlieat per acre, and Greeley is one of the most prosperous farming districts 

 in the West. Less than ten years of scientific rotation of crops restored its 

 original fertility and production. Diversified farming would have equally 

 desirable results in this section of California, but rotation of crops is not pos- 

 sible with rahifall alone. The moisture is neither sufficient in amount nor 

 rightly distributed to permit of this. In 1897, no rain fell at Chico in July 

 and August, and the total rainfall from May to October Avas less than 1 inch. 

 In 1898, no rain fell in either Jiuie, July, or August. In 1899, no rain fell 

 in July or September, and only 0.12 of an inch in August. At Willows, in 

 1897, no rain fell in either July, August, or September; in 1898, none in 

 July or August; and in 1899 there was again a three-montlis' period without 

 sensible precipitation. The absence of rainfall during the harvest period is 

 one of the great advantages of California where the needed moisture can be 

 supplied by in-igation. It is likewise one of the greatest obstacles to diversi- 

 fied agriculture where dependence is had on rainfall alone. The natural 

 opportunities of the district traversed are equal to if not greater than those of 

 tlie countr}' surrounding Riverside, Cal., which has been appropriateh' desig- 

 nated as the "Garden Spot of America," but a difference in agricultural ideas 

 has produced a corresponding difference in conditions. In the suburbs of 

 both Chico and Willows there were seen attractive homes surrounded bv 

 orchards and gardens, but 5 miles would cover the distance required to get 

 beyond the town limits of either place. In the remaining 30 miles only six 

 houses were passed and surrounding these were neither orchard.s nor gardens. 

 The distressing effects of a two-months' drought and the absence of water to 

 mitigate its influence were only too manifest. These homes were a signal 

 illustration of the truth that a world without turf is a dreary desert. Instead 

 of the refreshing green of an irrigated district, or of a country where there 

 are summer rains, eveiything was parched, dusty, and lifeless. Practically 

 all of the land Avas being prepared for small grain. Less than 1 00 'acres of 

 alfalfa Avere seen and this looked as though it Avas prepared to surrender the 

 unequal struggle. One-third of the land had been summer falloAved, but 

 nuich of it was in no condition to be benefited, as the clods had neA^er been 

 pulverized and the fertility of the soil Avas being burned out by the heat and 

 dryness of the summer sun. 



The region A'isited is one of bonanza farms, the road traA-ersed crossing 

 one of 40,000 acres. A mortgage Avas the most important result of Avheat 

 growing in recent years, and the land is noAv being sold to satisfy the debts 

 thus created. The boundaries of other large estates Avere pointed out whose 

 owners were historic figures in the early days of California. In nearly 



