24 BULLETIN 500, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



them it is delivered to the orchards by means of open ditches, 

 wooden flumes, or pipes. Piping is the quickest and most con- 

 venient method, but this system, because of the great initial expense, 

 is not generally used. 



In the Grand Valley (Mesa County) the majority of the growers 

 water their orchards from the Grand Valley Canal at a cost of 88 

 cents per acre per annum. Water from the Price ditch costs per 

 year about $4 per acre. The growers interviewed on orchard mesa 

 have to pay much more per acre for their water, which is pumped. 

 Along the Grand River and canal are a number of water wheels that 

 raise water for small tracts. (See fig. 8.) This river is the source 

 of all water used for irrigation on the farms studied in Mesa County. 



Fig. 8.— Method of raising water to irrigate lands above the Grand Valley canal near Grand Junction. 



In Delta County the sources of irrigation are the Gunnison and 

 Uncompahgre Rivers and Surface and Forked Tongue Creeks. The 

 water for the Paonia and Hotchkiss district is largely from the North 

 Fork of the Gunnison River, while the region about Austin is watered 

 by Surface Creek. The water sells by shares at an annual assess- 

 ment per share, so that there is no fixed acre charge for water rent. 



In Montrose County the water for Spring Creek Mesa is taken from 

 the Government project canal, which was completed in 1910 and 

 absorbed the canals of the old Uncompahgre Ditch & Land Co. 

 Generally speaking, there is no lack of water for irrigation purposes; 

 indeed, water frequently has been applied too freely, as the orchard- 

 ists themselves testify. In many places, especially in the Grand 

 Valley, the ground has been so thoroughly saturated that alkali has 

 been brought to the surface and killed hundreds of acres of formerly 

 productive orchards. 



