THE STORM-WATER STORAGE SYSTEM OF IRRIGATION. 
ROBERT A. THOMPSON, M. A. 
(Bead April 5. 2895.) 
As the humid areas of any country become more densely settled, the 
necessity for the reclamation of the arid and semi-arid portions becomes 
more pressing. To meet the requirements of the ever increasing popula¬ 
tion and demand for room, some methods of artificial watering must be 
provided when possible, whereby the arid and semi-arid regions can be 
made suitable for cultivation and be brought into a state of fertility suf¬ 
ficient to support these people, by the production of grain, fruit, etc. 
In Texas to-day this demand is being felt stronger than ever before, as 
is shown by the deep and growing interest taken by the people in all ques¬ 
tions pertaining to irrigation. Heretofore there has been little absolute 
need for those lands that require irrigating to insure regular crops, as up 
to this period in the State’s history immigrants have found cheap and 
abundant fertile lands in the eastern and central humid portions, and 
settled there. These have, however, been largely taken up, and now new 
settlers are being pushed farther and farther westward, and large sections 
of the sub-humid areas are already occupied by those who attempt agri¬ 
culture. To support the rapidly increasing population throughout these 
semi-arid portions, some decisive steps must be taken towards ascertain¬ 
ing the best methods for reclaiming the tillable lands and bringing them 
into a suitable state for cultivation. 
Conservative estimates place the amount of arid and semi-arid lands 
of Texas at two-fifths of its total area; in fact, under this head ma}^ be 
classed all that portion of the State lying west of the 98th meridian. In 
this region lie some of her most fertile lands, supplemented by a climate 
salubrious, and in most cases superior to that of the humid district, 
making it more desirable for occupancy. In this area from the most 
northern to the extreme southern portions of the State are soils adapted 
to the greatest diversity of crops. 
Thousands of acres in this region can be watered artificially b}^ utiliz¬ 
ing the flow of such perennial streams as the Rio Grande, Pecos, Devil, 
Nueces, Guadalupe, and Colorado rivers and their major tributaries. 
These acres lie in the immediate valleys of the different streams or adja¬ 
cent thereto; but considering the amount of available land along any one 
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