THE CONQUEST OF ARID AMERICA 



among the greatest of irrigation States. The transforma- 

 tion which has occurred in public opinion is no less 

 striking than that of the agricultural industry itself. 



The State is more fortunate than some of its neighbors 

 in the character and extent of its water supplies. Over 

 its western boundary the North Platte pours a perennial 

 stream of considerable volume, which feeds a number of 

 large canals. The surface flow of the South Platte 

 is mostly absorbed in Colorado, but when the two forks 

 are united in Lincoln county they make a river of re- 

 spectable proportions, which flows through the heart of 

 the State and furnishes water both from its surface flow 

 and from its gravel bed. The Loup river further increases 

 the irrigation facilities in the central counties. In the 

 southwestern part of the State the Republican and its 

 tributaries supply a number of quite extensive irrigation 

 systems. Along the northwestern boundary the Niobra- 

 ra, a noble stream, is beginning to be utilized. 



The conformation of the land in western Nebraska 

 also offers more favorable opportunities for the storage 

 of flood waters than are found in most of the prairie 

 States. The possibility of irrigation from wells by means 

 of pumps driven by windmills and by steam and gaso- 

 line engines, are also being thoroughly tested, with hope- 

 ful results. The experts of the Geological Survey report 

 that even away from the river valleys, where the depth 

 to water is considerable, small farms can be irrigated by 

 this means at most points. This conservative authority es- 

 timates that fully one million and a half of acres can be 

 irrigated in western Nebraska. Local enthusiasts put 

 the amount very much higher, but even the former fig- 

 ure represents a reclaimed area three times greater than 



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