61 



The arable lauds of the Eocky Moimtains are mainly in the valleys, which, like 

 basins, have gathered the detritus of the mountains forages. The soil is therefore 

 very deep and fertile, yichling much more than the same area in the East ; and in the 

 southwest two crops a year from the same soil are very common, so that this land 

 is equal to twice or three times the same area in the East. 



Another writes: 



Nothing is more surprising than the material for supporting a i)opulation which 

 continues to be developed in all this region of mountain and plain, which twenty 

 years ago was considered an inhospitable desert, capable of sux^porting nothing but 

 Indians. 



The State of Colorado, aud the Territories of 'New Mexico, Wyoming, 

 Montana, and Idaho, have collectively an area of 553,054 square miles, 

 which is more than three times the area of the Middle and ¥ew Eng- 

 land States. 



The extraordinary mining development of this region and its immense 

 grazing resources are widely known and appreciated, but its agricult- 

 ural possibilities are, as yet, but little known to the general public. 

 In»some localities in the mountains, farming operations are carried on 

 to a limited extent without the aid of irrigation, but such instances are 

 exceptions to the general rule. For the growing of crops recourse must 

 usually be had to artificial water-supply. The extensive irrigation 

 systems, fully inaugurated in Colorado, and partially so in the adjacent 

 territories, have already reclaimed for agricultural uses millions of 

 acres once deemed barren and worthless. The only limit to progress 

 in that direction will be the amount of available water. Could the 

 sources of water supply be adequately protected, and storage reservoirs 

 constructed in suitable places, thousands of square miles in this region 

 could be gained to agriculture, homes provided for multitudes of people, 

 and the aggregate wealth of the country greatly enhanced. The capac- 

 ity of the land to produce crops and the fitness of the seasons to mature 

 them are no longer unsettled questions. 



Note. — More particular statements in regard to irrigation, as practiced in the Kocky 

 Mountain region, are given in the descriptions of the several divisions as they 

 occur in this report. The following summary will bring the whole matter into view 

 at one glance, and on that account it has been inserted here. It will be understood 

 of course that minute accuracy in such a case is impossible. Approximate estimates 

 only can be made. But it is believed that the estimates are in no case exaggerated. 



Colorado has from 930 to 1,000 miles of main irrigating canals, 3,500 miles of second 

 class canals, and 40,000 miles of ditches, constructed at a cost of $11,000,000. More 

 than 1,000,000 acres of otherwise useless land have thus been brought under successful 

 and profitable cultivation. 



Wyoming, in 1834, had seventeen incorporated irrigation companies, chiefly in two 

 counties. One of these had under its control 60,000 acres of land, and has constructed 

 a canal 06 miles in length. Another company has begun the construction of a canal 

 calculated to irrigate 270,000 acres. 



Utah, in 1885, had 2,810 miles of main and 7,750 miles of tributary canals, and 

 656,000 acres under cultivation by this means. 



New Mexico is estimated to have irrigating canals and ditches equal in extent to 

 those of Utah. Two canals are now projected capable together of watering from 

 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 acres. 



