30 



THE UTILITY OF FORESTS. 



be on the headwaters of the ]\Ionongahela, the Cheat, the Kana- 

 wha and its tributaries, the Big Sandy, and probably the head 

 streams of the Potomac. If the Government does this, it will 

 consider it a national work; but West Virginia would derive 

 much more benefit than any other state, and it could well afford 

 to assist in a substantial manner, if asked by the Government to 

 do so. Free rights of way and reservoir sites would be a small 

 price to pay for the enormous value such improvements would 

 be to the people of the state. Local encouragement often goes 

 a long way toward securing help from the Government.'" 



"Irrigation." 



"Irrigation — the artificial watering of crops — is a form of 

 development to which the people of West Virginia have given 

 little or no thought. It is not a matter of as much importance 

 here as it is in some other parts of the country and world, be- 

 cause in West Virginia rains are usually sufficient to produce 

 some sort of crop. Nevertheless, there are thousands of acres in 

 the valleys of this state where irrigation would greatly increase 

 the yield. Water in ample quantity is nearly always available 

 at much less expense than is usual with those who practice irri- 

 gation elsewhere. It probably would not pay to irrigate grain 

 and the coarser crops : but it would pay in many cases to resort 

 to that method of farming where the land is occupied by truck 

 gardens, berries and fruits. When agriculture becomes more 

 intensive in this state, as it will and as it ought, irrigation will 

 play an important part in the highest development of our soil 

 resources. 



"The opinion is more or less prevalent that irrigation is 

 useful in arid regions onh'. This is erroneous. Flowers and 

 lawns need water between showers, and they suffer if they do 

 not get it. Gardens and orchards often sniffer from thirst which 

 might be satisfied from neighboring streams which run to waste, 



"Many instances might be sighted to show that irrigation 

 brings excellent results in countries which have considerable 

 rain the year round. Northern Italy is a case to the point. Its 

 climate resembles West Virginia's except that it is not quite so 



