ARABLE LAND THAT MAY YET BE IRRIGATED. 
315 
portioual area of lmt 4.2 per cent. The area yet remaining is equal to that of New 
York and Pennsylvania combined, or that of Illinois and Indiana. The best of the 
land and that situated most conveniently to water is included in that already taken up. 
A great deal has been said and written upon the subject of irrigation by means of 
artesian wells, and many hundreds of thousands of dollars have been literally sunken 
in vain attempts to bring water from the bowels of the earth. It has been a pet idea 
with many theorists that the great extent of the plains can be fertilized by the pro- 
miscuous boring of wells. They seem to have an idea that water is omnipresent be- 
neath the surface, and is only waiting for an opening to be made, to pour itself upwards. 
They do not reflect that it is only under very peculiar conditions of dip and character 
of strata, that water having an upward tendency can be found. 
If nothing else will stop this senseless clamor for artesian wells surely it would ap- 
pear that the history of the failures which have attended such attempts should 
effect it. The Union Pacific Railroad has bored five or six between Fort Steele and 
Green River City. They are, on the average, about 1,000 feet deep, and cost about 
$15,000 each. Most of them were at first flowing wells, while in the rest the water 
rose to within 10 or 15 feet of the top. After a year or two most of them stopped ; 
perhaps two are still running. These were sunken in a locality very favorable for the 
purpose. The United States Government sunk a well at Fort Russell, Wyo., to a depth 
of 1,100 feet, at a cost of ,$10,000, without success. At Denver a well was bored to a 
depth of 800 feet when the attempt was abandoned. The Kansas Pacific Railroad has 
also expended a large amount of money in the same fruitless quest. 
In Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties, in California, irrigation by means of 
artesian wells is carried on to a considerable extent. In this part of the State the soil 
and climate are exceptionally fine, the crops, very largely fruit and wine-grapes, are 
very valuable, while water is extremely scarce, and is used with the utmost economy. 
In these counties there are about 1,000 artesian wells, which irrigate altogether 18,000 
acres, an average of 18 acres to each. They are used mainly for small vineyards, gar- 
dens, and orchards. Their depth ranges from 40 to 600 feet, while the average is 150 
to 200 feet. Success has beeu had in sinking them only in a few limited localities. 
Their average cost has been about $400, and the averago amount of water brought to 
the surface by each is about one-tenth of a cubic foot per second. In other words, each 
second-foot of water has cost $4,000. At the present duty of water in vogue in Colo- 
rado, i. e., 40 acres per second-foot, it will be seen that it would cost no less than $100 
per acre for a water-right. This is without taking into account the vast amount of 
money which has been spent in useless borings. Truly, as the State engineer of Cali- 
fornia says, in concluding his remarks upon this question, " it will be seen that the luxury 
is a some what exp'ensive one." Many people, however, still pin their faith to artesian 
wells as probable sources of large supplies of water, and scarcely a session of Congress 
passes without attempts being made to pass legislation looking toward an expenditure 
of money for boring them. During the last session an appropriation was made for 
''examining into the needs of the arid region," and for boring two artesian wells "on 
the plains east of the Rocky Mountains," the appropriation to be at the disposal of 
the Honorable Commissioner of Agriculture. Fortunately the amount is small, being 
only $5,000, and it is to be hoped that this amount will serve to demonstrate the ntter 
hopelessness of the scheme. If so, it will not be expended in vain. 
There are four general methods of irrigation in use, viz: 
1st. Flooding, or downward filtration, by which the surface of the soil is covered 
with water, which is then allowed to stand and settle into the earth. 
2d. Ditching, where the ground is supplied with water from lateral percolation from 
ditches placed at short intervals. 
3d. Subsoil irrigation, where the water is conducted underground and supplies the 
soil by capillary attraction. 
4th. Sprinkling, in imitation of nature's method. 
The lirst method admits of several variations, as follows: If in motion, it may be 
