﻿IMPORTANCE 
  OF 
  IRRIGATION. 
  . 
  309 
  

  

  tural 
  interests. 
  One, 
  the 
  great 
  West, 
  we 
  have 
  already 
  treated 
  of 
  at 
  

   length. 
  The 
  other 
  is 
  .the 
  low 
  lands 
  of 
  the 
  Mississippi 
  Delta. 
  Every 
  

   flood 
  in 
  the 
  great 
  branches 
  of 
  the 
  Father 
  of 
  Waters 
  carries 
  destruction 
  

   to 
  thousands 
  of 
  plantations 
  in 
  the 
  South, 
  destroys 
  hundreds 
  of 
  thousands 
  

   of 
  dollars' 
  worth 
  of 
  property, 
  and 
  leaves 
  in 
  its 
  path 
  deadly 
  miasmas 
  for 
  

   the 
  destruction 
  of 
  human 
  life. 
  A 
  system 
  of 
  levees, 
  constructed 
  at 
  an 
  

   expense 
  of 
  millions, 
  affords 
  but 
  partial 
  protection, 
  and 
  costs 
  large 
  sums 
  

   each 
  year 
  for 
  repairs. 
  

  

  These 
  levees 
  can 
  be 
  regarded, 
  in 
  the 
  light 
  of 
  modern 
  engineering 
  science, 
  

   but 
  as 
  a 
  temporary 
  auxiliary 
  in 
  the 
  great 
  work 
  of 
  protecting 
  this 
  rich 
  

   alluvial 
  region. 
  The 
  true 
  way 
  of 
  solving 
  the 
  difficulty 
  of 
  curbing 
  the 
  

   violence 
  of 
  this 
  great 
  river 
  is 
  to 
  strike 
  at 
  the 
  root 
  of 
  the 
  matter, 
  and 
  

   prevent 
  the 
  floods. 
  The 
  only 
  way 
  to 
  effect 
  this 
  is 
  by 
  the 
  cod 
  struction 
  of 
  

   reservoirs 
  wherein 
  the 
  flood 
  waters 
  shall 
  be 
  gathered, 
  and 
  whence 
  they 
  

   shall 
  be 
  allowed 
  to 
  flow 
  in 
  a 
  quiet, 
  orderly 
  manner. 
  This 
  is 
  no 
  new 
  idea. 
  

   It 
  was 
  proposed 
  many 
  years 
  ago 
  by 
  Ellet, 
  but 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  was 
  buried 
  

   beneath 
  the 
  ponderous 
  arguments 
  of 
  the 
  Engineer 
  Corps. 
  

  

  Not 
  long 
  ago 
  it 
  was 
  revived 
  under 
  their 
  own 
  auspices, 
  and 
  the 
  experi- 
  

   ment 
  of 
  controlling 
  the 
  Upper 
  Mississippi 
  by 
  reservoirs 
  in 
  the 
  lacustrine 
  

   region 
  of 
  Northern 
  Minnesota 
  is 
  now 
  being 
  tried. 
  It 
  will 
  be, 
  measurably, 
  

   a 
  success. 
  

  

  This 
  work 
  should 
  be 
  extended 
  to 
  the 
  Missouri, 
  the 
  Plattes, 
  the 
  Arkan- 
  

   sas, 
  and 
  the 
  Bed 
  Eivers, 
  and 
  it 
  should 
  be 
  combined 
  with 
  the 
  irrigation 
  

   interest 
  in 
  such 
  a 
  way 
  as 
  to 
  serve 
  the 
  latter 
  as 
  perfectly 
  as 
  possible. 
  

   These 
  streams 
  and 
  their 
  upper 
  branches 
  should 
  be 
  turned 
  into 
  reservoirs 
  

   at 
  or 
  near 
  their 
  points 
  of 
  exit 
  from 
  the 
  mountains. 
  These 
  reservoirs 
  

   should 
  be, 
  collectively, 
  of 
  sufficient 
  capacity 
  to 
  hold 
  all, 
  or 
  nearly 
  all, 
  

   the 
  vast 
  amount 
  of 
  water 
  brought 
  down 
  by 
  the 
  melting 
  of 
  the 
  winter's 
  

   snows. 
  The 
  construction 
  of 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  small, 
  rather 
  than 
  one 
  or 
  two 
  

   large 
  reservoirs, 
  will 
  probably 
  prove 
  most 
  beueficial, 
  both 
  as 
  costing 
  

   very 
  much 
  less, 
  and 
  also 
  because 
  the 
  water 
  would 
  be 
  placed 
  more 
  conve- 
  

   niently 
  for 
  use, 
  thus 
  lessening 
  the 
  length 
  and 
  consequent 
  expense 
  of 
  the 
  

   irrigating 
  mains 
  and 
  secondary 
  ditches. 
  There 
  are, 
  on 
  or 
  near 
  the 
  

   course 
  of 
  every 
  considerable 
  stream, 
  among 
  the 
  swells 
  and 
  billows 
  of 
  

   the 
  plains 
  near 
  the 
  base 
  of 
  the 
  mountains, 
  an 
  abundance 
  of 
  hollows 
  suit- 
  

   able 
  for 
  reservoirs 
  of 
  greater 
  or 
  less 
  magnitude. 
  No 
  great 
  canals 
  need 
  

   be 
  constructed, 
  as 
  sufficient 
  reservoir 
  capacity 
  can 
  be 
  obtained 
  on 
  or 
  

   near 
  the 
  streams, 
  and 
  all 
  the 
  water 
  can 
  be 
  used 
  by 
  a 
  comparatively 
  nar- 
  

   row 
  belt 
  of 
  land 
  in 
  close 
  proximity 
  to 
  the 
  rivers, 
  where 
  the 
  land 
  is 
  more 
  

   level 
  and 
  consequently 
  better 
  suited 
  for 
  irrigation 
  than 
  near 
  the 
  divides. 
  

   Other 
  things 
  being 
  equal, 
  the 
  water 
  should 
  be 
  used 
  on 
  land 
  near 
  the 
  

   mountains 
  rather 
  than 
  on 
  that 
  far 
  away, 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  avoid 
  loss 
  by 
  evap- 
  

   oration 
  and 
  sinking, 
  or 
  "seepage," 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  possible. 
  

  

  As 
  the 
  land 
  is 
  placed 
  under 
  irrigation, 
  it 
  might 
  be 
  sold 
  by 
  the 
  gov- 
  

   ernment 
  with 
  the 
  water-right 
  attached, 
  i. 
  e., 
  the 
  right, 
  in 
  perpetuity, 
  to 
  

   the 
  use 
  of 
  sufficient 
  water 
  for 
  the 
  irrigation 
  of 
  the 
  land, 
  at 
  the 
  rate 
  of 
  a 
  

  

  