IRRIGATION PROBLEMS OF HONEY LAKE BASIN. 89 



themselves felt when the country is well settled, and it becomes necessary to enforce 

 the utmost economj- in the use of the water supply-. But we shall see that with 

 probably no more than 20,000 acres under cultivation by means of irrigation these 

 evils have already been sharply manifested, and that the troubles created and fostered 

 b}' a sj^stem of bad laws have found no adequate cure in the courts. 



THE DtTTT OF WATER. 



Among the important subjects to be dealt with in this report, according to the 

 suggestions of the irrigation expert in charge, was that of the dut\'of water. Under 

 any intelligent and permanent system of irrigation it is as necessary to fix upon some 

 unit of water required for an acre of land as it is necessarj- in finance or industr}- to 

 have a unit of value or of measurement. Men can not conduct exchange without 

 dollars and cents to serve as units of value. They can not engage in manufacture or 

 trade and ignore long measure and avoirdupois. There must be some basis of values, 

 of weights, and of measures before men can deal intelligently and justlj" with each 

 other in their daily transactions. In like manner it is necessary to fix upon some 

 unit of water which shall represent the reasonable duty of that element in agriculture. 

 This dut}' may be reckoned in miner's inches or acre-feet, as maj^ seem most feasible, 

 but it must be fixed in some terms, then recognized, accepted, and enforced. Other- 

 wise the whole right of appropriation rests on shifting sands. 



The importance of the duty of water is recognized in most localities where 

 irrigation is practiced. Honey Lake Valley is, however, a remarkable exception to 

 this rule. Here* there is no common agreement as to the amount of water required 

 to irrigate an acre of land. If one were to interview all the irrigators in the valley 

 he would probablj' receive a different estimate fi-om each person. Their opinions 

 would varj' in accordance with the peculiarities of the soil, differences of crop, and 

 even with the temperamental differences of individuals. Take, for example, two 

 riparian proprietors living side by side. One of them will tell 3'ou that if j'ou will 

 guarantee to keep the stream in its original channel he will ask nothing more, 

 preferring to depend entirely on natural seepage. His nearest neighbor will demand 

 that the entire stream be diverted and spread over his farm, and will intimate that if 

 anything less than this be done he will spend his last dollar in litigation. The same 

 contrast in opinion is found when you talk with the occupants of bench lands awaj^ 

 fi-om the stream, where the riparian element is entirelv absent. One man wants all 

 the water he can get, while his neighbor with similar soil and crops maintains that 

 he gets better results with only half as much irrigation. When men differ about 

 other subjects thcA' leave the decision with the statutes or the administration. But 

 in the matter of water each man is a law unto himself and resents interference or 

 advice as he would if the same were offered with regard to the training of his 

 children. 



Neither law nor custom has fixed the dutj* of water in Honej- Lake Valley, 

 Testimony touching this subject is sometimes offered in the courts, but there is no 

 basis upon which just and consistent decisions may be rendered. The contracts of 

 local iri'igation companies make no reference to miners' inches or acre-feet. The}' 

 merely agree to furnish water "sufficient to irrigate " a given number of acres. 

 They promise that these acres shall be supplied with an "annual irrigation." The}' 



