397 
THE  PROPER  USE  OF  WATER  IN  IRRIGATION. 
Address  by  Samuel  Fortier,  chief  of  irrigation  investigations  of 
the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  at  the  i?th  National  Irriga- 
tion Congress,  Spokane,  Wash.,  August  12. 
We  are  engaged  in  the  stupendous  task  of  making  the  United 
States  of  America  more  nearly  symmetrical  by  building  up  the 
western  half.  For  three  hundred  years  the  faces  of  the  hardiest 
and  the  bravest  of  the  race  have  been  turned  towards  the  West 
in  a successful  attempt  at  its  subjugation  and  the  effect  of  this 
westward  trend  has  been  to  shift  the  center  of  power  and  of  popu- 
lation from  the  Atlantic  seaboard  to  within  a short  distance  of  the 
Father  of  Waters. 
Measured  by  population,  the  progress  made  by  the  United  States 
has  been  remarkable,  but  few  realize  how  much  the  western  half 
has  gained  in  excess  over  the  eastern  half.  The  96th  parallel  of 
longitude  divides  the  union  into  two  nearly  equal  parts  geographic  - 
ally.  From  t88o  to  1900  the  average  rate  of  increase  in  population 
from  the  Atlantic  coast  to  the  96th  meridian  was  44  per  cent., 
while  from  the  96th  meridian  to  the  Pacific  Coast  it  was  nearly 
144  per  cent. 
One  can  not  lay  too  much  stress  upon  the  population  of  the 
western  half  of  the  nation,  for  in  a region  so  vast  and  so  full  of 
natural  resources  of  nearly  all  kinds,  little  can  be  accomplished 
without  people  and  the  assistance  of  the  home  builder  is  needed  to 
give  permanence  and  stability  to  commonwealths  recently  founded. 
According  to  the  latest  and  most  reliable  estimates,  about  13,- 
000,000  acres  are  being  irrigated  in  the  United  States.  Of  this 
amount  fully  95  per  cent,  is  under  private  enterprises,  something 
less  than  4 per  cent,  being  irrigated  in  1908  by  supplies  furnished 
by  the  Government  under  its  reclamation  projects.  This  shows  the 
magnitude  of  the  task  accomplished  by  Western  pioneers  and  their 
descendants  in  reclaiming  the  arid  lands  of  the  West.  It  is  to  this 
class  of  irrigators  that  the  Irrigation  Branch  of  the  U.  S.  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  and  the  various  Western  Experiment  Sta- 
tions are  endeavoring  to  extend  all  the  assistance  within  their 
power. 
It  has  been  a source  of  deep  satisfaction  to  Western  people  and 
to  all  those  who  have  taken  an  interest  in  Western  affairs  to 
observe  the  progress  that  has  been  made  in  irrigation  during  the 
past  five  years.  The  large  investments  in  irrigation  enterprises, 
the  amount  of  work  under  construction  and  the  extent  of  under- 
takings that  are  planned  for  the  future  place  development  along 
construction  lines  far  in  the  lead.  Water  being  the  main  essential 
in  making  barren  soil  highly  productive,  expensive  channels  mus4: 
be  dug  for  its  conveyance  and  high  walls  of  masonry  built  to  hold 
back  the  floods  to  replenish  the  scanty  flow  of  a later  period.  A 
