THE PLEASANT LAND OF UTAII 



Not far from half a million acres of irrigated land arc 

 in actual cultivation, while nearly twice that number are 

 under canals now completed or in process of construc- 

 tion. Nearly one hundred thousand acres are cultivated 

 in grain crops without irrigation. These are mostly sit- 

 uated north of the Great Salt Lake, where the rainfall 

 is heaviest. The total amount of cultivated land is, 

 however, only about one per cent, of the area of the 

 State. According to the best local authorities, some- 

 thing like six times as much land as is now irrigated 

 can be brought under cultivation by these methods when 

 the water supply is utilized. Here is a large field for 

 the growth of population. 



The territory available for settlement is well dis- 

 tributed throughout the State. The country immedi- 

 ately surrounding the three large towns of Ogden, Salt 

 Lake, and Provo is compactly settled, yet better meth- 

 ods of utilizing the water supply will enlarge the area of 

 cultivation even in those districts. The beautiful coun- 

 try lying immediately north of Great Salt Lake, and 

 watered by one of the largest irrigation systems in the 

 West, is still largely open to settlement. Here the fruit 

 industry is rapidly developing in connection with gen- 

 eral farming and stock-raising. In this locality unim- 

 proved lands sell for prices ranging from thirty to fifty 

 dollars per acre, while the annual water -rental is two 

 dollars and a half per acre. The construction of new 

 irrigation systems in the large deserts south of the lake, 

 in central Utah, has been actively carried on during the 

 past five years. Here much government land is open to 

 entry, but the settler must purchase water-rights from 

 canal companies. This item of cost should be added to 



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