1188 
two inches, that is, two acre-inches. Fre- 
quently the amount applied at one irriga- 
tion will be three acre-inches or even 
four acre-inches. Now to make one 
acre-inch, that is to cover one acre of 
land to a depth of one inch, requires 
about 26,000 gallons of water. Hence, 
more than fifty thousand gallons are re- 
quired for a single irrigation. Whether 
it will pay to lift this amount of water 
will depend largely on the season and on 
the value of the crop to be irrigated, and 
partly too on the cost of getting the water 
to the land and distributing it after it 
reaches the field. In Egypt, where no 
rain falls during the growing season, cot- 
ton makes immense yields when irri- 
gated only once in 20 days, and then to 
a depth of about three and two-tenths 
inches. Sugar-cane requires much more 
water, and in the Hawaiian islands water 
is applied as often as once a week. Prob- 
ably the man who grows a patch of 
sugar-cane on bottom land with the ex- 
pectation of making a large yield through 
the help of irrigation would be wise to 
arrange to irrigate it every ten days dur- 
ing periods of very dry weather and at 
the period of maximum growth. He 
would probably seldom have occasion to 
apply the water more than four times 
per season. For hay crops, such as al- 
falfa, that afford several cuttings, it is 
customary in arid regions to water once 
for each cutting, that is, from three to 
five times per season. Even with the 
high-priced fruit crops of California the 
limited supply of water there is restrict- 
ing the total depth of water applied 
throughout the season to about twelve 
acre-inches. By reason of the scarcity 
of water these Californians often have 
to pay to irrigation companies about 
twelve dollars per acre for this amount 
of water. In the sections where water 
is abundant we can get it on the land 
for a very small fraction of this cost. 
EVOLUTION OF PROPERTY RIGHTS 
IN WATER 
The primitive conception that water, 
like air and sunshine, is one of the gifts 
of nature which are free to all alike, 
does not need to be questioned in sparsely 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
settled or uncivilized regions, but this 
conception must give way when countries 
become densely populated, or when spe- 
cial industries, like agriculture by irri- 
gation, make so large demands on streams 
that there is not enough water for all. 
Free water on Manhattan island is no 
more a possibility than free forests, and 
to talk of free water around Denver would 
be like talking of free coal. Great cities 
consume enormous quantities of water, 
the rate of consumption seeming to grow 
with advancing civilization. It requires 
all the water of a large territory to meet 
the needs of cities like New York, Boston 
and Philadelphia. This consumption ne- 
cessitates the absorption of streams and 
the extinction of vested rights in those 
streams. The common-law doctrine of 
riparian rights is as unsuited to these 
conditions as the old-time stagecoach is 
to the demands of modern travel. Hence 
new legal remedies must be devised. The 
last legislature of New York passed two 
important water laws, which illustrate 
this. One created a city water commis- 
sion to ascertain where New York City 
can obtain a supply of pure, wholesome 
water. The other created a state com- 
mission whose consent must be obtained 
before any city or town can take a water 
supply by condemnation. This is state 
ownership or control of public water sup- 
plies far in advance of many arid states. 
Even in England, with its rainy, foggy 
climate and a soil requiring drainage be- 
cause of surplus water, the long-estab- 
lished riparian doctrine is having to give 
way because of the increasing use of 
water. Too meet the enormous consump- 
tion of London, surface and underground 
streams are being diverted into pipe lines 
and carried by means of pumps many 
miles away from the original channels. 
This is a violation of the common-law 
doctrine, because under it the rights of 
riparian lands were inalienable. 
In densely populated countries like 
Italy, Germany, Switzerland and France, 
the water of streams is under private or 
public control, notwithstanding the fact 
that the climate of each of these coun- 
tries is humid. In cities water is now 
