﻿ARABLE 
  LAND 
  THAT 
  MAY 
  YET 
  BE 
  IRRIGATED. 
  315 
  

  

  portioual 
  area 
  of 
  but 
  4.2 
  per 
  cent. 
  The 
  area 
  yet 
  remaining 
  is 
  equal 
  to 
  that 
  of 
  New 
  

   York 
  and 
  Pennsylvania 
  combined, 
  or 
  that 
  of 
  Illinois 
  and 
  Indiana. 
  The 
  best 
  of 
  the 
  

   land 
  and 
  that 
  situated 
  most 
  conveniently 
  to 
  water 
  is 
  included 
  in 
  that 
  already 
  taken 
  up. 
  

   A 
  great 
  deal 
  has 
  been 
  said 
  and 
  written 
  upon 
  the 
  subject 
  of 
  irrigation 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  

   artesian 
  wells, 
  and 
  many 
  hundreds 
  of 
  thousands 
  of 
  dollars 
  have 
  been 
  literally 
  sunken 
  

   in 
  vain 
  attempts 
  to 
  bring 
  water 
  from 
  the 
  bowels 
  of 
  the 
  earth. 
  It 
  has 
  been 
  a 
  pet 
  idea 
  

   with 
  many 
  theorists 
  that 
  the 
  great 
  extent 
  of 
  the 
  plains 
  can 
  be 
  fertilized 
  by 
  the 
  pro- 
  

   miscuous 
  boring 
  of 
  wells. 
  They 
  seem 
  to 
  have 
  an 
  idea 
  that 
  water 
  is 
  omnipresent 
  be- 
  

   neath 
  the 
  surface, 
  aud 
  is 
  only 
  waiting 
  for 
  an 
  opening 
  to 
  be 
  made, 
  to 
  pour 
  itself 
  upwards. 
  

   They 
  do 
  not 
  reflect 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  only 
  under 
  very 
  peculiar 
  conditions 
  of 
  dip 
  and 
  character 
  

   of 
  strata, 
  that 
  water 
  having 
  an 
  upward 
  tendency 
  can 
  be 
  found. 
  

  

  If 
  nothing 
  else 
  will 
  stop 
  this 
  senseless 
  clamor 
  for 
  artesian 
  wells 
  surely 
  it 
  would 
  ap- 
  

   pear 
  that 
  the 
  history 
  of 
  the 
  failures 
  which 
  have 
  attended 
  such 
  attempts 
  should 
  

   effect 
  it. 
  The 
  Union 
  Pacific 
  Railroad 
  has 
  bored 
  five 
  or 
  six 
  between 
  Fort 
  Steele 
  and 
  

   Green 
  River 
  City. 
  They 
  are, 
  on 
  the 
  average, 
  about 
  1,000 
  feet 
  deep, 
  and 
  cost 
  about 
  

   $15,000 
  each. 
  Most 
  of 
  them 
  were 
  at 
  first 
  flowing 
  wells, 
  while 
  in 
  the 
  rest 
  the 
  water 
  

   rose 
  to 
  within 
  10 
  or 
  15 
  feet 
  of 
  the 
  top. 
  After 
  a 
  year 
  or 
  two 
  most 
  of 
  them 
  stopped; 
  

   perhaps 
  two 
  are 
  still 
  running. 
  These 
  were 
  sunken 
  in 
  a 
  locality 
  very 
  favorable 
  for 
  the 
  

   purpose. 
  The 
  United 
  States 
  Government 
  sunk 
  a 
  well 
  at 
  Fort 
  Russell, 
  Wyo., 
  to 
  a 
  depth 
  

   of 
  1,100 
  feet, 
  at 
  a 
  cost 
  of 
  $10,000, 
  without 
  success. 
  At 
  Denver 
  a 
  well 
  was 
  bored 
  to 
  a 
  

   depth 
  of 
  800 
  feet 
  when 
  the 
  attempt 
  was 
  abandoned. 
  The 
  Kansas 
  Pacific 
  Railroad 
  has 
  

   also 
  expended 
  a 
  large 
  amount 
  of 
  money 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  fruitless 
  quest. 
  

  

  In 
  Los 
  Angeles 
  and 
  San 
  Bernardino 
  Counties, 
  in 
  California, 
  irrigation 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  

   artesian 
  wells 
  is 
  carried 
  on 
  to 
  a 
  considerable 
  extent. 
  In 
  this 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  State 
  the 
  soil 
  

   and 
  climate 
  are 
  exceptionally 
  fine, 
  the 
  crops, 
  very 
  largely 
  fruit 
  and 
  wine-grapes, 
  are 
  

   very 
  valuable, 
  while 
  water 
  is 
  extremely 
  scarce, 
  and 
  is 
  used 
  with 
  the 
  utmost 
  economy. 
  

   In 
  these 
  counties 
  there 
  are 
  about 
  1,000 
  artesian 
  wells, 
  which 
  irrigate 
  altogether 
  18,000 
  

   acres, 
  an 
  average 
  of 
  18 
  acres 
  to 
  each. 
  They 
  are 
  used 
  mainly 
  for 
  small 
  vineyards, 
  gar- 
  

   dens, 
  and 
  orchards. 
  Their 
  depth 
  ranges 
  from 
  40 
  to 
  600 
  feet, 
  while 
  the 
  average 
  is 
  150 
  

   to 
  200 
  feet. 
  Success 
  has 
  been 
  had 
  in 
  sinking 
  them 
  only 
  in 
  a 
  few 
  limited 
  localities. 
  

   Their 
  average 
  cost 
  has 
  been 
  about 
  $400, 
  and 
  the 
  average 
  amount 
  of 
  water 
  brought 
  to 
  

   the 
  surface 
  by 
  each 
  is 
  about 
  one-tenth 
  of 
  a 
  cubic 
  foot 
  per 
  second. 
  In 
  other 
  words, 
  each 
  

   second-foot 
  of 
  water 
  has 
  cost 
  $4,000. 
  At 
  the 
  present 
  duty 
  of 
  water 
  in 
  vogue 
  in 
  Colo- 
  

   rado, 
  i. 
  e. 
  } 
  40 
  acres 
  per 
  second-foot, 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  seen 
  that 
  it 
  would 
  cost 
  no 
  less 
  than 
  $100 
  

   per 
  acre 
  for 
  a 
  water-right. 
  This 
  is 
  without 
  taking 
  into 
  account 
  the 
  vast 
  amount 
  of 
  

   money 
  which 
  has 
  been 
  spent 
  in 
  useless 
  borings. 
  Truly, 
  as 
  the 
  State 
  engineer 
  of 
  Cali- 
  

   fornia 
  says, 
  in 
  concluding 
  his 
  remarks 
  upon 
  this 
  question, 
  ' 
  ' 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  seen 
  that 
  the 
  luxury 
  

   is 
  a 
  somewhat 
  expensive 
  one." 
  Many 
  people, 
  however, 
  still 
  pin 
  their 
  faith 
  to 
  artesian 
  

   wells 
  as 
  probable 
  sources 
  of 
  large 
  supplies 
  of 
  water, 
  and 
  scarcely 
  a 
  session 
  of 
  Congress 
  

   passes 
  without 
  attempts 
  being 
  made 
  to 
  pass 
  legislation 
  looking 
  toward 
  an 
  expenditure 
  

   of 
  money 
  for 
  boring 
  them. 
  During 
  the 
  last 
  session 
  an 
  appropriation 
  was 
  made 
  for 
  

   "examining 
  into 
  the 
  needs 
  of 
  the 
  arid 
  region," 
  and 
  for 
  boring 
  two 
  artesian 
  wells 
  " 
  on 
  

   the 
  plains 
  east 
  of 
  the 
  Rocky 
  Mountains," 
  the 
  appropriation 
  to 
  be 
  at 
  the 
  disposal 
  of 
  

   the 
  Honorable 
  Commissioner 
  of 
  Agriculture. 
  Fortunately 
  the 
  amount 
  is 
  small, 
  being 
  

   only 
  $5,000, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  hoped 
  that 
  this 
  amount 
  will 
  serve 
  to 
  demonstrate 
  the 
  utter 
  

   hopelessness 
  of 
  the 
  scheme. 
  If 
  so, 
  it 
  will 
  not 
  be 
  expended 
  in 
  vain. 
  

  

  There 
  are 
  four 
  general 
  methods 
  of 
  irrigation 
  in 
  use, 
  viz 
  : 
  

  

  1st. 
  Flooding, 
  or 
  downward 
  filtration, 
  by 
  which 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  the 
  soil 
  is 
  covered 
  

   with 
  water, 
  which 
  is 
  then 
  allowed 
  to 
  stand 
  and 
  settle 
  into 
  the 
  earth. 
  

  

  2d. 
  Ditching, 
  where 
  the 
  ground 
  is 
  supplied 
  with 
  water 
  from 
  lateral 
  percolation 
  from 
  

   ditches 
  placed 
  at 
  short 
  intervals. 
  

  

  3d. 
  Subsoil 
  irrigation, 
  where 
  the 
  water 
  is 
  conducted 
  underground 
  and 
  supplies 
  the 
  

   soil 
  by 
  capillary 
  attraction. 
  

  

  4th. 
  Sprinkling, 
  in 
  imitation 
  of 
  nature's 
  method. 
  

  

  The 
  first 
  method 
  admits 
  of 
  several 
  variations, 
  as 
  follows 
  : 
  If 
  in 
  motion, 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  

  

  