PROGRESS IN RECLAMATION—BISSELL. 507 
the delivery system is also being made. Construction payments 
upon the lands served are being regularly made. 
In the Milk River Valley, Mont., water is being delivered through 
a canal leading from St. Mary River, which diverts that river just 
below St. Mary Lake. By a treaty arrangement with Canada the 
waters of the St. Mary are divided on an agreed basis, and this water 
is being used very completely. The recent demand for irrigation 
water, on account of the excessive dryness of successive seasons, has 
been greater than ever before. The water is all used on a rental 
basis, partly through the works of the service and partly delivered 
to canal systems of private or cooperative companies. 
On the Sun River project, Montana, the original unit on the south 
side of Sun River is being operated as usual. On the north side of 
the river, where many of the settlers were attempting to secure title 
to their homesteads without the liability for irrigation water which 
is included in their filing papers, a series of three dry years in suc- 
cession has shown that dry farming is not profitable and has revived 
the demand for irrigation water. Difficulties with the canal sys- 
tems have been encountered on account of the unfavorable material 
with which they were constructed, but it is possible this year to de- 
liver water to about 25,000 acres, and a considerable portion of this 
is being served on a rental basis. 
The Lower Yellowstone project, in Montana and North Dakota, has 
been operated for years on a rental basis, with only a small fraction 
of the lands irrigated. The neighboring lands have been for years 
farmed without irrigation, and though the returns from dry farming 
have always been less than under irrigation, the temptation to avoid 
the expense of water service has been so great that the project has 
not yet been placed on a paying basis. A series of dry years, how- 
ever, has increased the demand for water, and steps have been taken 
to form an irrigation district and arrange for permanent water 
rights for the lands to be included. Appropriate laws have been 
passed by both States and the prospect is good for the success of the 
project. The demand for water of this project has been more than 
twice as great this year as in any previous year, and good crops are 
reported. 
The North Platte project, in Nebraska and Wyoming, is one of the 
largest as well as one of the most successful of the reclamation proj- 
ects. The Interstate unit, on the north side of the river, most of 
which is under public notice, is largely under cultivation, and im- 
provement is steadily extending. Drainage is being constructed and 
considerable areas are yet to be relieved. On the south side of the 
river the main or Fort Laramie Canal and its lateral system are 
under construction and water is being delivered under rental con- 
