THE CONQUEST OF ARID AMERICA 



but to a large extent their crops are bought by those 

 whose sole business is cattle-raising. Thus all the re- 

 sources of the region are brought into use, and a wonder- 

 ful prosperity has followed as the logical result. 



From Canada to Mexico the revolution on the Great 

 Plains is now in full tide. It is the most dramatic page 

 in the history of American irrigation. It has saved an 

 enormous district from lapsing into a condition of semi- 

 barbarism. It has not only made human life secure, but 

 revolutionized the industrial and social economy of the 

 locality. 



To a considerable extent it has replaced the quarter- 

 section with the small farm and the single crop with 

 diversified cultivation. It has transformed the specu- 

 lative instincts of the people into a spirit of sober in- 

 dustrialism. It has raised the standard of living and 

 improved the character of homes. It has planted the 

 rose-bush and the pansies where only the sunflower cast 

 its shadows, and it has twined the ivy and the honeysuckle 

 over doors which formerly knew not the touch of beauty. 

 It has made neighbors and society where once there were 

 loneliness and heart-hunger. It has broken the chains 

 of hopeless mortgages and crowned industry with inde- 

 pendence. 



