HYDEOGKAPHY. 77 
had been in progress only eight months, during which the winter 
season had intervened. 
In providing for the second year's work Congress appropriated the 
sum of $250,000. This enabled the extension of the work into new 
territory, and, as the methods already developed had proved satis- 
factory, the delays of the previous year were avoided. The person- 
nel remained practically unchanged, save for a few additions. The 
results of the second year's work showed topographic surveys aggre- 
gating about 20,850 square miles, about 200 reservoir sites had been 
located, and the stream-measurement work was rapidly pushed in 
advance of the other investigations, as with this class of data length of 
series is one of the important factors. 
Notwithstanding the efficient work and good showing which had been 
made during the two years prior to June 30, 1890, Congress failed, 
during the next four years, to make special provision for hydrographic 
work. This necessitated the stopping of practically all the work except 
that of stream measurement, which was kept up by a small allotment 
made annually from a general appropriation, to which was added a 
small amount by the Tenth Census, while hearty cooperation was 
received from several States, corporations, and individuals. With these 
limited resources a large amount of stream-measurement data was col- 
lected and several special investigations were undertaken. 
The operations of the engineering branch of the irrigation survey 
were conducted on lines similar to and in the same drainage basins as 
those of the topographic and hydrographic branches. Among the more 
important investigations were surveys for a reservoir project on the 
lower Rio Grande, near El Paso, Tex. , the preliminary survey for a 
canal in the Arkansas Basin in Colorado, and a survey in the basin of 
Sun River in Montana for storage reservoirs and distributing canals. 
Preliminary surveys for important canal projects were made in the 
Snake River Basin in Idaho, for the location of reservoir and canal 
projects on Carson and Truckee rivers in Nevada, and for reservoirs at 
the headwaters of Tuolumne and Merced rivers in California. 
Unfortunately, the discontinuance of the appropriations for this 
work caused it to be dropped when it had reached only a preliminary 
stage. Much important and valuable information had, however, been 
gathered through the results of these surveys. More or less complete 
surveys were made of nearly 20 reservoirs in various parts of the 
country. Preliminary canal surveys, both for the diversion of water 
from rivers, or its conduct from the reservoirs, and for its distribu- 
tion to the irrigable lands, were made in a number of cases. Prelimi- 
nary examinations of more than 100 reservoir projects were made, 
also careful surveys for the segregation of land possibly irrigable, on 
the basis of which several hundred thousand acres were temporarily 
withdrawn from settlement, pending the completion of more detailed 
investigations. 
