RECLAIMING THE DESERT 173 



lands before the water arrived. Some held them so 

 for years to the exhaustion of their funds as well 

 as their patience. The fact is eloquent of the excited 

 expectation that the building of these great projects 

 aroused in the West. Since irrigation on a small 

 scale, privately capitalized and managed, had been 

 successful, how much more successful would rec- 

 lamation be on so great a scale backed with the na- 

 tion's wealth and brains! People all over the 

 country, from ocean to ocean, became profoundly 

 interested. America was entering a new phase of 

 her career triumphantly, as became her. That we 

 should equip reclamation on a scale never before 

 dreamed of, confidently, competently, was of course 

 to be expected. 



The theory that in time the farmer owners, hav- 

 ing completed title by repayment of costs advanced 

 by the government shall themselves acquire posses- 

 sion and control the properties under the irrigation 

 laws of their respective states is beginning to work 

 out. In 1927 Secretary Work reported sixteen proj- 

 ects in whole or part under operation of the water 

 users, nine having qualified during that year. Many 

 projects are extremely successful. In 1917, the 

 cropped area was 966,784 acres and the value of the 

 crop $56,462,000. In 1926, cultivated areas totalled 

 2,264,600 acres and the value of the crop was $109,- 

 118,300. 



The average crop value during these ten years 

 was $53.42 per acre, far exceeding the average in 



