IRRIGATION IN NORTHERN COLORADO. 31 
reached and, upon applying to the courts, were upheld in their con- 
tention. At present the company is on a mutual basis with 1,423 
shares of a par value of $100 outstanding. 
The water rights sold by the company called for the delivery of a 
continuous flow of 1.44 second-feet throughout the irrigation season 
when it was available from the river. At first one right was con- 
sidered sufficient for 80 acres, but at present the average area served 
by a right, or 4 shares, is 160 acres. In 1880 rights, or the equivalent 
share, sold for $400; in 1882, $1,000; in 1887, $1,200; and in 1917, 
$4,500. Their present high value is due to the fact that there is 
still considerable land under the canal susceptible of irrigation, while 
the water supply is limited. 
The expenses of the company are met by assessments levied on the 
capital stock and tolls collected for carrying reservoir water. In 
1916 and 1917 .the assessments were, respectively, $5 and $12.50 per 
share, the higher assessment being for the purpose of retiring 
some of the outstanding obligations of the company. For carrying 
water to fill Windsor Keservoir and others about $1,350 was received 
each year. For carrying and distributing reservoir water about 
$7,000 was received each year. Current expenses average about 
$15,000 each year, or at the rate of approximately 35 cents per acre 
irrigated. 
The canal heads just north of Fort Collins in section 34, township 
8 north", range 69 west, and tails in Long Draw, a tributary of Crow 
Creek. Excluding the 16-mile extension beyond Owl Creek, the 
main canal is 40 miles long. The bottom width at the head is 30 
feet and the slope of the sides is 1^ to 1. The grade is 3 feet per 
mile for the first 3 miles, 2 feet per mile for the next 32 miles, and 
1J feet per mile at the end. Its capacity is 750 second- feet. There 
are about 75 miles of main laterals operated by lateral companies 
and several hundred miles of small laterals and sublaterals. 
In the tabulation shown on page 15 will be found a statement 
of the water rights of the canal. In acquiring the right to enlarge 
the old No. 10 ditch it was necessary for the company to give the 
original owners a free, unlimited, perpeteual right to as much water 
as they could use on the lands they had previously irrigated, as 
long as the canal was drawing from the river. For this reason the 
first two appropriations are available for general use only when not 
required by the No. 10 rights. 
The distribution from the canal of water received on direct ap- 
propriations presents no notable features. The company controls 
only the main canal and its responsibility ends with the delivery of 
the water to the laterals which are all owned and controlled by 
separate companies or individuals. The canal is in three sections, 
each of which is handled bv a ditch rider. Diversions from the 
