Report of tlie Board of Co~issioners 

on the Irrigation Qf the S Joaquin, 

Tulare, and Sacramento :Valle~ of the 

Sbteofeduonma ~3 

Engineer Historical Studies 

NumberS 
Other Office of History Books of Related Interest 

"Dear Friends at Home ... ": The Letters and Diary of Thomas James Owen, Fijiieth New 

York Volunteer Engineer Regiment, During the Civil War, edited and with an introduction 

by Dale E. Floyd (GPO S/N 008-022-00224-3). 

The Nation Builders: A Sesquicentennial History of the Corps of Topographical Engineers, 

1838-1863, edited by Frank N. Schubert (GPO S/N 008-022-00248-1). 

THE COVER 

The illustration is hased on the map of the San Joaquin, Sacramento, and Tiilare valleys 

that was prepared under the direction of the Board of Commissioners on Irrigation in 1873. 
ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

REPORT OF THE 

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ON THE 

IRRIGATION OF THE SAN JOAQUIN, 

TULARE, AND SACRAMENTO VALLEYS 

OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, 1873 

Annotated and with an introduction 

by 

W. Turrentine Jackson 

Rand F. Herbert 

Stephen R. Wee 

of Jackson Research Pr.ojects 

Engineer Historical Studies 

NumberS 

OFFICE OF HISTORY 

UNITED STATES ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS 

FORT BELVOIR, VIRGINIA 

1990 
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data 

United States. Board of Commissioners on the Irrigation of the San 

Joaquin, Tulare, and Sacramento Valleys of the State of California. 

[Report of the Board of Commissioners on the Irrigation of the San 

Joaquin, Tulare, and Sacramento Valleys of the State of California] 

Engineers and irrigation : report of the Board of Commissioners on 

the Irrigation of the San Joaquin, Tulare, and Sacramento Valleys of 

the State of California, 1873 I annotated and with an introduction 

by W Turrentine Jackson, Rand E Herbert, Stephen R. Wee. 

p. em. - (Engineer historical studies ; no. 5) 

Originally published: Report of the Board of Commissioners on the 

Irrigation of the San Joaquin, Tulare, and Sacramento Valleys of the 

State of California I B.S. Alexander, George H. Mendell, George 

Davidson. Washington: G.P. 0., 1874. 

Includes bibliographical references. 

1. Irrigation-California-San Joaquin River Valley. 

2. Irrigation-California-Tulare Lake Region. 3. IrrigationCalifornia-Sacramento River Valley. I. Alexander, B.S. (Barton 

Stone), 1819-1878. II. Mendell, George H. (George Henry), 

1831-1902. III. Davidson, George, 1825-1911. IV. Title. 

V. Series. 

TC824.C2U55 1990 

333.91 '3'097948-dc20 89-17625 

First Printing 

EP 870-1-39 

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office 

Washington, D. C. 20402 
Foreword 

The role of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in opening the West is not as well known 

as the Corps' work on nationwide flood control and navigation projects. Yet, in the 19th 

century the surveys, explorations, scientific studies, and reports of Army engineer and 

topographical officers were major contributions to our understanding of the undeveloped arid 

regions of the United States. The following report illustrates the skill and dedication of these 

soldiers. The Board of Commissioners that explored the interior valleys of California was 

composed of two Army engineer officers and one civilian scientist for the Coast Survey. 

Their report, published in 1874, was the first federal irrigation survey. It still has value for 

its detailed information on central California and on irrigation practice in the American West 

and, indeed, around the world. 

The introductory essay puts the report into its historical setting and provides a wealth 

of information about both the survey and the political and economic forces that dominated 

California over a hundred years ago. I trust the report and the essay will be of interest to 

all those interested in the development of the West. 

iii 

ROBERT W PAGE 

Assistant Secretary of the Army 

(Civil Works) 
Acknowledgments 

Many dedicated professionals assisted us in researching and writing this report. While 

listing all those who helped would be impossible we must thank Richard Terry, Ruth Berger, 

and their fellow librarians at the California State Library, California Section and Government 

Documents Section; Joe Zamora at the California State Archives; Irene Moran and the staff 

of the Bancroft Library; the archivists of the Old Army Branch, National Archives, Washington, 

D.C.; Richard Smith of the Cartographic and Architectural Branch of the National Archives, 

Alexandria, Virginia; and Martin Reuss and John Greenwood of the Office of History, 

Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Sharon Schuler of our own staff keyed in the 

text and helped produce the final product in a cheerful and competent manner. 

IV 
Preface 

This report is the fifth in the series Engineer Historical Studies. The series provides 

primary source materials that shed significant light on the history of the Army Corps of 

Engineers. More than that, the·materials are part of our nation's history, because they suggest 

the diverse ways in which the Corps has contributed to national development. 

The reports of 19th century Army engineers reflect a commitment to scientific research 

and analysis. Like several other reports-some of which have been published in the present 

series-the 1873 study of the San Joaquin, Tulare, and Sacramento valleys of California offers 

insights into the Corps' role in western expansion. I hope readers will gain useful insights 

into the relationship between technology and politics and between the federal government 

and the states. Comprehending such relationships is essential to understanding natural resource 

development in a democratic system. 

v 

H.J. HATCH 

Lieutenant General, U.S. Army 

Commanding 
Contents 

INTRODUCTION by W. Turrentine Jackson, Rand F. Herbert, 

and Stephen R. Wee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 

REPORT OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ON THE IRRIGATION 

OF THE SAN JOAQUIN, TULARE, AND SACRAMENTO 

VALLEYS OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 

Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 

INDEX ......................................... ·.................. 175 

Figures 

No. 

I. Showing the System of Irrigation as Practiced on the San Joaquin 

and Kings River Canal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 

Maps 

I. Map of the San Joaquin, Sacramento, and Tulare Valleys, 

State of California ................................... inside back cover 

2. Map of the Delta of the River Cauvery Showing the System 

of Irrigation in the Tanjore and Trichinopoly Districts of India . . . . . . . . . 30 

3. Map Showing the Tank System in India Between the Kistna and 

Godavery Rivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 

Illustrations 

Lieutenant Colonel Barton S. Alexander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 

Major George H. Mendell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 

Professor George Davidson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 

Illustrations courtesy of the following sources: p. 48 (bottom, right), Bancroft Library, 

University of California, Berkeley; pp. 29, 30, and inside back cover, National Arc\lives 

and Records Administration, Washington, D.C., Record Group 77, Civil Works Map file 

Wl70-4, -5, and -6 and W170-l, Sheets I and 2. All other illustrations from the files 

of the Office of History, Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 

Vll 

----------------·-····----···----·--· 
ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

REPORT OF THE 

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ON THE 

IRRIGATION OF THE SAN JOAQUIN, 

TULARE, AND SACRAMENTO VALLEYS 

OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, 1873 
Introduction 

by 

W. Turrentine Jackson 

Rand F. Herbert 

Stephen R. Wee 

I 

Following the Civil War, many Americans, responding to the era's 

expansionist mood, expressed unbounded confidence in the economic benefits 

of rapid settlement of the West and in the region's capacity to absorb 

nearly limitless population. At the same time liberalization of public 

land disposal policies encouraged western migration. The future of 

California, which constituted much of the far West, lay in settling unclaimed public lands, redeeming its vast desert regions, and transforming 

the state into a home for millions. Irrigation was central to this vision. 

Little reliable or scientific information was available on the environmental problems that would confront farmers who came to conquer the arid 

West. In the 1870s many respected scientists, as well as western congressmen and town site boosters in semi-arid regions, still promoted the belief 

that "rain follows the plow."1 However, it was the technological 

manipulation of water supplies that enabled the new West to blossom in the 

early decades of the 20th century. California's agricultural development 

was not a saga of individual enterprise but the story of people who built 

organizations and institutions to control a problematic environment 

through use of technology. 

The increase in the number of engineers in California, from 6 in 

1850 to 158 in 1870, is one indication of their expanding role in shaping 

California during the first decades of statehood. Engineers of the latter 

19th century, writes historian Raymond H. Merritt, "often pictured themselves as the vanguards of civilization who stimulated intellectual 

thought and promoted the expansion of cultural values, as well as developing natural resources and fulfilling material needs." Civil engineers 

enjoyed a high professional status in America because of their ability to 

manipulate the environment. When leveling mountains, draining swamplands, 

irrigating deserts, bridging rivers, and designing safer and speedier 

transportation, engineers in the American West thought of their profession 

as the one most responsible for developing civilization on the frontier 

and for promoting better economic, social, and cultural 

institutions. 2 

By 1870 the great Central Valley of California had been opened to 

settlement for more than a quarter century. (Map 1) The region had 

about 15 million acres of land capable of producing crops given a proper 

system of reclamation and irrigation, yet only a few thousand people were 

engaged in cultivating the soil. Various reclamation and irrigation 
4 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

projects in the 1860s failed to attract widespread or dense agricultural 

settlement, particularly in areas removed from the major navigable rivers 

of the interior valley. In 1871 Prussian-born journalist and author 

Charles Nordhoff described the San Joaquin Valley: "Wheat, wheat, wheat, 

and nothing but wheat, is what you see on your journey, as far as the eye 

can reach over the plain in every direction." The valley was still open 

range dominated by the "cattle kings" Henry Miller and Charles Lux and the 

interminable wheat fields of Frank Norris's Octopus. Small houses and 

barns were scattered at great distances. There were few small irrigation 

ditches and almost no fenced fields; towns were dusty roads lined with a 

few saloons. "Fields of two, three, and four thousand acres," observed 

Nordhoff, "make but small farms." 3 

Up until the late 1860s mining had dominated the economy of 

California, but between 1860 and 1870 the number of miners fell from 

83,000 to 36,000. Agriculture had expanded and soon became the state's 

principal industry. During the same decade the number of farmers statewide 

increased from 20,000 to 48,000.4 Many Californians foresaw that the 

future of their state lay in judiciously exploiting its vast plains and 

tule marshes by replacing local control and piecemeal development with 

more efficient and scientific planning. A permanent agricultural empire 

based on irrigation and export by ship and railroad would bring more order 

and control over violent fluctuations of the regional agricultural economy. In post-Civil War California, members of the State Agricultural Society, most of whom were affluent agriculturalists and proponents of scientific farming, stressed the link between transportation improvements and 

farm markets, land values, and population growth. Many who joined the organization favored corporate development of water resources~ others wished 

to invoke the sovereign power of the government to plan or build the 

necessary public works. Both groups looked to the engineering profession 

to help capitalists or the state control the environmental forces 

threatening economic development of agricultural lands in the valley that 

was destined to become "the garden and granary of California."5 

As early as September 1867 prominent farmers called for statewide 

action. Ex-congressman John Bidwell, a gentleman farmer and a Sacramento 

Valley resident since his arrival at Sutter's Fort in 1841, called for "a 

great design or system" to save the plains from destructive inundations. 

He asked that the state appropriate "vast sums of money" and hire "the 

best engineering talent in the country" to design an integrated system of 

mountain reservoirs, levees, drainage canals, and irrigation ditches to 

reclaim the swamps and irrigate dry lands throughout the valley.6 

A veteran of the levee wars in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, 

J. Ross Browne complained in 1872 that "the resources of a country are 

intrinsically valuable [only] in proportion to the facilities existing for 

their development." However, for more than twenty years, valley residents 

had remained generally apathetic about public improvements for flood control and irrigation. Without an organized effort to press for comprehensive solutions, numerous bills submitted to the state legislature had 

failed. Browne called on the legislature to establish a permanent commission, "to consist of at least three of the ablest engineers m the 
INTRODUCTION 5 

country, whose duty it should be to make a thorough and comprehensive 

survey of all the lands in the state subject to overflow [and] to agree 

upon a system of irrigation, reclamation, and drainage."7 

In his 1871 annual report to the governor, Charles F. Reed, 

president of the State Board of Agriculture, advocated a joint plan of 

reclamation and irrigation for the entire portion of the state lying 

between the Coast Range aad the Sierra Nevada. Reed claimed that the 

longer the state delayed in formulating a general plan, the greater the 

difficulties in implementing one would become. Conflicting vested 

interests would result in "vexatious questions of water privileges" and 

"unfriendly contention and fruitless litigation."8 The messages of 

Reed, Bidwell, and Browne bore a common theme: an appropriate system of 

water management might extend benefits equitably, but water distribution 

could not be left in the hands of ordinary people and a chaotic, 

decentralized population. 

The heartland of California's agriculture since the last quarter 

of the 19th century has been its great Central Valley, comprised of four 

smaller interconnected basins known as the Kern, Tulare, San Joaquin, and 

Sacramento river valleys. Alluvial in ongm, the Central Valley is bordered on the east by the lofty 400-mile-long Sierra Nevada and on the west 

by the Coast Range. The valley runs generally north-south for some 450 

miles and has an average width of 50 miles. Its area encompasses roughly 

25,000 square miles, or nearly 15 million acres of prime farmland. The 

Sacramento River, California's largest stream, flows southward through the 

center of the northern half of the valley; the San Joaquin River runs 

northward through the southern half. They meet in a vast delta region 

before discharging into Suisun and San Francisco bays. Some ten smaller 

tributaries flow out of the Sierra Nevada, cutting through the eastern 

side of the valley before emptying into the two great rivers. Before the 

irrigation age began, in the extreme southeastern corner of the valley the 

western-flowing Kern, Kings, and Kaweah rivers emptied into low basins. 

These formed three huge seasonal lakes -- Kern, Buena Vista, and Tulare --

that covered some 750 square miles during the wet season. With the 

exception of Cache Creek and Stony Creek in the Sacramento Valley, on the 

west side no major streams flow into the valley from the Coast Range. 

Because rainfall in the Central Valley is unevenly distributed, 

much of the land was vulnerable to periodic floods and acute drought. 

Hence, water engineers sought to devise a hydraulic system for equitably 

distributing winter rains. With such a system, farmers could have all the 

water required in dry seasons and protection against overflow in seasons 

of flood. Population growth and economic development hinged on storage, 

diversion, and redistribution of water on a scale unprecedented in the 

United States. However, large water projects require considerable start-up 

capital and the history of large irrigation enterprises indicated that 

they were generally unprofitable as corporate ventures. Irrigation promoters wrestled with ways to raise funds to develop water projects in isolated, rural areas on the far western frontier. They had to find institutional structures; private organizations; or local, state, territorial, or 
6 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

federal agencies to plan, build, and operate complex, multifunctional 

water projects on a sound engineering basis. 

Government-financed irrigation and reclamation systems in the 

highly centralized "hydraulic societies" of Egypt, Italy, India, and China 

where more sophisticated irrigation institutions had evolved attracted the 

attention of American engineers and scientists, progressive farm organizations, and the Republican leadership in California during the late sixties 

and early seventies. Proponents of Old World irrigation methods rarely 

noticed the ecological problems that technology created, the disastrous 

effect on native cultures, or the antidemocratic forms of social organization associated with the control of water in foreign countries. Instead 

they viewed the ancient hydraulic civilizations as useful technological 

models of how to manage natural resources and create opportunity for 

millions of autonomous individuals who could never conquer the arid 

western desert alone.9 Those advocating centralized control did not 

go unopposed. Grass-roots organizations of small farmers, who had their 

own vtswn of farm life grounded in republican agrarianism and whose 

political influence peaked in the antimonopolist fervor of the 1870s, 

challenged the outlook of the "elite" farmers. In California a weak 

administrative apparatus for governing water rights combined with 

economic, political, and ideological conflicts to make water management 

policy a battleground in the last half of the 19th century and 

beyond. 10 

The need for water storage and irrigation in the arid West was 

just beginning to capture the nation's attention in the 1870s. Knowledge 

of western climates and soils was rudimentary at best. Nobody knew how 

much land was irrigable or whether enough water was available to make 

irrigation profitable. Over the ensuing decades water became the critical 

issue in the American West. How much irrigation water went with the land, 

the number of acre feet required to raise crops, and the cost per acre 

foot became the most important factors to be considered in deciding where 

to farm. With guarded optimism the federal government began studying the 

potential of western irrigation. An act of Congress in 1873 authorized an 

investigation to ascertain the extent to which the great Central Valley of 

California could benefit from a comprehensive system of water conservation 

and management that would store flood waters, enhance inland navigation, 

and provide water to irrigate millions of acres. Although two of the three 

persons on the resulting commtsswn were military engineers trained at 

West Point, the commissioners did not have extensive experience in river 

management, dam building, or constructing irrigation systems. 

Nevertheless, these "functional intellectuals" undertook the work with the 

confidence and authority that typified their profession. In doing so, they 

cultivated an image of responsible and utilitarian public service. 11 

The Irrigation Commission lacked fundamental information about 

the natural environment, knowledge absolutely essential to planning a 

comprehensive system of reclamation and irrigation. The commission's initial work consisted principally of an old-style military reconnaissance 

and collection of basic data heretofore unpublished on the topography, 

climate, precipitation, soil conditions, extent of irriga ble and reclaimable land, water supply, and general hydrological characteristics of the 
INTRODUCTION 7 

valley basins. Much of this information came from California state surveys 

of the west side of the Sacramento Valley, San Joaquin & Kings River Canal 

and Irrigation Company irrigation surveys in the southern and western 

portions of the San Joaquin Valley, and the Southern Pacific Railroad 

surveys down the east side of the San Joaquin Valley to Bakersfield. 

Because of limited time and funding, the commiSSioners hastily 

conducted their field work in a matter of months. It was more like a preliminary examination than a detailed scientific investigation. Nevertheless, the comm1sswners developed a comprehensive scheme for building 

storage and diversion dams, proposed a system of canals and levees, and 

concluded that the problems associated with unreliable rainfall could be 

overcome through flood control and irrigation without damage to the navigation interests of the region. The report was so broad in scope as to be 

visionary. It captured the imagination and respect of engineers, businessmen, and political leaders throughout the state and nation. The conclusions reached by the commissioners, and their recommendations, remained 

significant contributions to future planning for development of the Central Valley and its water resources. Although environmental misconceptions 

and engineering flaws precluded the use of the report as a blueprint for 

future work in the 20th century, the report was an important addition to 

the scanty literature available to American engineers on planning and 

building irrigation projects in arid regions. 12 The comm1sswners 

realized that irrigation was neither cheap nor an inexact science; farmers 

could not simply go out, dig a ditch, and watch the water flow onto their 

fields. The commisswners recommended complete hydrographic surveys to 

determine the amount of water available in each river basin and detailed 

topographic surveys to determine the best location for the main canals and 

lateral ditches before construction of major irrigation or reclamation 

works. They realized this work might require decades of study. In the 

interim, the commiSSioners suggested that regions sufficiently populated 

should undertake irrigation work on a small scale, but only if consistent 

with the long-range general plan. 

Sixty-five years after the work of the Irrigation Commission was 

completed California State Engineer Edward Hyatt, father of the State 

Water Project, assessed the effect of the commission's report on state 

water policy, water engineers, and California's water management bureaucracy in a 1939 national radio broadcast on California's agricultural program. The Central Valley Project, the centerpiece of California's massive 

hydraulic system, he stated, was "conceived as a dream as early as 1873." 

Hyatt credited the members of the federal Irrigation Commission with 

carrying out "one of the earliest attempts at water resources planning on 

a regional scale comprehending all needs of water regulation and utilization." The first state water agency, the State Engineers Office, labored 

from 1878 to 1888 to implement some of the basic recommendations suggested 

by the commission. During the 1920s and 1930s the Division of Water 

Resources, together with the Bureau of Reclamation and the Corps of 

Engineers, invested millions of dollars to perform the studies necessary 

to formulate a technically and economically feasible plan to irrigate and 

reclaim the Central Valley on a scale similar to that proposed by the 

Irrigation Commission more than 60 years earlier. 13 
8 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

II 

During the last third of the 19th century, federal, state, and 

territorial officials confronted multiple problems in settling the American West. One related to the interlocking problems of water distribution 

and the disposal of public lands. In California three conflicting water 

rights doctrines had evolved to meet particular local needs: the tradition 

of community control as exemplified by pueblo water rights and by local 

water commissions in the southern counties of the state; the doctrine of 

prior appropriation growing out of local mmmg customs in northern 

California; and the common law principle of riparianism that recognized 

the usufructuary rights of landowners adjacent to a stream to divert water 

for their own use. The system of community control over water rights 

survived for decades in some southern California communities, but 

elsewhere in the state the power of private water companies became 

dominant by the 1870s. The laissez-faire doctrine of prior 

appropriation, recognized in the 1872 water code and protected by judicial 

decisions, encouraged corporate irrigation enterprises to make expansive 

claims to the waters flowing in California streams to the limit of the 

supply.14 

The shape of the arid agricultural society built on irrigation 

depended as much on land settlement patterns and federal land policy as on 

water rights. By the 1870s Californians had reason to worry about the 

threat of a land and water monopoly. In the 11 leading agricultural counties 100 landowners controlled over five million acres. The Central Pacific Railroad owned another three million acres in California gran ted to 

them by the federal government. In 1870 the railroad magnates, under the 

guise of a second railroad company, the Southern Pacific, rushed to build 

a branch line down the unsettled east side of the San Joaquin Valley. The 

project brought lucrative revenues from shipping wheat and through acquisition of hundreds of thousands of acres of grant lands. Laid out along the 

major streams of the Central Valley, some 70 Mexican land grants -- comprised of tens of thousands of acres each -- had become large cattle and 

wheat ranches. During the 1860s a large share of the San Joaquin Valley's 

previously unclaimed grasslands fell into the hands of a few shrewd land 

speculators. An estimated eight million acres of public land in California 

passed into private hands during this decade. A considerable part was 

fraudulently obtained under federal legislation limiting grants to 160 

acres and under liberal swampland disposal policies of the state of California.15 

For the most part during the 1860s, these land grants and the 

federal subsidies extended to the Central Pacific Railroad were considered 

appropriate financial assistance to promote immigration and the economic 

growth of the state. By the 1870s, known as the "Terrible Seventies" in 

California, the economic and social benefits had not materialized and 

opposition grew to government aid of this type. Tales of outrageous construction profits, fraud, bribes to public officials, fraudulent affidavits, and graft by government inspectors were covered widely by the press 

and became major issues in the state and national elections of 

1872.16 
INTRODUCTION 9 

Many of the bonanza wheat men who owned vast tracts and looked on 

farming as a speculative venture were reluctant to invest in canal building. Between 1868 and 18 7 3 California suffered a prolonged drought. Wheat 

crops failed completely in some years and in others yields were light. 

Small farmers throughout the valley who had bought farmland at inflated 

prices during the boom suffered severe hardship. Herdsmen fled the region 

with their stock, and farmers located near streams hurriedly formed irrigation companies to save their crops. One observer in the San Joaquin Valley 

in 1872 estimated that local farmers had constructed from 40 to 50 irrigation ditches in the past few dry years and were irrigating approximately 

100,000 acres, some of the acreage planted in corn, cotton, flax, and 

barley. With few exceptions these ditches, built by hand by individuals or 

small associations of farmers, were ephemeral enterprises that quickly 

failed altogether or required substantial reconstruction between irrigation seasons. They were expensive and impractical solutions except under 

the worst drought conditionsP 

After the Civil War, San Francisco capitalists with experience in 

forming municipal water companies and in supplying the hydraulic mines 

with water showed some interest in the commercial building of canals and 

ditches for irrigation. The actions of these urban capitalists, with their 

imaginative and bold schemes for reclamation and irrigation of large 

tracts of desert land, led circuitously to the appointment of the Irrigation Commission. 

John Bensley launched the first major corporate irrigation venture in the San Joaquin Valley. In 1848 Bensley arrived in Sacramento and 

bought half-interest in two steamboats engaged in the Sacramento River 

trade. After the great Sacramento fire of 1852, Bensley moved to San Francisco. There he helped found the California Steam Navigation Company, a 

joint stock venture that controlled the bulk of the river traffic on the 

Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers until it sold out to the railroad. During 1857 he also organized the San Francisco Water Works Company to provide municipal water to that city. He remained president of the company 

until its consolidation with the Spring Valley Water Company a decade 

later. In the mid-1860s, when San Francisco began seeking new sources of 

water to meet its expanding needs, Bensley planned to bring water more 

than 100 miles south to the city from Clear Lake in Lake County. His plan 

never materialized; the ·-Spring Valley · Water· ·Co:mp.an..y developed reservoir 

sites southwest of the city in San Mateo County instead. 

On 7 March 1866 Bensley organized the San Joaquin & Kings River 

Canal Company to irrigate land with water claimed under a notice of appropriation he posted on the San Joaquin River at Firebaugh's Ferry. After 

laying out a right-of -way, he began building the canal with his own capital. To demonstrate the practicality of irrigating wheat and barley crops 

in the San Joaquin Valley, he leased farmland along the canal route and 

put it into cultivation. Unable to attract sufficient investors in 

California, in 1867 to 1868 Bensley went to New York seeking financial support. He failed there also and was forced temporarily to quit work on the 

canal in 1868. In the spring of 1871 Bensley renewed his efforts, 

employing 1,000 Chinese laborers who managed to complete 40 miles of the 

canal. 18 
10 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

The high costs of labor and of transporting equipment and 

supplies 75 miles through the Coast Range and across the plains drained 

Bensley of capital. He turned to his old friend William Ralston and the 

Bank of California for help. Ralston organized a group of San Francisco 

capitalists who took over Bensley's irrigation scheme and incorporated in 

May 1871 as the San Joaquin & Kings River Canal and Irrigation Company. 

The company was capitalized at $10 million and included some of the most 

powerful financial interests in San Francisco: William S. Chapman, Lloyd 

Tevis, Isaac Friedlander, Henry Miller, Charles Lux, J. Mora Moss, and 

Nicholas Luning. Each of these men had extensive property interests in the 

San Joaquin Valley adjacent to the right-of-way for the proposed canal. 

Eventually Ralston hoped to build a second irrigation and navigation canal 

through the Sacramento Valley.19 

The directors of the canal company hired a young British civil 

enginee·r, Robert Maitland Brereton. Brereton had exceptional administrative skills honed in India between. 1856 and 1870 on the practical engineering work he carried out on the British government's transportation and 

irrigation projects. The British hydraulic engineering works in India 

included several huge dams and canal lines designed to irrigate an area in 

excess of ten million acres. The British built 6,000 miles of canal, of 

which 2,300 were navigable, and 18,000 miles of distributing lines. Having 

worked on these projects as a construction engineer, Brereton seemed extraordinarily well prepared by training and experience to take on the 

challenges of conquering the desert and building an irrigation empire in 

the San Joaquin Valley. 20 

Brereton came to the United States with an established standing 

in British society, prepared to meet influential dignitaries on the East 

Coast. Letters of introduction from the Secretary of the Institution of 

Civil Engineers in London, the Secretary of State for India, and the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs gave him access to the leading civil 

engineers; military officers and public officials in Washington, D.C.; 

financiers in New York and San Francisco; and some of the most important 

railroad entrepreneurs of the era. After a few months on the East Coast, 

he traveled by train to San Francisco and then proceeded up the Pacific 

Coast studying the route and resources adjacent to the Northern Pacific 

Railroad in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.21 

Brereton arr-ived in San Francisco in the summer of 1871. There he 

met William Ralston who hired him to work on his irrigation and mining 

ventures on the Pacific Coast. The board of trustees of the San Joaquin & 

Kings River Canal and Irrigation Company appointed Brereton as chief consulting engineer at a generous salary of $1,000 per month in gold. Departing for the valley immediately thereafter, Brereton inspected the work 

already accomplished and conducted preliminary surveys of the west side of 

the valley between Banta Station and Fresno in the fall of 1871. Although 

a drought had made the plains "a mere dusty desert," Brereton reported 

that irrigation would render the region suitable for wheat, corn, sugar 

beets, cotton, tobacco, hemp, ramie, and other products. The hot wind, dry 

climate, and dusty soil reminded him of the valleys of India before irrigation. These conditions, predicted Brereton, signaled a bright future for 

the region as "one of the richest and most productive valleys in the United States." 
INTRODUCTION 11 

The San Joaquin & Kings River Canal and Irrigation Company had 

already begun work earlier in the year on a 40-mile stretch of canal from 

Fresno Slough to Los Banos. An experienced professional civil engineer, 

Brereton was a harsh critic of haphazard and inefficient irrigation 

developments. In his initial report to the board, he complained to canal 

company officials that shoddy work by his predecessor had not been based 

on any instrumental survey or comprehensive plan. Furthermore, the work 

was unsuitable to meet the irrigated acreage projections or the navigation 

requirements of the company. The canal as constructed was useful only for 

local purposes and would irrigate less than one-third of the acreage contemplated. Furthermore, the high velocity of the water precluded upstream 

navigation. He advised the trustees to consider a more comprehensive 

project to irrigate the entire valley below Tulare Lake, but expressed 

concern about earning the cooperation of landowners, the rate of settlement on farms within the irrigable area of the proposed canal, and potentii:tl legal battles with those holding riparian rights to water. 22 

The board responded by ordering Brereton to prepare a more comprehensive report on a "complete system of irrigation for the San Joaquin 

valley, from the foot of Tejon Pass to the delta lands of the San Joaquin 

river around Antioch." The area covered nearly eight million acres, including hundreds of thousands of acres of marshlands that could be purchased 

without any acreage restrictions at the cost of reclamation under the 1868 

state swamp and overflow land disposal act. Brereton recommended that the 

company build large storage reservoirs on the Kern and Kings rivers and 

file claims to appropriate all the unappropriated waters on these streams 

together with those of the other smaller tributaries draining into Tulare 

Lake. Two canals from the Kern River above Bakersfield and one from Kern 

Lake would irrigate 640,000 acres in Kern County. Any surplus water would 

be stored for irrigating lands from the main headgates at Tulare Lake by 

embanking Kern and Buena Vista lakes and connecting them with Tulare Lake 

by dredging existing overflow channels. The cost for this portion of the 

work was estimated at $3,500,000; the annual value of crops grown in the 

same region was ultimately expected to be $21 million. Assuming farmers 

were willing to pay $1.25 per acre for irrigation water for each crop and 

fees for water for grazing and domestic purposes, Brereton calculated. the 

company coulcf obtain ·a ~minimum of '$800;{)00 in revenue from water sales 

each year once the irrigated lands were fully settled. 

In the vicinity of Tulare Lake, Brereton planned to levee the 

eastern, southern, and southwestern shores, thereby reclaiming 207,000 

acres of swamp and overflow lands on its borders. Two hundred miles of 

levee along the lower Kings River, Fish Slough, and Fresno Slough would 

control floods and channel water from the northern outlet of Tulare Lake 

to the San Joaquin River, reclaiming another 100,000 acres of prime agricultural land. Storage reservoirs and distributing ditches in Tulare County in the vicinity of Visalia and Centerville would irrigate approximately 

800,000 acres. Nearly all the irrigable land on the west side of the 

valley from Summit Lake to Antioch, some 500,000 acres, would be irrigated 

from the main 160-mile-long canal, diverting 2,500 cubic feet per second 

from Tulare Lake. Brereton estimated the total cost for these elements of 

the project at $2.6 million and annual revenues at $750,000 when farmers 

settled all the irrigable land. 
12 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

Finally, Brereton contemplated building levees on both sides of 

the San Joaquin River from Millerton to Hill's Ferry, a distance of 90 

miles, to reclaim about 276,000 acres of swamp and overflow lands. By 

damming the San Joaquin above Millerton, tunneling through Table Mountain, 

and carrying the water in a flume to Jones' Ferry then north 80 miles 

along the foothill contour, 400,000 acres could be irrigated on the east 

side of the valley between the San Joaquin and Merced rivers at a cost not 

to exceed $2 million. Brereton's investigations did not extend north beyond the Merced River. 23 

By 1871 and in the middle of a horrible drought, Fresno, Tulare, 

and Kern county farmers had experimented sufficiently with building irrigation works to recognize the potential value of water conservation and 

irrigation during dry years. Their experiments had also taught them that 

constructing headworks, canals, distribution ditches, and levees required 

substantial capital and engineering skill. Brereton's plan to centralize 

and scientifically develop irrigation works caught the imagination of 

farmers everywhere in the valley, but public reactions were mixed. Many 

applauded the plan because the canals would bring water to dry lands and 

provide a measure of flood control, and because Brereton had designed the 

main and major branch canals as a water carriage system for barges. Cheap 

water transit from fields to the grain ports of Antioch and Martinez might 

restrain the power of the railroad and lead to lower freight rates. Furthermore, the canals could facilitate movement of coal, lumber, salt, and 

farm implements upstream to valley communities. However, fear of a land 

and water monopoly in the San Joaquin Valley soon remolded public 

opinion.24 

The San Joaquin & Kings River Canal and Irrigation Company owned 

none of the lands subject to irrigation from its canal system. However, 

the company had secured appropriative water rights under state law and 

purchased rights-of -way from private landowners, many of whom were shareholders. Naturally, the company wished to acquire private lands at 

preirrigation value. Once reclaimed and irrigated the land would escalate 

in value to $25 or $30 per acre, or could be rented at $4 to $5 per acre 

and held until cultivation, improvements, and settlement raised the value. 

The project promoters also hoped to acquire vast tracts of fertile land 

adjacent to rivers and streams from the state as swamp and overflow land 

grants and from the federal government as subsidy grants in· The form' of ·· 

alternate sections of public land along the canal route. If the company 

could not acquire land by these methods, it would be necessary to recoup 

its entire investment through per-acre fees for the delivery and use of 

water and from transportation charges. Brereton and Ralston realized that 

the latter arrangement would not be profitable for investors. Those who 

stood to gain most were the owners of lands to be irrigated -- Henry 

Miller, Charles Lux, William S. Chapman, Isaac Friedlander, ·Timothy Paige, 

and T. Grayson -- whose pro~erty might increase in value tenfold when 

irrigation water became available. 5 

Ralston and the trustees of the San Joaquin & Kings River Canal 

and Irrigation Company petitioned the legislature in January 1872 to memorialize Congress for a land grant.26 Ralston anticipated the support 

of Governor Newton Booth, who had been elected in 1871 on the Republican 
INTRODUCTION 13 

ticket but who had also taken a stand against subsidies to the railroad. 

After he became governor, Booth began to fashion a new political machine, 

the People's Independent Party, to address the concerns of the emerging 

farm bloc in California politics. By 1873 he was identified as a champion 

of the small farmers' cause and was backed strongly by the Patrons of 

Husbandry, a farmers' organization opposed to monopolies, control of water 

resources by large landowners, government corruption, and high freight 

rates. Booth and his political followers favored strict government control 

of railroad and steamboat transportation, public utilities, and natural 

resources. The new party distrusted the alliance of land monopolists and 

civil engineers. Booth desired that the valley's irrigable land be developed by sturdy American yeomen and that local associations comprised of 

farmers cooperate in irrigating their lands. Branding Brereton a British 

adventurer, Booth questioned his reputation and his credentials for designing and constructing the colossal system. Booth also attacked the 

company's colonization program and water distribution system as "utterly 

utopian."27 

Having failed to attract the support of either the state or private investors, Ralston hoped to raise capital in England. In May 1872 

Brereton traveled to London to solicit capitalists willing to form a 

syndicate to provide funding. He carried endorsements from Ralston, former 

governor Henry H. Haight, the British consul, an agent for the Rothschilds, and 13 prominent businessmen in California. Ralston's Bank of 

California was heavily indebted to its London agent, The Oriental Bank, 

and money was tight everywhere in Europe. On 17 July 1872 Brereton wrote 

to Ralston of his failure in England because "no one believes in California projects." They were all branded as speculative, badly managed, and 

"not solid, moderate investments." Although he returned without any capital, Brereton did secure promises from a dozen potential investors that 

they would visit California in March 1873 to see the enterprise with the 

intention of investing if sufficiently impressed. Brereton pledged to 

remain in California for ten years as trustee and agent if they backed the 

project.28 

Against this background, in February 1873 Ralston sent Brereton 

. to Wflsh.i}lgto_Q, _))~£., to discuss with President Grant, his cabinet, and 

members -of Congress the importan~e of irriga-tion in the arid West. While 

he was on the East Coast, Brereton hired Samuel Ward, a forty-niner and 

cousin of the famous San Francisco McAllisters, to help him guide the San 

Joaquin & Kings River Canal and Irrigation Company's measures through 

Congress. Ward was celebrated in the decade following the Civil War as 

"The King of the Lobby" for the dinners he arranged between clients and 

members of the executive branch or chairmen of strategic legislative committees. During the sixties, the Republican Party had controlled Congress 

and had drafted a blueprint for developing a new America that strengthened 

political bonds and economic ties with the West. At that time, Ward represented California gold-mining interests, land speculators, railroad promoters, and financiers in the stocks and bonds market; those who were the 

primary beneficiaries of new transportation, public land, and currency 

legislation.29 Writing 25 years later, Brereton remembered Ward as a 

"genial and kind hearted man." "He helped me greatly in my mission and was 
14 

my chaperone and right hand 

bers of Congress and others," 

[sic] incurred during the six 

mission."30 

ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

at the several dinners I gave to the memhe recalled. "This was my only expense I 

months I remained in Washington on this 

The lobbying activities of Ward and Brereton and the support of 

the California delegation could not garner enough votes in the 1873 congressional session for the San Joaquin & Kings River Canal and Irrigation 

Company's entire legislative package. The Republican Party had split in 

1872, with a substantial segment bolting to the Liberal Republican Party 

for diverse reasons including opposition to corruption and further land 

grants to corporations. In addition, Governor Booth's antisubsidy and 

antimonopoly forces in California opposed any federal assistance to the 

canal company through grants of public lands. The Senate and House Committees on Public Lands had gone on record against further disposal of public 

lands as subsidies for railroad construction and were understandably reluctant to provide these incentives to canal companies.31 While in 

Washington, Brereton lobbied for two separate but related pieces of legislation. One was purely a special-interest item aimed at obtaining a federal land grant for Ralston's company to encourage construction of a canal 

for irrigation and navigation in the Central Valley. The second item enjoyed broader appeal. It sought a modest appropriation for appointment of 

a board of commissioners to report on a system of irrigation for the San 

Joaquin and Tulare valleys.32 

Republican Senator Cornelius Cole of San Francisco, who four 

years earlier had unsuccessfully carried a bill in the Senate granting 

alternate sections of public land to the Sacramento Irrigation and Navigation Canal Company, introduced the subsidy bill on 17 January 1873. The 

measure was referred to the Senate Committee on Public Lands. On 10 February 1873 Republican Congressman Sherman 0. Houghton of San Jose introduced 

the same bill in the House. The bills provided for a subsidy to the San 

Joaquin & Kings River Canal and Irrigation Company for building an irrigation and navigation canal diverting the waters of Buena Vista and Tulare 

lakes and San Joaquin and Kern rivers by canal along the east slope of the 

Coast Range to Antioch and then to Oakland at a terminus 125 feet above 

sea level. The bill provided that the government would grant to the company two sections of public land per. mile, a right-of -way 300 feet wide on 

·. each side of the~ canal through public lands, "itnd a~ fOO:foof riiht~·or -wa~y~·-. 

on feeder lines and side ditches.3sOn 14 February the ~acramento Bee went on record opposing the 

"Houghton" canal legislation. A bill to encourage irrigation in 

the valley would benefit future iDhabitants, wrote the ~. However, conditions in California offered considerable cause for alarm. The preponderance of farmers working in the Central Valley did not own the land. It 

belonged to Friedlander, Chapman, and other speculators who would perpetuate their holdings through the canal subsidy. The newspaper was more troubled by the link between aridity, water control, and social power: "They 

have monopolized the land, and now they want to monopolize that other 

great element of life, water -- and having the water of the San Joaquin 

Valley in their control, they would rule it forever." The Tulare Times 

inveighed against the twin evils of land and transportation monopoly. If 
INTRODUCTION 16 

the canal subsidy passed, the "land sharks" and the railroad would battle 

each other for "the power to crush and rule this portion of the 

valley."36 

The Sacramento Union opposed reclaiming the desert through concentrated capital because of the effect of corporate farming on the rural 

social structure in California. The Union lashed out at the "non-resident 

proprietors" living in London, Paris, New York, or San Francisco who held 

back the progress of the valley by farming in the "Arab method" with a 

large work force of cheap seasonal labor. 

In the spring and winter they erected tents to accommodate the plowmen, after seed is deposited tents are 

struck and the workmen all vanish. Desolation reigns 

until harvest time, when the tents reappear, and for 

two months more there are signs of busy life, and then 

another exodus of laborers. 

These farming methods brought on conditions that were antithetic to the 

Union's vision of the ideal countryside: a diversified agricultural region 

dotted with small farms, schoolhouses, libraries, churches, decent roads, 

and prosperous towns. To enrich urban capitalists who would "fix upon 

California the system of non-resident proprietorship of English landlords 

in Ireland," absentee owners and speculators were asking the U.S. 

government for $10 million to $30 million in public lands and water 

rights. In turn, millions of acres of desert would be transformed into 

gardens and granaries ruled by distant corporations. Irrigation was still 

a novelty for westerners and its effect on society was unknown. The 

editors of the Union remained confident that a wise public policy would 

enable local communities to conquer the desert through irrigation. If 

family farmers could gain access to irrigable tracts of the state's most 

arable land, a more perfect agricultural economy and rural society 

dominated by men and women of modest means would result. Recognizing that 

farming had social ends as well as economic means, J. D. Spencer, editor 

of the Stanislaus County News, cautioned his readers that while federal 

.. ass.istance-~-, f.or-~-~.westem .irrigation enterprises may seem desirable,~_ any~·--~ 

special grants had to safeguird the rights of the individual farmer and 

preserve the family farm. 36 

In February 1873 the £rut Francisco Chronicle, the only major 

paper to support the subsidy, stated that the desert could not be redeemed 

without government assistance and concentrated capital investment by 

corporations. The proposed canal would benefit the entire region by 

ensuring good annual crop production and cheap freight rates. The Chroni-

~ claimed the legislation provided for use of the streams to enrich and 

fertilize the barren plains that, when irrigated, would attract 

"first-class immigrants" from other farming regions in the eastern states 

and Europe. While the plans for transformation of the agricultural economy 

of the region had been formulated by capable leaders of California industry and under the direction of an experienced engineer who had helped 

build the great irrigation systems of India, the Chronicle observed that 

the undertaking could never be profitable without the land grant subsidy. 
16 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

Monopoly had to be controlled, but the subsidy bill would enable the company to offer its bonds on the European market, acquire financing cheaply, 

and speed the project to completion. Any scheme that attracted foreign 

investment to develop the state's natural resources was worth considering. 

"Just because the men advancing it are rich capitalists doesn't mean it 

won't develop commerce, promote California industries and property, and 

add greatly to the wealth and population of California," insisted the 

Chronicle. The introduction of corporate irrigation enterprises to the 

valley, the editors of the San Francisco paper believed, would not necessarily create a rural class structure that could threaten the democratic 

values of the American frontier.37 

The Senate Committee on Public Lands refused to report the bill 

to the floor without substantial modifications. On 2 February 1873 Senator 

Cole wrote Ralston that he had been pushing the irrigation bill in 

committee hoping to have it reported. He had testified personally before 

the committee and had scheduled Brereton for a hearing. However, Cole 

confessed that even with western irrigation enthusiasts Senator William 

Stewart of Nevada and Senator Eugene Casserly of California sitting on the 

committee, "chances for success in this session are not bright."38 

Two weeks later George C. Gorham, Secretary of the Senate, complained to 

Ralston that a few unnamed "personally and politic;ally offensive" men were 

blocking the bill. He had done everything possible to assist Brereton, but 

the promoters of the canal enterprise would have to settle for "a partial 

result." Gorham wrote Ralston that an irrigation commtsswn might be 

created "to give assurance to the most prudent that the future would bring 

all desired national aid to the noble enterprise the company had 

undertaken." Nothing further could be accomplished with respect to the 

subsidy legislation during the 1873 session.39 

According to articles in the Sacramento and San Francisco newspapers, the final bill as amended in committee made no mention of Buena 

Vista Lake, but granted the company the right to appropriate the waters of 

Kern and Tulare lakes. The bill dropped the Kern River from its list of 

streams but added Kings River and its tributaries along with the San 

Joaquin River "and other small streams as may be available." Land grants 

in the public domain for reservoirs to store water and enhance navigation 

were limited to a maximum of 100 acres for ea.c.b~ 10 -m.il"-of .. canal·.·Thebill retained its original features as to disposal of public lands as 

grants, but restricted the benefits to the company to cash proceeds of 

actual sales "to be paid upon completion of sections five miles in 

extent." The modifications also restricted distribution of water to bona 

fide settlers and set maximum charges for that water at $1.25 per acre. 

The state of California was empowered to regulate all other rates and 

tolls associated with operating the navigation and irrigation canals. 

Finally, the property granted to the canal company would be subject to 

state taxation. Senator Casserly, a member of the Committee on Public 

Lands, was reported as the author of the amended bi11.40 

Even with these compromises to safeguard the public interest, 

Congress remained reluctant to act on any measure that granted more than 

250,000 acres of land and exclusive water rights to a private company 

without more study. Just four days before Congress was scheduled to 
INTRODUCTION 17 

adjourn, Casserly announced that his committee did not intend to put the 

bill up for a vote during the 1873 session. However, the committee members 

agreed to print the bill, an outline for federal assistance for irrigation 

development of the American West, as amended by Casserly. This action 

enabled congressmen and senators to study the proposed bill during the 

congressional recess because, Casserly noted, "the subject to which it 

relates is substantially a new one in the legislation of Congress." Speaking before the Senate, Casserly stated that irrigation had become the 

pivotal issue in the economic development and rapid settlement of the arid 

western states, for without irrigation great regions of arable land would 

remain barren in California and other western states and territories. The 

subject demanded immediate congressional attention. Casserly intended to 

fight for passage of special legislation on behalf of the irrigation and 

canal company during the next congressional session that would give all 

the federal aid possible to the company while providing "the proper guards 

for the general interests."41 

Throughout the following summer, citizens discussed the propriety 

of federal subsidies for private canal ventures at public meetings and 

political conventions throughout the northern half of the state. The subsidy bill was strongly opposed by farm clubs, the Patrons of Husbandry, and 

newly organized chapters of the California Grange. Major valley newspapers 

joined the assault on the San Joaquin & Kings River Canal and Irrigation 

Company, urging no further land or water grants. Yet these same groups 

desperately wanted irrigation in the Central Valley. Unlike the subsidy 

bill, the bill to provide for a Board of Irrigation Commissioners to study 

the feasibility of irrigation in the Central Valley was applauded by small 

farmers, state agricultural organizations, and public officials. Before 

giving grants to private citizens, wrote D. M Adams of the Tulare Times, 

state and federal engineers should make scientific surveys and study the 

available sources of water. The government then could act to prevent water 

monopolies. If, as the capitalists contended, high cost estimates mandated 

incentives to the builders of artificial waterways, the rights of the 

people to equal enjoyment of nature's bounty needed to be protected by 

state intervention and regulation.42 

- --~ ~- Senator- Stewart- of Nevada, sometimes known as the thiro senat~-

from California because of his conspicuous service to the monied interests 

of the state, introduced the bill to form the Board of Irrigation Commissioners. What Stewart proposed, wrote the editor of the Sacramento Union, 

was to let government scientists and engineers identify the best 

irrigation prospects and then open them up for private exploitation. The 

newspaper claimed that Stewart's bill "looked toward construction of a 

system of irrigating canals in the San Joaquin Valley at government expense." Why was Ralston's old friend, "the sage-brush senator," sponsoring 

the bill when California had its own senators and the project was wholly 

within its borders, questioned the Union.43 

The bill, referred to the Committee on Public Lands, authorized a 

study of the San Joaquin and Tulare valleys only. Sacramento Valley interests protested and asked Congress to have the commission also look into a 

comprehensive system to reclaim the three million acres of swamp and overflow land in the state. According to the Marysville Appeal, the present 
18 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

system whereby local reclamation districts erected higher and higher 

levees to repel flood waters was inadequate. Proper drainage and irrigation of the valley required canals to relieve the main streams of some of 

their water and to provide more direct outlets to San Francisco Bay. If 

the commission was to study irrigation in all its aspects, drainage and 

reclamation studies were essential. Senator Casserly reported the bill out 

of committee on 14 February with an amendment extending the duties of the 

Irrigation Commission to include an irrigation survey of the Sacramento 

Valley. However, the requested study of reclamation and flood control 

problems was not authorized. On 17 February Congressman Sherman 0. 

Houghton of San Jose brought the bill before the House, where it was referred to the Committee on Public Lands. Casserly's amendment and news 

that the subsidy bill would fail appeased some opponents of the Irrigation 

Commission bill. The Sacramento Bee praised the bill as one that might 

"confer lasting benefits upon California." Although the Sacramento Union 

remained skeptical of Stewart's motives, it termed the bill "comparatively 

harmless . . . if not followed up by supplemental schemes for subsidy in 

connection with another and far different bill introduced by Houghton." 

The Union reminded its readers to remain vigilant, for the subsidy bill 

would be revived during the next congressional session.''4 

On 28 February the bill creating a Board of Irrigation Commissioners to investigate the Central Valley went . before the full Senate. The 

bill met with only token opposition from Senator Lyman Trumbull of Illinois, who expressed concern that when the commission submitted its report 

to Congress the next year, its recommendations and cost estimates might be 

translated into an appropriations bill of as much as $500,000 for construction of an irrigation system in the Central Valley. Senator Cole denied 

that such aid would be requested. Stewart assured Trumbull that the bill 

was not intended as a preliminary survey aimed at securing federal appropriations for construction. However, he did concede that the federal government might be expected to grant a right-of -way over public lands for a 

private irrigation enterprise. Casserly dismissed Trumbull's fears by 

noting that the survey would take less than a year, cost less than $6,000, 

and provide for only a preliminary examination. The bill easily passed in 

the Senate and went before the House on 3 March, the last day of the session. With the sanction of the House Committee on "Public Lands, it moved 

swiftly through the House and passed by a margin of two to one.45 

III 

Congress specified in the act that the President was to assign 

two Army Engineers and an officer of the Coast Survey to the Irrigation 

Commission. They could "associate themselves" with two persons not in 

federal service. One was to be the state geologist of California; the 

other a "civilian distinguished for his knowledge of the subject." The 

five-person Board of Irrigation Commissioners was to make "a full report 

to the president on the system of irrigation" of the Sacramento, San 

Joaquin, and Tulare valleys. The board also was to provide · maps, plans, 

and engineering or other statistical details as necessary. The President 

then would send recommendations to Congress. The Secretary of War was 
INTRODUCTION 19 

ordered to provide subsistence and transportation for the board. The act 

specified that federal commxsswners were to draw their normal salaries, 

while the nonfederal members were allowed a fee of $2,000 each.46 

President Grant appointed two Army Engineers who were stationed 

on the Pacific Coast, Lieutenant Colonel Barton Stone Alexander and Major 

George H. Mendell. Brigadier General Andrew A. Humphreys, the Chief of 

Engineers, welcomed an expanded role for the federal government and the 

Corps of Engineers in developing the natural resources of California and 

in creating an irrigated agricultural empire on the Pacific Coast. In 

congressional testimony, he personally supported passage of the bill 

creating the commission.47 Humphreys notified Alexander on 12 April 

that Professor George Davidson would represent the Coast Survey. He told 

Alexander to convene the board in San Francisco, or some other convenient 

place, and to proceed with field work as soon as practicable. Humphreys 

also requested monthly reports on the commission's progress. Once field 

work was complete, the commission was to write a report for the Secretary 

of War, if possible before 1 December 1873. Although Congress had set a 

salary cap for civilian members of the commission, it had not allocated a 

special appropriation for the study. General Humphreys informed Alexander 

that the survey could use no more than $5,000, drawn from the fund for 

"surveys for military defenses."48 

Alexander, Mendell, and Davidson were all highly educated advocates of orderly and rational development of natural resources. All three 

were engineers, were influential in scientific and corporate circles in 

San Francisco, and were well-respected agents of the federal government. 

Alexander was the senior military engineer on the West Coast, Mendell 

supervised harbor work in San Francisco Bay and other ports, and Davidson 

since the 1850s had been involved in coastal surveys and other scientific 

activities from Panama to Alaska. Experienced, innovative, and creative 

problem-solvers, they were as knowledgeable as anyone about the resources 

and geography of the region and were natural choices for appointment to 

the commission. 49 

Barton Stone Alexander, a native of Kentucky, graduated from West 

Point in 1842. Appointed a second lieutenant in September 1843, he worked 

between 1843 and 1848 on construction and repair of Forts Pulaski and 

- iackson and on defensive works in New York Harbor. After service Tiltile~-· 

Mexican War in 1848, Alexander served in a variety of construction assignments. These included working on the technically difficult six-year 

project to build Minot's Ledge lighthouse and the extensive alterations to 

the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. 

A captain when the Civil War started, Alexander served both in 

combat and in supervising construction of defenses. He participated in the 

Manassas campaign of July 1861 and was promoted to brevet major for gallantry and meritorious service. After a stint in Washington, D.C., preparing defensive works and training Engineer troops for the Army of the Potomac, he served in the Virginia Peninsula campaign from April to August 

1862. He also saw action at the siege of Yorktown and at several other 

places. 
20 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

From August 1862 through May 1864 Alexander served on various 

boards overseeing defensive planning and construction, and supervised 

building of fortifications in coastal New England and Washington, D.C. He 

was promoted to major on 3 March 1863. He again saw action with Major 

General Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley in October 1864, including serving in the Battle of Cedar Creek. Alexander was given brevet promotions to 

colonel and brigadier general in March 1865 for meritorious service during 

the rebellion. Near the end of the Civil War he returned to construction 

and repairs, rebuilding Fort Washington, Maryland. In 1866 Alexander again 

was ordered to New England to work on fortifications and improvements to 

navigation on rivers in Maine. These were his last activities on the East 

Coast. On 7 January 1867 Alexander was named senior Engineer and charged 

with general supervision and inspection of Corps construction on the Pacific Coast. He also was made a member of the Pacific Board of Engineers for 

Fortifications. On 7 March 1867 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel.6o 

Alexander arrived in California when civil engineering experts 

were in short supply. His engineering skills, broad interests, and 

political and social connections made him an influential leader in the 

professional community. He soon became associated with a group of San 

Franciscans interested in establishing a public institution for higher 

learning in California. He befriended land law attorney John W. Dwinelle, 

the California legislator who drafted the university bill, and had close 

contact with the other men organizing the institution at Berkeley. Through 

the fall of 1867 and into 1868 he corresponded regularly with his friend 

John LeConte about the founding of the university. A physics professor in 

Georgia, LeConte (who became president of the University of California) 

was interested in obtaining positions at the new public institution for 

himself and his brother Joseph. On returning from a trip to "Russian 

America" in September 1868, Alexander discovered his intervention on 

behalf of the LeConte brothers had been successful and they had been 

offered chairs in the school of natural sciences.61 

Between 1868 and 1870 Alexander investigated conditions in small 

harbors along the Pacific Coast. His unofficial report on Wilmington Harbor (near San Pedro and modern Long Beach, California) led to a Corps 

survey that suggested a solution to <<the siltation problems that made the 

harbor mouth too shallow for deep-draft shipping. Major Mendell prepared 

plans in 1871 for the 7,000-foot breakwater that was later constructed to 

protect the harbor. Alexander also- served as federal representative on a 

state survey of Santa Cruz and Salinas Slough to assess their utility as 

harbors of refuge for coastal shipping.62 

In the winter of 1870-1871 Alexander made a series of surveys for 

the Stockton Ship Canal Company for a proposed navigation canal running 

through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Alexander's suggested channel 

ran through the low-lying delta islands, providing a straightened channel 

to replace the sinuous San Joaquin River. He observed that Stockton would, 

with construction of the ship channel, become the head of navigation for 

ocean-going ships, leaving the river above that city available for irrigation. He speculated, however, that navigation on the upper San Joaquin 

River might be maintained for smaller steamboats if the water of Tulare 
INTRODUCTION 21 

Lake was directed into the river to replenish the flows lost by diverting 

from the Tuolumne, Stanislaus, Merced, and upper San Joaquin rivers. He 

believed that the lake held sufficient water to provide not only for irrigation, but also for a navigation canal from the lake to Stockton. William 

Hammond Hall, a young engineer-surveyor from Stockton, carried out the 

actual survey of the channel line for Alexander. 53 

Later in 1871 San Francisco's Special Committee on Water Supply 

asked Alexander and Professor Davidson to investigate additional sources 

of water for the city. The two men determined that sources and reservoir 

sites on the San Francisco peninsula would provide enough water for the 

city, thus obviating the necessity of bringing in water from distant mountain sources for 50 years. Alexander also provided informal advice and 

prepared engineering reports on flood control methods and levee construction techniques for owners of tule lands in the Sacramento Valley and 

the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Such projects, along with his other 

varied activities, introduced Alexander to many of California's leading 

citizens. Hall later wrote that Alexander "stood very high in the 

estimation of his corps, was a man of broad ideas and extensive reading 

and experience, and was looked to by the moneyed and landed interests of 

this state as the engineering authority of the Pacific Coast." In 1873 

Alexander was 54 years old and at the height of his career.54 

The second member of the Irrigation Commission from the Corps was 

Major George H. Mendell. Mendell graduated from West Point and joined the 

Topographical Engineers as a brevet second lieutenant in July 1852. For 

the next eight years he served in the field as an assistant topographical 

engineer on the survey of the Northwestern Lakes, on the staff of Major 

General Wool of the Department of the Pacific, and as a topographical 

engineer on surveys for a railroad from San Francisco to Yuma, Arizona, 

and for the District of Puget Sound. Mendell also took part in campaigns 

against Indians in the Oregon and Washington territories. Between 1856 and 

1858 he was in charge of construction of military roads in the Pacific 

Northwest. In 1859 he was ordered back to West Point as an instructor, a 

position he retained until 1863. 

During the Civil War Mendell saw action in the Pennsylvania, 

Rapidan, and Richmond campaigns, "making reconnaissances, building, guarding, and destroying bridges, constructing batteries, "--~-bfocl<:.nouses, --

rifle-trenches, etc. making and repairing roads, and carrying on Siege 

Operations before and about Petersburg, Va." After being promoted to major 

and breveted lieutenant colonel, in August 1864 he was sent to oversee 

construction of defenses for Baltimore. He spent the remainder of the 

Civil War as an instructor of "Practical Military Engineering" at the 

Military Academy. 

Mendell went to New England at the end of the war to supervise 

construction of coastal defenses in Massachusetts. He reported to California in January 1867. There he was in charge of river and harbor improvements and construction of coastal fortifications. Mendell designed defensive works on Alcatraz Island, Fort Point, and Lime Point in San Francisco 

Bay, and at the mouth of the Columbia River. He also supervised the removal of Rincon Rock, a major hazard to navigation in San Francisco Bay; 

cleared wrecks from waterways; and investigated or planned improvements to 

other harbors on the Pacific Coast.55 
22 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

The third federal representative on the commtsston was Professor 

George Davidson of the U.S. Coast Survey. Born in Nottingham, England, but 

raised in Philadelphia, Davidson studied under Professor Alexander D. 

Bache at Central High School in that city. Bache became head of the Coast 

Survey in 1844, and soon selected Davidson as his private secretary. Davidson then met A. A. Humphreys, who had been transferred to the Coast Survey 

from the Topographical Engineers at Bache's request in 1844 and worked as 

an assistant there until 1850. 

Davidson remained Bache's clerk for a year, after which he volunteered for duties "more congenial to his active tastes." Life in Washington, D.C., must have chafed; in his letters Davidson referred to "Washington, D(reary) C(ity)." He performed field work during the winters in the 

South 'between 1846 and 1850; in the other seasons he acted as astronomical 

observer for Bache's own parties in New England. In 1850 Davidson 

volunteered to take charge of an astronomical and triangulation party 

operating on the Pacific Coast. He spent the next five years surveying 

harbors, selecting sites for lighthouses and other aids to navigation, and 

scientifically determining geographical positions of landmarks. Between 

1852 and 1853 his crews determined accurate latitudes and longitudes for 

numerous points between San Diego and the 49th parallel. His activities in 

1853 and 1854 helped sustain American claims to the Canal de Haro, between 

the mainland of Washington and Vancouver Island. His work in Washington 

Territory continued through 1857, when he returned to the East to recover 

his health. Davidson went back to work on the California coast in 1858, 

but in 1860 was forced by illness to return east to recuperate. He served 

in a variety of capacities during the Civil War. In 1863, during Lee's 

invasion of Pennsylvania, Davidson worked on fortifications near 

Philadelphia, an effort that continued through the spring of 1864. After 

the Civil War he undertook sur.veys in Chesapeake Bay and on the coasts of 

Maine, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, and Newfoundland. He then 

took leave to serve as chief engineer of a party surveying a proposed ship 

canal through the Isthmus of Panama. When this effort collapsed, Davidson 

rejoined the Coast Survey, ill with a tropical fever that weakened him for 

years thereafter. 

Davidson returned to the West Coast in 1867 and performed surveys 

in Alaska. As a part of the work_!t~ gathe.red _lnJ..Qrmation~Qn timper,fisberies, furs, and other industries that aided the U.S. negotiators in dealing 

with Russia preparatory to the Alaska purchase. He then did coastal survey 

work and astronomical observations in California and Alaska and, through 

precise use of telegraph relays, attempted to determine more accurately 

the correct difference in longitude between San Francisco and Cambridge, 

Massachusetts, and between points on the West Coast running north from San 

Diego to Puget Sound. Between 1868 and 1873 he worked on triangulation of 

the coast, studied the hydrography and topography of the coastline and 

ocean currents of the Pacific, and performed surveys of the Channel Islands and the coast from Panama to San Diego. During these years Davidson 

prepared his Directory for .th.s<. Pacific Coast, containing maps, observations, information on winds and currents, and other scientific data of 

such practical assistance to coastal mariners that they referred to it as 

"Davidson's Bible." In 1873 Davidson began a systematic triangulation of 
INTRODUCTION 23 

the Sierra Nevada and Coast Range to prepare for a triangulation across 

the continent along the 39th parallel. It was at this time that the superintendent appointed him to the federal Irrigation Commission.56 

The three commissioners met at San Francisco on 23 April 1873, 

and elected Alexander president, Davidson secretary, and Mendell 

treasurer. The men then wrote a letter to Josiah Dwight Whitney, the 

California state geologist, asking him to serve. He refused. 57 

Whitney had been California state geologist since April 1860, when the 

office was first established. His reports were important additions to 

scientific knowledge, but they did not seem immediately applicable to the 

interest of the entrepreneur. "Whitney was a scholar and a scientist," 

wrote historian Richard Bartlett, "and he never understood the necessity 

of coming down from the clouds of scientific speculation and doing some 

earthly lobbying." 58 However, Whitney's assistants included some of 

the brightest and most daring young scientists of the time, among them 

Clarence King and William Brewer. But appropriations for Whitney's efforts 

withered, and by 1868 the legislature refused to fund his payroll or 

expenses. For the next few years he carried on by paying for the work out 

of his own pocket. While he was eventually reimbursed, by 1873 his tenure 

as state geologist was nearly over. When Whitney declined the post on the 

Irrigation Commission, Albert Bierstadt, the famed painter, and William 

Ralston urged Humphreys to appoint Clarence King. The general advised them 

that neither he nor Secretary of War Belknap had the power to appoint 

anyone. The general stated that he had not framed the act creating the 

commission; if he had, he would have provided for more flexibility in 

appointment. 59 

Given his role tn the promotion and passage of the Irrigation 

Commission act, it is easy to suppose that the other distinguished civilian mentioned in the measure was to be Robert M Brereton. Shortly after 

passage of the act creating the commission, however, the Srul Francisco 

Chronicle, which had given moderate support to the canal company's subsidy 

bill, argued that no one connected with the San Joaquin & Kings River 

Canal and Irrigation Company should be an official part of the survey. "We 

have a right to expect," said the editor, "that the President will appoint 

no one as comm1ss1oner who is directly or indirectly interested in the 

company, or who might be influenced in his conclusions or I~commendations 

by the company." More specifically, the article stated "the Commissioners 

should be able, without the assistance of the company's engineer, to determine how far the navigation of the San Joaquin River would be disturbed by 

the construction of the proposed canal." The President had appointed the 

commissioners to evaluate the costs and benefits of valley irrigation 

systems and to determine what role government should play.60 Nevertheless, the comm1ss1oners invited Brereton to serve. He declined, citing 

the press of "professional engagements." At that time Brereton was at work 

on the canal project and perhaps he did not want to appear to taint the 

commissioners' recommendations. Brereton, writing to Davidson more than 40 

years later, maintained that he declined the paid position in order to 

assure that the survey's meager budget was not consumed by salaries, thus 

limiting its effectiveness. Despite his unwillingness to serve in an official capacity, Brereton did travel with the commissioners on their field 
24 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

examination of the southern San Joaquin Valley and made available to them 

technical data he had developed for the canal project. Alexander, Mendell, 

and Davidson decided, after Brereton and Whitney declined to serve, to 

begin the work of the commission "without any further addition to our 

numbers." They later noted that, without the expense of the two commissioners, the $5,000 allotment was sufficient to finish their tasks. Had they 

been compelled to pay out $4,000 in fees, the remaining funds might have 

been inadequate.61 

Farmers' groups took a keen interest in the work of the commission, particularly agriculturalists in the San Joaquin Valley. The recent 

droughts of 1870, 1871, and 1873 had impressed upon them the need for irrigation. At a 17 May meeting of the Merced County farm club, farmers appointed a special committee to confer with the commissioners about Irrigation. Local farm organizations throughout the Central Valley did 

likewise. In Bakersfield, the Kern County Weekly Courier announced that 

the Irrigation Commission was expected to visit in May and the party would 

consist not only of Alexander, Mendell, and Davidson but of Whitney, 

Brereton, and Clarence King as well. Of the latter three, only Brereton 

was indeed along and the press thought his knowledge of Kern County and 

its resources would greatly assist the commission in evaluating the country. By bringing the subject of irrigation to the attention of Congress, 

the Bakersfield paper hoped that the commission could induce the federal 

government, as a matter of public policy, "to take char~e of [irrigation] 

in all the larger areas of the county where it may be necessary."6 

Following the first meeting of the commissioners, Davidson wrote 

to the superintendent of the Coast and Geodetic Survey that the commissioners were ready to take to the field and inquired about further 

instructions. On 2 May he scribbled a note to Samuel Hein, Coast Survey 

disbursing agent. Davidson said that during the next week the commissioners would be moving north up the Central Valley and confided, "I don't 

hanker after the work." As the commissioners prepared to leave, Davidson 

became ill and Alexander postponed their departure from San Francisco for 

a few days. On 12 May Alexander wrote Mrs. Davidson, "I think we must 

leave tomorrow afternoon. The business is such that it cannot be put off 

on account of the sickness of one member, however important his services 

may be." Two days later Alexander wrote from the town of Merced that he 

and Mendell were leaving for Yosemite at, 8:00 AM and would go up the 

Merced River "as much as we can." They planned to be back in town by 21 

May and hoped to meet Davidson then. A telegram dated that day revealed 

that all three were aboard the train on their way to Tipton.63 

At Tipton the commissioners took the stage for Bakersfield. They 

met Brereton there and observed the Kern River from the canyon to Kern and 

Buena Vista lakes. They launched a boat on Kern Lake and took soundings 

for two hours. Brereton had previously surveyed the whole ground, made 

studies of the elevation lines suitable for canals and the places best 

adapted for reservoirs, and calculated from State Geological Survey maps 

the size of the drainage basin of each of the larger streams and estimated 

their ordinary runoff. Next the commissioners examined the country 
INTRODUCTION 25 

extending to Goshen, visited Visalia, and followed the Kings River through 

the foothills. They also visited Centerville and examined the headworks of 

the proposed irrigation canal. The party reached the San Joaquin River at 

Sycamore Bend and followed it to the Fresno Slough. Here they visited the 

lands irrigated on Henry Miller's ranch and those of others, in all about 

20,000 acres. They moved on to Hill's Ferry on the San Joaquin River and 

the following day reached Banta Station. There they collected additional 

information on irrigation in the vicinity before returning by train to San 

Francisco. They had been in the field more than two weeks.64 

(Figure 1) 

The Fresno Expositor, edited by J. W. Ferguson, who was running 

for the state legislature on the Republican ticket, reported regularly on 

the whereabouts of the irrigation party during May. The newspaper suggested that its readers cooperate with the commissioners "that they may be 

enabled to see the great necessity of recommending to the government aid 

for this much needed· project." Ferguson did not have in mind aid to 

corporate land or water companies. He maintained that to protect the 

public interest the state should retain ownership of its waters, 

irrigation should be managed by local farmers and manufacturers, and no 

legislation should be passed that aided the "land grabbers" in obtaining 

control over more land or water. Up and down the valley, newspapers 

printed the same antisubsidy and antimonopoly message. During the summer 

of 1873 the San Joaquin Farmers' Club drew up a model resolution for 

distribution to all farm organizations in the valley, asking each to 

memorialize the Congress against the federal or state government granting 

any subsidies to the San Joaquin & Kings River Canal and Irrigation Company.ss 

In letters to friends, Davidson revealed a lack of enthusiasm for 

the work of the commission during its early phases. He complained on 17 

May to Professor J. E. Hilgard: "This irrigation (irritation) committee 

breaks into my field plans and annoys me, but I suppose it is best for the 

survey and therefore I will do the best I can in the matter." He confided 

to his superintendent a few days later, "Although this irrigation commission breaks- my: -plans-- badly yet T can use part of -the- 'contingency' of 

appropriation for the Pacific field work to advantage for the season's 

campaign and will do so unless you decide against it."66 

On 7 June the commission met in San Francisco to discuss the 

first leg of their journey and to agree on a program for the next phase of 

field work involving the country between the Tuolumne and American rivers. 

The work still interfered with Davidson's personal agenda: "It retards my 

work but I have benefitted in health from the trip." On 16 June the commissioners headed for Modesto to follow the Tuolumne to La Grange and to 

visit the dam at the mouth of the canyon. They then examined the Stanislaus at Knight's Ferry and continued their survey of the Calaveras, Mokelumne, and Cosumnes rivers and their tributaries among the foothills. 

After reaching the American River at Folsom, the commissioners decided to 

reserve it for a later examination. By 21 June they were back in San Francisco. They met with Professor Whitney, who had proposed withdrawing his 
26 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

telegram declining a position on the commission. Apparently, nothing developed from his offer.67 

After this second trip, Davidson began to see the possibilities 

of an agricultural empire nsmg from the great interior desert and to 

have greater appreciation for the commission's work. "The magnitude and 

importance of the great question of irrigation for such an extensive valley grows upon us," he wrote. "With water sufficient to give from 3 to 6 

more inches than the rainfall there can be irrigated not less than 

5,000,000 of acres capable of yielding an average of 30 bushels of wheat 

per acre for some years," he added. However, Davidson was prescient about 

the financial, technological, and legal difficulties involved in making 

the valley bloom: "the surveys & engineering work will require comprehensiveness, time, skill and large amounts of money; whilst the rights to the 

waters will demand the decision of the highest court. This last problem 

will prove the most difficult to reconcile; but it does not come within 

our province."68 

On 9 July, Alexander forwarded the reports for April, May, and 

June that Davidson, as secretary of the commtsston, had belatedly prepared. He admitted that the instruction to report "progress monthly" had 

"escaped my eye until a few days ago." He stated that the commission had 

examined both sides of the San Joaquin and Tulare valleys, had examined 

the lands already irrigated, and had followed the rivers nsmg in the 

Sierra Nevada such as the Kern, Kings, San Joaquin, Merced, Tuolumne, 

Stanislaus, Calaveras, and Cosumnes. The board members had planned to 

leave on 4 July to examine the Sacramento and its tributaries. 69 

Actually, the commtsstoners left San Francisco on 14 July to 

examine Clear Lake and Putah and Cache creeks. They returned five days 

later. Davidson wrote, "I have just returned from a trip with the Irrigation Commission to Clear Lake . . . to study its capabilities as a reservoir. Clear Lake is a misnomer. Out on the lake it was 120° and 

101° in the shade. Now shivering in this cold, foggy city." On 29 

July the commissioners started their fourth field trip, where they saw the 

effects of hydraulic mmmg debris on the western-flowing tributaries of 

the Sacramento River. They headed for the Yuba River, where they ascended 

its south fork from Smartsville to the point where the ·-Stt:eam- I.ca.ves--t-he-- ---

mountains and. pours into the valley. They examined the Middle and North 

forks of the Yuba, the Feather River at Oroville and Cherokee, and the 

Sacramento to Red Bluff, Redding, and Shasta before returning to San Francisco on 5 August. Davidson reported that they had gone to the extreme 

head of the Sacramento Valley and beyond the limit of irrigation. It was 

an onerous trek carried out in the burning heat of summer but, Davidson 

confessed, it had been a most instructive journey.70 

Their summer travels now over, the commission began to analyze 

their data, study irrigation in foreign countries, and divide up the work 

according to their areas of expertise. On 11 August, Alexander asked 

Davidson to write a report of the commission's July operations and to 

submit it within the next few days. He also requested Davidson to meet 

with him and Mendell that day to compare impressions about their field 

study and, if possible, to "cut out our work." Alexander later reported to 

Humphreys that because of the intense heat in the Central Valley the 
INTRODUCTION 27 

commissioners made no further examinations in the field during September. 

Should the weather change, further trips would be made in October. Meanwhile, the commission was to have a large map prepared delineating a 

scheme for irrigation.71 

Alexander and Davidson corresponded extensively during October. 

On 21 October Alexander sent Davidson a copy of William H. Bryan's 1868 

report to the governor of California on an irrigation and navigation canal 

on the west side of the Sacramento Valley. Alexander had been reviewing 

the document and wanted Davidson's evaluation. Although the report 

contained more engineering detail than the commiSSIOners could use, 

Alexander suggested that the general concept was useful. The Irrigation 

Commission's reclamation and irrigation plan for the west side of the 

valley borrowed heavily from Bryan's report. In late October Alexander 

informed Davidson that "if we are going to make any further examinations 

of the country, it is about time we were doing so." On 29 October he sent 

the almost-finished map and asked Davidson to critique it and suggest a 

title. On 7 November, Alexander and Davidson went to Josiah Whitney's 

office to inspect a draft of the completed map. Four days later Alexander 

informed Humphreys that the map, indicating a provisional system of irrigation, had been completed. The commissioners continued their studies on 

irrigation methods and results achieved in India and Europe.72 

The commissioners returned to the field between l and 6 November 

to examine the valley of the upper Sacramento on the western side of the 

river and the headwaters of Stony Creek. They ventured forth again between 

18 and 21 November to examine the lower Sacramento, Capay, and Berryessa 

valleys. In December the commiSSioners planned to visit two of the 

principal irrigating canals in the San Joaquin Valley and to observe the 

spreading of water over the land as practiced by the companies owning the 

canals. The commissioners expected to prepare their report upon their 

return but it could not be ready by the December deadline. Alexander 

confessed to Humphreys, "I ought to add that the magnitude of this 

subject, and the difficulties attending it grow upon us as the 

investigation progresses. We will try however to have our report ready 

some time dudngiliemo~nth of January next." 73 

The November trip through the Sacramento Valley was rushed. The 

Weekly Colusa Sun criticized the field work of the commissioners and suggested that the "scientific" gentlemen merely took a quick glance at the 

countryside in a buggy for two or three days before returning to the comforts of their homes in San Francisco. How could the commissioners prepare 

a comprehensive irrigation scheme for the Sacramento Valley when they knew 

so little about the physical characteristics and environmental problems 

confronted by farmers in the region? "This is the great Irrigation Reclamation Commission appointed by Congress," scoffed the SJ!n.'s editor Will 

Green. "We have but little faith in it, and shall be agreeably disappointed if any good comes of it."74 

Early in January 1874 Alexander notified Humphreys that the heavy 

and almost continuous rains in California during December had rendered 

roads impassable in many places. So the board had not made its proposed 

trip to see the distribution of water by the San Joaquin & Kings River 

Canal and Irrigation Company and the Fresno Canal Company in the San 
28 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

Joaquin Valley. Nevertheless, the board was preparing a drawing of one 

company's method of distribution and planned to include it in its report.76 

The men now concentrated on their final report, already a month 

late. Alexander wrote Humphreys that the commissioners had spent all of 

January working on the report. They had hoped to finish and forward it on 

10 February but would not be able to send it for several days or perhaps a 

week. Alexander notified Davidson that the latter's paper on "The Necessity of Irrigation" would be incorporated as chapter II. He requested Davidson's assistance in preparing a synopsis, and stated his intention to send 

the completed report to the Chief of Engineers on 17 February. 76 

While the commiSSIOners were still working on the report, the 

final session of the 42d Congress convened. Intense public interest in the 

issue of the subsidy and water monopoly continued. Congressmen John K. 

Luttrell and Horace F. Page introduced joint resolutions from the California legislature asking Congress to grant to the people of the state an 

exclusive right to use and control the unnavigable waters within the state 

and to "oppose the passage of all laws which are intended to grant 

water-rights in the State of California to private corporations or individuals." Newly elected Senator A. A. Sargent presented a second resolution 

from the California legislature barring subsidies to the San Joaquin & 

Kings River Canal and Irrigation Company, or any other water company, for 

the purpose of aiding them to complete canal and ditch systems on public 

lands.77 

During the winter of 1873-1874 Alexander had to consider many requests from California politicians and newspapers eager for information on 

the commissioners' recommendations to Congress. Senator Sargent, for 

example, forwarded a request to the Secretary of War asking that members 

of the Irrigation Commission be allowed to informally share their conclusions with the editor of the Sacramento Record, primarily to benefit the 

water policy deliberations of the California legislature. The legislature 

was considering a Grange..;sponsored bill, introduced by Assemblyman J. W. 

Veneble of Los Angeles on 21 January 1874, providing for the classification of irrigable lands, state control over water for irrigation, and 

cre~tion_. of a state board of engineers to prepare plans for setting up 

local irrigation districts. Alexander and Humphreys agreed that the board 

might furnish orally and informally such information as may be important 

to the legislature or the general public, but no portion of the report was 

to be released prior to its submission to Congress. Alexander suggested 

that he retain several copies of the report to be distributed to 

newspapers and government officials once he was notified by telegraph that 

it had gone to Congress.78 

Misunderstandings about the nature of the report continued 

throughout the course of the Irrigation Commission's work. As the commissioners pointed out in the text, the report was not intended to be a detailed survey upon which a definitive irrigation system could be constructed but a general reconnaissance or preliminary survey aimed at suggesting 

a general course of irrigation development, anticipated difficulties, and 

the roles of private capital and public entities in that development. For 

instruction the commissioners had looked to the methods of construction 
INTRODUCTION 

Fig. 1 • \'lulff'i'!f/11, Stpdrm tAl 'lrr~ij,him n.v .J(hufirr,/ o11 thr 

.\''tm .),,,/,,;, ,,/ l"iw.•· /limy· fmwl 

Beginning with a catch drain ditch on .the left, the major vertical ditches alternate between catch drain and primary ditches. 

Water enters the primary ditches from the canal (bottom of diagram) and flows through the diagonal secondary ditches into 

the plough furrows (thin vertical lines on diagram). The furrows are diagonally cross-hatched by irrigation checks. Both checks 

and furrows conduct and distribute water. Unused water flows into the catch drain ditches. Checks are 50 yards apart, and 

furrows are 40 yards apart. All ditches are macle with a 4-foot "V" scraper with the exception of furrows, which are made 

with a 30-inch "V" scraper. 

29 

and administration of water projects throughout the world. Irrigation was 

practiced for thousands of years in India and Egypt. (Maps 2 and 3) 

Cultivation using various modes of irrigation had been practiced in many 

other places, including the Hispanic Southwest and in areas of California. 

The lessons of private irrigation enterprise elsewhere in the world 

demonstrated to the commissioners that although irrigation systems had to 

be efficiently operated on a business-like basis, generally private 

investers had not profited. 

The study emphasized the necessity for state planning and control 

over water resources; long-range comprehensive development of the agricul-
MAP 2 

/ 

0 .. 0 A 

+ 

1 " \) 

/1. R 

£ 

Map 2 depicts the delta of the Cauvery River, showing the development of the irrigation system in the districts of Tanjore and Trichinopoly, India. Map 3 shows the tank 

irrigation system between the Kistna and Godavery Rivers, India. Both maps were 

submitted as part of the original report . 

.......... _,_ 

MAP3 

I 

f 

!. 
INTRODUCTION 81 

tural potential of the Central Valley; and the cooperative use of state, 

federal, and private resources to control nature and build an agricultural 

empire that exceeded anything ever accomplished -- even in the ancient 

irrigation societies. The Irrigation Commission felt that to achieve these 

objectives the state and federal government had to coordinate planning and 

perhaps undertake the construction of the dams, levees, and canals. Because the principles of self -government were so deeply imbued in American 

political culture, the commissioners thought it essential that the management and distribution of water be controlled by the irrigators, perhaps 

formed into canal districts under regulations prescribed by the government. If the farmers themselves did not own the irrigating works, the 

commiSSioners believed that they at least had to maintain control over the 

distribution of water, and under no circumstances should the administration of water resources be given to private entities having no direct 

interest in the land. Construction and management of irrigation systems in 

the American West, wrote the commiSSioners, would require cooperation 

between capitalists, government, and local farmers. Individual farmers, 

local communities, and even large corporations had proven themselves 

ineffective in obtaining adequate capital, mastering technological and 

engineering problems, and building permanent irrigation facilities. In the 

modern agricultural world, farming had to be done on a business-like basis. Gone was the old agrarian vision of the individual farmer advancing 

civilization by confronting nature alone on the frontier. The modern ideal 

was that of the engineer-scientist bringing orderly economic development 

to the West through technological domination over nature and scientific 

management of natural resources. 

The new technologies did not come without costs. Californians in 

the late 19th century experienced an environmental crisis as thousands of 

acres of agricultural land were robbed of their fertility. Wheat farmers 

had not fallowed or rotated crops; irrigators had saturated the soil, 

flushing the earth of nutrients and creating a favorable environment for 

the spread of malaria; and hydraulic miners had filled the channel beds of 

the Feather, Yuba, Bear, American, and Sacramento rivers with hundreds of 

millions of cubic yards of debris that poured over levees during floods 

and-- rli'ih.ed- -agrlculhiral 1-ands. --Tire commiSSioners ·expressed some concern 

over the environmental effects of water manipulation but did not 

demonstrate the same degree of caution as had George Perkins Marsh in 

Irrigation: Its Evils, the Remedies, a..n.d. 1M. Compensations. The Department 

of Agriculture submitted Marsh's report to Congress during the same 

session as the irrigation survey of the Central Valley. Marsh was an early 

promoter of the gospel of conservation and a pioneer in the modern 

viewpoint that man is a strong geographic agent. While he was alarmed 

about the potential for ecological disaster "in attempting a great and 

general revolution in our agricultural methods," he also saw beneficial 

applications for irrigation in the arid West where water was necessary to 

raise crops. Like Marsh, the Irrigation Commission advocated an activist 

role for federal and state government in planning and in the study of 

adapting "Old· World" irrigation laws and institutions to American society 

and customs." 79 
32 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

In the decades following the Civil War, a great quantity of new 

and more reliable scientific information on the arid West was assembled by 

the Department of War and the Interior Department. Much of this work focused on reshaping public land laws west of the hundredth meridian where 

agriculture must depend on irrigation. The small quantity of surface water 

restricted the amount of land susceptible to irrigation and placed a premium on discovering methods to conserve and increase water supplies. The 

report of the Irrigation Commission was one of the initial attempts to 

state general principles on which rules and regulations might be developed 

to carry out the colonization of the arid region. By unanimous consent, on 

II April 18 7 4 Congress resolved to print 5,000 copies of the Report on 

Irrigation of the Board of Commissioners for general distribution.80 

IV 

With the close of the commission's work, Alexander, Mendell, and 

Davidson returned to their regular duties. Later that year Davidson arranged for his subordinates to continue work on the triangulation project 

while he traveled to Japan to make astronomical observations of the transit of Venus. He asked for a leave of absence from his position with the 

Coast and Geodetic Survey and returned to the United States by way of 

China, India, Egypt, and Europe to examine the water projects and study 

the irrigation practices he had read about while on the commission. During 

his trip Davidson corresponded with Ralston, describing his investigations 

and boasting of his newly acquired expertise: "I have a broad and comprehensive view of the results, present and prospective, with a vast amount 

of information that will interest you in the development of California." 

On his return, Davidson wrote several articles on irrigation and related 

matters and submitted a report to the federal government on observations 

made during his trip. These experiences, coupled with his service on the 

commission, provided the foundation for Davidson's later activities as 

water consultant on several large irrigation projects.81 

Brereton continued his efforts to arrange financing and build the 

San Joaquin canal project. By late 1873 he had supervised the construction 

·---or improvement of 40 miles of canal and had· put· 0,000 acres-under irriga.;,;--· 

tion. He proposed to the landowners who might be served by the project, 

some of the richest and largest in California, that they trade 100,000 

acres of irrigable land for an equal number of shares in the company, each 

worth $25. However, the canal company was still struggling for survival. 

It had failed to convince farmers within the irrigated district to exchange water contracts for land. During the heavy winter rains that year, 

the ditch banks in several areas washed away, destroying the canal and 

adjacent lands. Some claimed the construction engineer had built the canal 

on too steep a grade. The cost of repairs and reimbursement to landowners 

for damages nearly equaled the expense of initial construction. On 9 December the trustees of the company, convinced that the government subsidy 

would not materialize, asked the state to condemn the canal, surveys, 

water rights, and company land and to have the property appraised by an 

impartial commtsston appointed by the governor or the legislature and 

taken over by the state at a price fixed by the commission. Governor Booth 

refused.82 
INTRODUCTION 33 

Ralston suggested to Brereton Ia te in 18 7 4 that he seek the necessary capital to improve the canal, some $2.5 million, in London. Brereton's second trip also failed and the major landowners then backed out of 

the deal. Advocating big irrigation systems for the San Joaquin plains had 

become "like fiddling Irish jigs to Egyptian mummies, and expecting them 

to dance to the music," wrote a correspondent to the Pacific Rural Press. 

Capitalists in California and elsewhere were more interested "in mines and 

mining, Palace Hotels, and bankruptcy." Unwise investments and loose banking practices caused the collapse of Ralston's Bank of California and may 

have contributed to Ralston's death in August 1875. These events not only 

shook the state's economy but dashed Brereton's hopes for private financing for the irrigation project. Except for Miller and Lux, all of the 

major landowners who might have been served by the canal went bankrupt as 

the Bank of California foreclosed on their loans. With the project collapsing around him, Brereton's renewed appeals to the state to rescue the 

project were futile. In an open letter to the new governor, Democrat 

William Irwin, he urged that the state reform its laws to provide for the 

organization of local irrigation districts and that the state assume 

ownership and control of its waters. Brereton estimated a state 

expenditure of $7 million would be required to irrigate the project's 

300,000 acres. The project could be financed by the landowners served by 

tying the value of water to the newly irrigated lands. In the midst of an 

economic depression, state officials had no interest in purchasing a 

poorly engineered canal with dubious water rights that could practicably 

irrigate only one-tenth of the land estimated by promoters of the scheme. 

Otherwise, the San Joaquin & Kings River Canal and Irrigation Company 

canal may have become the first state water project. In an ironic twist, 

the company's works and water rights eventually became the property of 

Miller and Lux, the largest of the land monopolists, whose riparian water 

claims held up agricultural development in the southern San Joaquin Valley 

for decades.83 

Alexander, Davidson, and Mendell, through their work on the commiSSIOn, enhanced their reputations as experts on the technical, engineering, and economic aspects of irrigation in California. Alexander and Mendell became principal figur..es in California water policy development in 

the 1870s and 1880s. When John Wesley Powell began his famous study of 

irrigation in the arid West for the U.S. Geological Survey, he asked 

Davidson for his papers on irrigation and consulted with him on Practices 

abroad. In 1876, James Ben Ali Haggin began his surveys on the ill-fated 

West Side Canal, an ambitious plan to irrigate 340,000 acres from a ditch 

running from Tulare Lake, to extend north 185 miles to Antioch. The three 

members of the original Irrigation Commission served as consulting engineers on the project. Besides irrigation, the Corps of Engineers during 

the 1870s became increasingly involved in the growing controversy over 

reclamation of tule marshes and tidelands, and the effects of hydraulic 

mininf debris on flood control and navigation of California rivers and 

bays.8 

From the 1850s through the 1870s the democratic political culture 

of California staved off strong central control of natural resources management. Building irrigation systems required new forms of social organiza-
34 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

tion and a greater degree of governmental intervention along with technological skills and engineering expertise. However, the Irrigation Commission recognized that American society was not ready for the central government to control planning, construction, and management. 

In India the government does everything and the people do 

nothing in the management of the canal system. On the other 

hand, in our country we expect the people to do everything 

and the Government nothing. There all power and authority 

are in the hands of the officials, whose range extends to 

the merest details. This state of affairs is much lamented 

by intelligent observers, but in the present condition of 

the people any other system is impossible. We shall find in 

Italy and Spain that the principles of self-administration, 

and, in some degree, of self -government, have existed in 

irrigation associations for years, and in some cases for 

ages. 

Americans will doubtless find this kind of administration something congenial with their opmwns, and perhaps 

they may discover in it the germ of their own modified system of the future. 85 

During the 1870s Californians struggled to discover this "modified system of the future." The need for more comprehensive state water 

policies was being felt in the state legislature. The great Marysville 

flood of 1875 touched off a campaign to regulate the dumping of hydraulic 

mining debris into the rivers. Efforts by local reclamation districts in 

the Sacramento Valley to hold back flood waters with levees had failed. 

Meanwhile, in the San Joaquin Valley, successive drought years accelerated 

the distress farmers and ranchers experienced during the "Terrible Seventies." Agitation by those concerned with these issues -- miners, farmers, 

and valley tesidents -- in 1876 led Republican Senator Creed Haymond of 

Sacramento County to propose a special state irrigation and reclamation 

commtsston including at least one engineer capable of planning irrigation 

and reclamation works. His bill was defeated. However, the clamor from 

flood-endangered and drought-ridden farmers persisted and soon led to a 

statewide investigation of the interrelated problems concerning irrigation, reclamation, inland navigation, and debris control.86 

In January 1878, at the next session of the California 

legislature, Senator Haymond again presented a water management reform 

package. According to William Hammond Hall, who later became the first 

state engineer on the recommendation of Alexander, Haymond invited 

Alexander to Sacramento to give expert advice on how to deal with the 

debris, flood . control, and irrigation problems in the state. Alexander 

suggested that "money, organization, and central control" were the keys to 

solving the problem. He argued that the state should conduct an in-depth 

investigation related to the concerns of all factions. Hall thought this 

suggestion laid the foundation for Senator Haymond's decision to forge a 

coalition of interests and, in 1878, to introduce a bill to establish an 

investigative commission. Hydraulic mining interests, however, saw in the 

bill an attempt by valley farmers to attack their industry.87 
INTRODUCTION 35 

In February 1878 the mining debris-choked Sacramento River again 

spilled over its levees. This event encouraged competing interests to 

accept a state investigation into the problems confronting valley residents. Haymond introduced a second bill creating the Office of State Engineer, the first statewide water planning agency in California. The State 

Engineer was given the unenviable task of studying irrigation and debris 

problems; mapping all irrigable lands in the state and designing plans to 

irrigate them; studying the effects of debris on navigation and flooding; 

and devising a plan to prevent injury to valley agriculture. The report 

was to be submitted to the legislature at its 1880 session.88 

After the Haymond bill had passed in May 1878, Alexander was 

angered to find that Mendell had written the final draft. Alexander considered it "interference on the part of his subordinate officer in a movement 

he had fathered." While Hall thought that Mendell might not have understood Alexander's prominent role in drafting the earlier version of Haymond's water reform bill, he recalled, "General Alexander took offense, 

and there was bitterness between these two ~entlemen who were called to 

act as advisors to the State Engineer."8 It later caused "personal 

inharmony" between Mendell and Alexander, and many anxious moments for 

Hall, who had to work closely with both men. However, Alexander died in 

San Francisco on 15 December 1878 at age 59. Hall eulogized Alexander in 

his first annual report to the governor, saying that "in him the 

engineering profession lost one of its masters, the State Engineer was 

deprived of an able and most agreeable counsellor, and from the State was 

taken one who has seen most, thought much, and to a purpose, of the field 

in which this Department is called upon to act."90 

The act creating the Office of. State Engineer ordered a study of 

the three major problems facing the valley: irrigation, reclamation, and 

mmmg debris. With respect to irrigation the foremost task assigned to 

the State Engineer was determining needs, organizing water districts based 

on hydrographic boundaries, collecting data on stream flow and soil quality, and locating reservoir sites. From 1878 to 1888, California made the 

first major attempt to develop its water resources, spending more than 

$250,000 through the State Department of Engineering. As head of jh~­

depariment, Hall examined the areas of irrigation, reclamation, and debris 

control. He worked closely with Mendell, who replaced Alexander as the 

senior Corps Engineer, on the problems of flood control and navigation of 

inland rivers. Tutored by the Army Corps of Engineers, Hall came to his 

new position with a passionate belief that "the State, through a scientific board, should regulate and control all matters pertaining to the appropriation and distribution of the wate.rs of her streams." Like his mentors, 

he also looked to such countries as Italy, Egypt, Spain, and India as 

positive examples of government involvement in irrigation. He remained, in 

the face of political and entrepreneurial opposition, a firm advocate of 

centralized governmental control over water resources in California. Thus, 

through the education of a young group of engineers and the rise of Hall 

to his prominent position as State Engineer, Alexander left a legacy on 

California water policy that lasted well into the 20th century.91 

What emerged from the irrigation debates of the 1870s and 1880s, 

as an alternative to centralized state-controlled or corporate reclama-
36 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

tion, was a system of public control by local agencies. The Wright Act in 

1887 and subsequent amendments provided a method for organizing and taxing 

landowners for irrigation projects, and established some minimal public 

control over water rights for irrigation systems in California through 

local irrigation districts. Forty-nine districts covering two million 

acres were organized in the first eight years following passage of the 

act. Many of them failed, beleaguered by construction cost overruns and 

litigation over water rights.92 By the 1890s, the western irrigation 

lobby turned to Washington as drought, falling farm prices, rural depopulation, and declining land values contributed to a new farm crisis in the 

arid West. The irrigation crusade of the nineties culminated in the passage of the Reclamation Act of 1902. 

Mendell, Davidson, and Brereton lived to see the passage of the 

Reclamation Act on 17 June 1902. Mendell, by this time retired from Army 

service and acting as a private consulting engineer, died in October 1902. 

At the end of his life, Brereton wrote a series of somewhat wistful letters to Davidson, complaining that "wealth has gone from me through the 

swindling propensity of others." On the other hand, he looked back with a 

sense of achievement on his own and other engineers' pioneering efforts to 

introduce irrigated agriculture to the Central Valley, and thought that 

subsequent generations of Californians would be "proud of the men of the 

70ties [sic]." Brereton firmly believed that the 1873 survey set a new 

standard for investigations as the first scientific examination of 

irrigation. He told Davidson that Senator Stewart had written him that the 

survey had formed the "nucleus of the present Reclamation Service of the 

U.S." Professor Davidson, who served with the Coast Survey until June 

1895, stayed active in scientific and educational circles until his death 

on 2 December 1911.93 

The Irrigation Commission in 1873 laid the foundation for a system that the commissioners believed would control the rivers, redistribute 

water, and conquer the harsh environment of the Central Valley. A comprehensive irrigation plan for the Central Valley remained a dream of ambitious engineers for generations. Large-scale Reclamation Bureau projects, 

such as that built at Orland in the northern Sacramento Valley in 

1906-1910, competed for the public imagination --with gran<f-vTs1ons- such -a.s 

the so-called Marshall Plan of 1919-1920. Colonel Robert Bradford Marshall, chief geographer of the Geological Survey, suggested a large 

storage dam at Kennett on the Sacramento River (now the site of Shasta 

Dam) that would partially feed a "grand canal" ringing the Central Valley. 

Water stored at Kennett, combined with supplies from smaller storage reservoirs on tributaries and augmented by the Klamath River, would provide 

water for irrigating most of the Central Valley and for navigation on the 

grand canal. Additional canals would supply the growing demands in Los 

Angeles and San Francisco.94 Grandiose in scope, the plan rekindled 

public enthusiasm for a comprehensive program of irrigation during the 

next decade. Throughout the 1920s and into the 1930s, state and federal 

efforts in the valley were aimed at either adopting Marshall's plan or 

investigating and planning alternative projects that achieved some of his 

goals. California's Central Valley Project, planned in the late 1920s and 

adopted during the New Deal as a federal public works project, used the 

scientific data and built upon the general engineering concepts developed 

by Brereton, the Irrigation Commission, Hall, and Marshall. 
1. 

2. 

Henry Nash Smith, "Rain 

Rainfall for the Great 

(1947), pp. 175-188. 

Notes 

Follows the Plow: The Notion for Increased 

Plains," Huntington Library Quarterly 10 

Raymond 

(Lexington: 

110-135. 

H. Merritt, Engineering in American 

The University of Kentucky Press, 

Society, 1850-1875 

1969), pp. 2, I 0, 

3. Charles Nordhoff, California for Health, Pleasure, and Residence. A 

Book f.Qr Travelers and Settlers (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1876), pp. 182-188. 

4. Eighth Census Q.( 1M. United ~. lM.Q. (Washington, DC, 1864), p. 

662; Ninth Census Q.( 1M. United States, il1.Q. (Washington, DC, 1872), 

3:820. 

5. James H. Budd, "Annual Address Delivered Before the San Joaquin Agricultural Society," Transactions Q.( ~ California ~ Agricultural 

Society, ill.l (Sacramento: State Printer, 1873), pp. 603-609. 

Hereafter cited as TCSAS. J.A. Hosmer, "Annual Address Delivered 

Before the San Joaquin Agricultural Society," TCSAS. 1874 (Sacramento: 

State Printer, 1874), pp. 616-625. 

6. John Bidwell, "Annual Address Delivered Before the State Agricultural 

Society, September 12, 1867," TCSAS. ll..QQ-l.Ml (Sacramento: State 

Printer, 1867), pp. 419-436. 

7. TCSAS. .l.MQ-llQI, pp. 46-47; George Barstow, "Agricultural Address," 

TCSAS. ~-ll22., pp. 327-328; J. Ross Browne, "Reclamation and 

lrdgation," TCSAS. ill.Q., __ pp . . 413-420. --~--·-. 

8. Charles F. Reed, "Report to Governor Newton Booth," Biennial Report of 

~ S1m 1l.Q.a.r4 Q.( Agriculture ill ~ Y.gn ill.Q-181.l (Sacramento: 

State Printer, 1872), pp. 25-26. 

9. Browne, "Reclamation and Irrigation," TCSAS. ill.Q, pp. 413-419; 

Bidwell, "Annual Address," pp. 426-429. Regarding the effect of water 

on history in irrigation societies, see Donald Worster, Rivers of 

Empire: .IDU..tl, Aridity &, ~Economic Growth Q.( ~ American West (New 

York: Pantheon Books, 1985), pp. 17-60. For several works that explore 

how proponents of efficiency and centralization tried to replace the 

chaos and disorganization of national life in mid-19th century 

America, see Robert H. Weihe, The Search for Q.,rlli, ll11-1920 (New 

York: Hill & Wang, 1967); George M. Fredrickson, The Inner Civil War: 

Northern Intellectuals (Harper & Row, 1965); and Morton Keller, 

Affairs Q.( ~: Public Life in Late Nineteenth Century America 

(Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University, 1977). 
38 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

10. Gerald L. Prescott, "Farm Gentry vs. the Grangers: Conflict in Rural 

California," California Historical Quarterly 56:4 (Winter 1977-1978), 

pp. 328-345. 

11. Merritt, Engineering in American Society, pp. 27-62. 

12. All of the comprehensive plans for irrigation of the San Joaquin 

Valley in the 20th century have recognized the need to transport water 

from the north into the water-deficient regions of the southern San 

Joaquin Valley. The commissioners proposed to impound water in the 

south and move it north. 

13. Edward Hyatt, "National Broadcast on California Agricultural Programs, 

Under the Auspices of the State Grange, NBC Studios, San Francisco, November 10, 1939," Edward Hyatt Papers 2, Water Resources Center Archives, University of California, Berkeley. 

14. Gordon R. Miller, "Shaping California Water Law, 1781-1928," Southern 

California Quarterly 55 (Winter 1973), pp. 9-42; A.E. Chandler, "Appropriation of Water in California," California l.Jlli:. Review 4 (March 

1916), pp. 206-216. Michael C. Meyer, ~ in thk Hisoanic Southwest: 

A ~ lli l.&gM History, 1550-1850 (Tucson: The University of 

Arizona Press, 1984); Robert G. Dunbar, Forging New Rights in Western 

Waters (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983), pp. 1-8; Donald 

J. Pisani, From thk Family Farm 1Q. Agribusiness: IM. Irrigation 

Crusade in California a.rut thk American ~ 1850-1931 (Berkeley: 

University of California Press, 1984), pp. 30-53; Douglas Littlefield, 

"Water Rights during the California Gold Rush: Conflict over Economic 

Points of View," Western Historical Quarterly 14:4 (October 1983), pp. 

415-434; Robert G. Dunbar, "The Adaptability of Water Law to the 

Aridity of the West," Journal Q.( thk ~ 24 (January 1985), pp. 

57-65; Donald J. Pisani, "Enterprise and Equity: A Critique of Western 

Water Law in the Nineteenth Century," Western Historical Quarterly 

.. 18:1 (January 1987), pp. 15-37. -----~·--. -·--·· ·-·--· ... 

15. Paul W. Gates, "Public Land Disposal in California," A2ricultural 

History 49:1 (January 1975), pp. 158-178; Warren A. Beck and Ynez D. 

Haase, Historical A1.l!l..s. Q.( California (Norman: University of Oklahoma 

Press, 1974), pp. 24-34, 67-71; Lawrence J. Jelinek, Harvest Empire: A 

History of California Agriculture (San Francisco: Boyd & Fraser 

Publishing Co., 1982), pp. 28-35;. TCSAS. il..ZQ-1.1. pp. 15-16; TCSAS. 

!.[U, p. 632. Among the major beneficiaries of the land disposal 

policies of the federal and state government were William S. Chapman, 

who brought irrigation to large tracts of valley land with his Fresno 

Canal and Irrigation Company; Henry Miller and Charles Lux, the cattlemen who controlled the San Francisco meat market and eventually owned 

both banks of the San Joaquin River from west of Modesto to near 

Madera, a distance of 100 miles; Billy Carr, Lloyd Tevis, and James 
INTRODUCTION 39 

Ben Ali Haggin, whose San Joaquin Valley holdings became the basis of 

the Kern County Land Company; Isaac Friedlander, "the wheat king"; and 

William C. Ralston. · 

16. Walton Bean, California: An Interpretive History, 3d ed. (New York: 

McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1978), pp. 182-194. 

17. Pisani, From the Family Farm, p. 105; Nordhoff, California, p. 129; 

Irrigation in California: The SAn Joaquin rul4. Tulare Plains 

(Sacramento: Record Steam Book & Job Printing House, 1873), pp. 12-18. 

Several irrigation canals were under construction in the valley in 

1872-1873. The most important were the Fresno Canal built by Isaac 

Friedlander near Borden Station; Lower Kings River ditch built by the 

Peoples Ditch Company of Tulare; Lower Kings River ditches in the 

vicinity of Centerville; Chapman's Canal on the San Joaquin River, 

diverting water 25 miles above Firebaugh's Ferry; and the Kings River 

& San Joaquin County Canal. 

18. Pisani, From 1M. Family Farm, pp. 106-107; John Bensley Biographical 

Sketch, MS, John Bensley Papers, Bancroft Library, University of 

California, Berkeley; Marysville Appeal, 14 June 1873. 

19. David Lavender, Nothing Seemed Impossible: William !:.. Ralston and 

Early San Francisco (Palo Alto, CA: American West Publishing Co., 

1975), pp. 353-355; Commercial Herald a..ru! Market Review. 12 January 

1872, in Cecil G. Tilton, William Chaoman Ralston: Courageous Builder 

(Boston: The Christopher Publishing Co., 1935), pp. 161-164. 

20. Michael Edwardes, British !n..ill.a.. 1772-1947: A Survey Q[ 1M. Nature and 

Effects Q[ Alien Rule (New York: Tapinger Publishing Co., 1967), pp. 

149-155, 216-228; Robert Burton Buckley, Irrigation Works in !n..ill.a. and 

&&:v.lll (New York: Spon & Chamberlain, 1893), pp. 269-294; Robert 

Maitland Brereton, Reminiscences Qf. SUl Qlil. English Civil Engineer . 

.. --- ·-----!:la-122£-(-P-a.rtla-nd, -OR:-The Irwin-Hodson Co., 1908), pp. ,7-17. -- ------ ---- -------

21. Brereton, Reminiscences Q[ il Civil Engineer, pp. 18, 23-24. In a 

letter written to George Davidson forty years later Brereton claimed 

he had come to the United States on "a mission from the Government of 

India" to inspect railroad construction methods in the United States 

and had let Ralston convince him to abandon this work and enter into 

the irrigation scheme. Although he remained proud of his efforts to 

bring irrigation to the San Joaquin Valley, later in life Brereton was 

embittered by his association with the enterprise as it had deprived 

him of prestigious career opportunities as chief engineer of railways 

in India, Japan and Australia. Brereton to Davidson, 14 and 19 Apr. 

1911, Davidson MS, Bancroft Library. 
40 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

22. Brereton, "Report No. 1 to Messrs. Friedlander, Ralston, Chapman, and 

Others," 19 Aug. 1871, in Robert M. Brereton, Reminiscences of ru1 

Irrigation Enterprise in California (Portland, OR: The Irwin-Hodson 

Co., 1903), pp. 54-59; Stockton Independent, 29 April and 17 May 1871. 

23. Brereton, "Report No. 2 to Messrs. Friedlander, Ralston, Chapman, and 

Others," 6 Oct. 1871, in Brereton, Reminiscences Q( ru1 Irrigation 

Enterprise, pp. 59-72. 

24. Sacramento Union, 2 November 187i; Stockton Independent, 15 August and 

18 October 1871. 

25. Brereton, Reminiscences of a. Civil Engineer, pp. 28-30; J. Ross Browne 

to W.C. Ralston, 11 Nov. 1871, William C. Ralston Collection, Bancroft 

Library. Hereafter cited as Ralston Collection. 

26. Sacramento Union, 30 January 1872; Appendix 1.Q. ~ Journals Q( 1M, 

Senate and Assembly of the Legislature Q[ 1M, ~ Q( California. 

19th sess., vol. III. 

27. Winfield J. Davis, History Q( Political Conventions in California. 

1849-1892 (Sacramento: Publications of the California State Library, 

1893), pp. 303-304; W.C. Ralston to Newton Booth, 18 Jan. 1872, and 

Ralston to Booth, 18 June 1872, in Brereton, Reminiscences Q.( a. Civil 

Engineer, pp. 74-75, 86; Biographical Directory Q[ m American 

Congress, 1774-1971, Sen. Doc. 92-8, 92d Cong., 1st sess. (Washington, 

DC: Government Printing Office, 1971), p. 612·; Royce D. Delmathier et 

al., The Rumble of California Politics, 1848-121Q. (New York: John 

Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1970), pp. 40-69. 

28. Brereton, Reminiscences Q.( a. Civil Engineer, p. 30; Brereton, 

Reminiscences of .!!.!l Irrigation Enterprise, pp. 8, 18-20; Charles 

Stuart to William Ralston, 13 Apr. 1872, 27 July 1872, and 15 Aug. 

1872; Brereton to Ralston.- lL July --18-72, --Ralston---Collec-t-ion; --Bane-r-oft- -

Library. 

29. Louise Hall Tharp, Three Sfti.n1s. a.ru1 a. Sinner, JJ!li.a. ~ Howe, Louisa, 

Annie and Sam Ward (Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1956). 

30. Brereton, Reminiscences of a. Civil Engineer, p. 27. 

31. A good general discussion of the antimonopoly attitudes in California 

is contained in David B. Griffiths, "Anti-Monopoly Movements in 

California, 1873-1898," Southern California Quarterly 52 (Spring 

1970), pp. 93-121. 

32. Brereton, Reminiscences Q.( a. Civil Engineer, p. 27; SAn. Francisco 

Chronicle, 21 February 1873. 
INTRODUCTION 41 

33. Congressional Globe, 41st Cong., 1st sess., 22 March 1869, p. 190; 

Stockton Independent, 1 and 22 February 1873, 22 May 1873, 6 and 9 

June 1873, and 2 July 1873; Sacramento Union, I, 2, 7, and 19 July 

1873 and 18 October 1873. 

34. By the middle of February most of the newspapers began referring to 

this bill as "the Stewart Bill." William M. Stewart, Senator from 

Nevada, introduced the bill providing for the appointment of a Board 

of Irrigation Commissioners. He was also a major supporter of the subsidy bill that many newspapers initially tended to view as a companion 

bill to the canal subsidy legislation. 

35. Sacramento Bee, 14 February 1873; Tulare Times, 15 February 1873. 

36. Sacramento Union, 15 February 1873; Stanislaus County News, 21 

February 1973. 

37. San Francisco Chronicle, 21 February 1873. 

38. Cole to Ralston, 2 Feb. 1873, Ralston Collection, Bancroft Library. 

39. Gorham to Ralston, 16 Feb. 1873, Ralston Collection, Bancroft Library. 

40. San Francisco Chronicle, 29 February 1873; Sacramento Union, 28 

February 1873. The last provision was particularly significant because 

at that time the Central Pacific Railroad was claiming in the courts 

that the land grants it received from the federal government were 

quasi-federal property and therefore exempt from local taxation until 

sold. San Francisco Chronicle, 22 February 1873. 

41. Congressional Globe, 42d Cong., 3d sess., 27 February 1873, p. 1846. 

---------- 42 .. On-.. the ... .nrganiza-tion of farm clubs and Grange_ ... chap.ters-.-and __ their-~-­

opposition to the bill, see the weekly issues of the Pacific Rural 

Er_m from March through December 1873; Tulare Times, 22 February 

1873. 

43. Congressional Globe, 42d Cong., 3d sess., 13 February 1873; Sacramento 

Union, 15 February 1873; Russell R. Elliott, Servant of Power: A 

Political Biograohy Q[ Senator William M. Stewart (Reno: University of 

Nevada Press, 1983). When he left the Senate in 1875, Stewart served 

as attorney for a number of large landowners in California and represented Haggin and Tevis in their San Joaquin Valley water battles in 

the 1870s and 1880s. When he returned to the Senate in 1887, he became 

a champion of irrigation in the arid West and was in part responsible 

for passage of the act authorizing a federal irrigation survey of 

western territories and states in 1888-1889. He was chairman of the 

Senate Subcommittee on Irrigation and Reclamation of Arid Lands when 
42 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

that special body was added to the Public Lands Committee in 1889. 

Stewart invited Brereton to work on the irrigation survey but Brereton 

declined. See Brereton, Reminiscences of ru1 Irrigation Enterprise, pp. 

20-21. 

44. Sacramento Bee, 25 February 1873; Sacramento Union, 6 March 1873; 

Marysville Appeal, 16 February 1873. Houghton's bill was numbered H.R. 

3966. 

45. Congressional Globe, 42d Cong., 3d sess., 17 January 1873, p. 660; 10 

February 1873, p. 1232; 13 February 1873, p. 1297; 14 February 1873, 

p. 1313; 17 February 1873, p. 1422; 27 February 1873, p. 1846; 28 

February 1873, pp. 1916 and 1930; 3 March 1873, pp. 2135, 2200, and 

2202. 

46. Message from the President Q.( the United ~ Transmitting the 

Report Q.( 1M. Commissioners Qn. the Irrigation of the San Joaquin, 

Tulare, and Sacramento Valleys, in the ~ Q.( California. H. Exec. 

Doc. 290, 43d Cong., 1st sess., 24 March 1874. 

47. Brereton, Reminiscences Q.( a. Civil Engineer, p. 26. 

48. Special Orders No. 75, 9 Apr. 1873; Brig. Gen. A.A. Humphreys to Lt. 

Col. B.S. Alexander, 12 Apr. 1873; Benjamin Peirce to George Davidson, 

25 Apr. 1873. All cited in Message from .th.k President Qf the United 

States. 

49. For example, see the correspondence between Mendell and Davidson in 

Davidson Papers, Bancroft Library, 1870-1873. 

50. "Barton S. Alexander," Office of History Biographical Files. 

51. LeConte had been worried that his service in the Confederate Army 

during the Civil War would be held against him. Alexander assured him 

that it would not, __ Alexander himself- was strongly_ opposed to Radical -

Reconstruction, and commented on the possible negative effects of "the 

event of negro supremacy" in LeConte's horne state of South Carolina. 

B.S. Alexander to John LeConte, 25 Oct. 1867, 19 June 1868, and 24 

Sept. 1868, Box I, folder: Alexander, Barton Stone, LeConte Family 

Papers, Bancroft Library. LeConte Hall on the Berkeley campus is named 

in honor of the LeConte brothers, who both served long terms on the 

faculty. 

52. Anthony F. Turhollow, A History Qf 1M. Los Angeles District, !l...S.. Army 

Corps of Engineers, 1898-1965 (Los Angeles: U.S. Army Engineer District, 1975), pp. 24-28; Lt. Col. B.S. Alexander and C.W. Lightner, 

Report of the Commissioners Appointed 1.Q. Examine the Harbor Q.( Srul1a. 

Cruz and Salinas Slough in 1M. .ful.v. Qf Monterey, 26 February 1870, 

pamphlets on engineering, Bancroft Library. 
INTRODUCTION 48 

53. Lt. Col. Barton S. Alexander, Reports Q.( !!.S.. Alexander, Lieut. CQl. 

Engineers of the Preliminary Surveys, Cost of Construction, ~. Q.( the 

Stockton Ship Channel. Stockton California (Stockton: Independent 

Press, October 1874); William Hammond Hall, State Engineer, to the 

Governor of California, "Drainage and Debris Work of 1878-1881, First 

Letter, The Origin and Conditions of the Investigation," 8, file 

F3748: 20-42, Records of the State Engineer, California State 

Archives, Sacramento; see also Nicholas P. Hardeman, The Harbor Q.( the 

Heartlands: A History Q.( 1.b& Inland Seaport Q.( Stockton, California, 

From 1.b& Gold Rush 1Q. ~ (Stockton: Holt-Atherton Center for Western 

Studies, 1986), pp. 33-34. Hardeman says Alexander was "later known as 

the father of the Central Valley Project." Stockton is a major 

deepwater port in California because of the maintenance of a shipping 

channel similar to that proposed by Alexander. 

54. Report Q.( 1.b& Special Committee Q.( 1.b& ~ Q.( Supervisors, Together 

With Recommendations Q.( Qm.. !!.S.. Alexander, !.[.S..A., a.rut Prof. George 

Davidson U.S..Q.S.., Q1l 1.b& ~ Supplies for 1.b& Ci1Y Q.( Srul Francisco 

(San Francisco: A.L. Bancroft & . Co., 1872); "Report of General Barton 

Stone Alexander on the Reclamation of the Rancho Pescadero, San 

Joaquin County," 1877, Bancroft Library Pamphlets; William Hammond 

Hall, State Engineer, to the Governor of California, "Drainage and 

Debris Work of 1878-1881, First Letter, The Origin and Conditions of 

the Investigation," 7, file F3748: 20-42, Records of the State 

Engineer, California State Archives, Sacramento. 

55. "George H. Mendell," Office of History Biographical Files. Mendell's 

San Francisco office letter press books are housed at the Bancroft 

Library. During the time of the irrigation survey, Mendell was pressed 

for information regarding an action during the war where his men 

destroyed a barn to obtain timber for a temporary bridge across a 

stream. (The farmer wanted compensation for his wrecked building.) 

Mendell recalled that circumstances -- he and his men were under 

Confederate guns at the time -- had dictated that -demolition and 

construction be done quickly. See Letterbook, vol. I. 

56. Oscar Lewis, George Davidson: Pioneer ~ QQ.ill Scientist (Berkeley: 

University of California Press, 1954), pp. 1-5, 8-9, 38-39, 51-52; 

George Davidson to Benjamin Peirce, see various 1873 Letterbooks, vol. 

25, Davidson Papers, Bancroft Library; Alonzo Phelps, Contemporary 

Biography of California's Representative ~ ~ Contributions From 

Distinguished Scholars ruul Scientists (San Francisco: A.L. Bancroft & 

Co., 1881), pp. 97-101. Lewis's biography provides a comprehensive 

description of Davidson's career, interests, and accomplishments. 

57. Message from the President Q.( 1.b& United ~. p. 5. 

58. Richard A. Bartlett, Qrill Surveys of the American ~ (Norman: 

University of Oklahoma Press, 1962), pp. 135-136. 
ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

59. The history of Whitney's experience in California is detailed in 

William H. Goetzmann, Exploration and Empire: The Explorer and the 

Scientist in the Winning Q[ 1M. American West (New York: Random House, 

1972), pp. 355-389; Albert Bierstadt and William C. Ralston to General 

A.A. Humphreys, 13 and 20 May 1873; Humphreys to Bierstadt and 

Ralston, 2 June 1873, entry 52, 929 GR 1874, enc. 1027, Record Group 

77, National Archives. 

60. Sa.n. Francisco Chronicle, 17 March 1873. 

61. Robert Brereton to George Davidson, 9 Sept. 1911, Davidson Papers, 

Bancroft Library; Message from the President Q[ 1M. United ~. pp. 

5-6. 

62. Pacific B...Yr.ru. ~. 7 June 1873, 5:356; quote from Kern County Weekly 

Courier, 17 May 1873. No evidence confirming the presence of Whitney 

or King with the commissioners has been found. Stanislaus County News, 

30 May 1873. 

63. Davidson to Samuel Hein, 2 May 1873, Letterbooks. Alexander to 

Davidson, 9, 14, and 21 May 1873; Alexander to Ellinor Davidson, 12 

May 1873. All in Davidson Papers, Bancroft Library. 

64. Kern County Weekly Courier, 17 May 1873; Davidson to Alexander, 

Monthly Report, 31 May 1873, entry 52, 927 GR 1874, RG 77, National 

Archives. 

65. Fresno Exoositor, 21 May 1873; Pacific B...Yr.ru. f.llis., 7 June and 12 July 

1873; The Weekly Apoeal (Marysville), 14 June 1873. 

66. Davidson to J.E. Hilgard, 17 May 1873. Davidson to Superintendent of 

the Coast and Geodetic Survey, 21 May 1873. Both Letterbooks, Davidson 

Papers, Bancroft Library. 

67. Davidson to Alexander, Monthly Report, 30 June 1873: -entry 52, 927 GR 

1874, RG 77, National Archives; quote from Davidson to Samuel Hein, 9 

June 1873, Davidson Papers, Bancroft Library. 

68. Davidson to Superintendent of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, 23 June 

1873, Letterbooks, Davidson Papers, Bancroft Library. 

69. Alexander to Humphreys, Monthly Report, 9 July 1873, entry 52, 927 GR 

1874, RG 77, National Archives. 

70. Alexander to Humphreys, Monthly Report, 20 Aug. and 10 Sept. 1873, 

entry 52, 927 GR 1874, RG 77, National Archives; quote from Davidson 

to Superintendent of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, 24 July 1873; 

Davidson to Superintendent of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, 6 Aug. 

1873. Both in Letterbooks, Davidson Papers, Bancroft Library. 
INTRODUCTION 45 

71. Alexander to Humphreys, 20 Aug. 1873, entry 52, 927 GR 1874, RG 77, 

National Archives; quote from Alexander to Davidson, 11 Aug. 1873, 

Davidson Papers, Bancroft Library; Alexander to Humphreys, Monthly 

Report, 7 Oct. 1873, entry 52, 927 GR 1874, RG 77, National Archives. 

72. Alexander to Davidson, 21 Oct. 1873, Davidson Papers, Bancroft 

Library; William H. Bryan, Report of the Engineer of the Sacramento 

Valley Irrigation and Navigation Canal (Sacramento: State Printer, 

1868). Quote from Alexander to Davidson, 28 Oct. 1873; Alexander to 

Davidson, 29 Oct. 1873; Alexander to Humphreys, 7 Nov. 1873. All in 

Davidson Papers, Bancroft Library. Alexander to Humphreys, 11 Nov. 

1873, entry 52, 927 GR 1874, RG 77, National Archives. 

73. Alexander to Humphreys, 4 Dec. 1873, entry 52, 927 GR 1874, RG 77, 

National Archives. 

74. Weekly Colusa Sun, 8 November 1873. 

75. Alexander to Humphreys, 5 Jan. 1874, entry 52, 927 GR 1874, RG 77, 

National Archives. 

76. Alexander to Humphreys, 10 Feb. 1874, entry 52, 927 GR 1874, RG 77, 

National Archives; Alexander to Davidson, 16 Feb. 1874, Davidson 

Papers, Bancroft Library; Alexander to Humphreys, 5 Mar. 1874, entry 

52, 927 GR 1874, RG 77, National Archives. 

77. Congressional Record, 43d Cong., 1st sess., 5 January 1874, p. 387; 6 

January 1874, p. 388; 6 February 1874, p. 1255. 

78. Assembly Bill 172, 21 January 1874, Assembly Bills, 1873-74, 

California State Archives. The Veneble bill passed in the Grangercontrolled assembly but was voted down in the Senate. Pacific Rural 

~' 15 November 1873, 6:308; and 28 March f874~- 7:20r;~-A.lexailder to 

Humphreys, undated correspondence, entry 52, 927 GR 1874, RG 77, 

N a tiona! Archives. 

79. George Perkins Marsh, Irrigation: Its Evils, the Remedies, and the 

Compensations, Sen. Misc. Doc. 55, 43d Cong., 1st sess., 6 February 

1874. John Wesley Powell, a scientist and explorer who spent much of 

his time after 1867 observing and studying the natural resources of 

the West, also submitted a report to Congress in April 1874. He 

advocated "cooperative organizations" of great capitalists, the 

states, and the national government to develop projects for irrigating 

extensive acreages on the main watercourses of the American West. H. 

Ex. Doc. 612, 43d Cong., 1st sess., 21 Apr. 1874. 

80. Congressional Record, 43d Cong., 1st sess., 6 February 1874, p. 3009. 

81. Phelps, Contemporary Biography, p. 101; Davidson to Ralston, 15 May 

1875, Ralston Papers, Bancroft Library; George Davidson, Report upon 
ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

~ Methods Employed in Irrigating Land in India, &gyQ!, Italy, and 

Other Countries, Sen. Ex. Doc. 94, 44th Cong., 1st sess., 1875; 

Davidson, "Lectures on Irrigation Before the Legislature of 

California," 15-16 Jan. 1878, Davidson Papers, Bancroft Library. 

82. Brereton, Reminiscences Q.( i!. Civil Engineer, pp. 28-30; Pacific Rural 

Press, 22 November 1873 and 4 April 1874, 7:10; Sacramento Union, 20 

February 1874. 

83. Pacific Rural ~. 30 October 1875; Brereton, Reminiscences of i!. 

Civil Engineer, pp. 28-30; Bean, California: An Interpretive History, 

pp. 192-193; Brereton, Reminiscences of l!.!l Irrigation Enterprise, pp. 

24-35. Brereton sent his letter to Governor Irwin on 16 November 

1875; it was published by the San Francisco Chronicle on 21 November 

1875. 

84. John Wesley Powell to Davidson, 25 May 1877; James B. Haggin to 

Davidson, 6 Nov. 1877; Alexander to Davidson, 5 Dec. 1877 and 10 Mar. 

1878, Davidson Papers, Bancroft Library. Haggin published their short 

report, which drew heavily on the 1873 irrigation survey, as a part 

of his larger document, The Desert Lands Q[ Kern County, California 

(San Francisco: C.H. Street, 1877); William Hammond Hall, Report of 

l..M ~ Engineer 1Q ~ Legislature Q.( the ~ Q[ California, 

Part I (Sacramento: State Office of Printing, 1881 ). 

85. Message from the President of l..M United States, pp. 48-49. 

86. Robert L. Kelley, QQM Y.,S.. Grain: The Hydraulic Mining Controversy in 

California'~ Sacramento Valley: A Chapter in the Decline of the 

Concept of Laissez Faire (Glendale, CA: The Arthur H. Clark Co., 

1959), pp. 57-131; Thomas E. Malone, "The California Irrigation 

Crisis of 1886: Origins of the Wright Act" (Ph.D. diss., Stanford 

University, 1965), pp. 64-65; Pisani, From the Family Farm, p. 162. 

87. William Hammond Hall, State Engineer, to the Governor of California, 

"Drainage and Debris Work of 1878-1881, First Letter, The Origin and 

Conditions of the Investigation," pp. 5-10, Records of the State Engineer, file F3748: 20-42, California State Archives, Sacramento; 

Pisani, From ~Family Farm, p. 167. 

88. "An Act to Provide a System of Irrigation, Promote Rapid Drainage, 

and Improve the Navigation of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers," 

28 March 1878, 22 Cal. Stats., pp. 634-636; Kelley, Gold Y.,S.. Grain, 

pp. 65-84. 

89. William Hammond Hall, State Engineer, to the Governor of California, 

"Drainage and Debris Work of 1878-1881, First Letter, The Origin and 

Conditions of the Investigation," pp. 5-10, Records of the State Engineer, file F3748: 20-42, California State Archives, Sacramento. 
INTRODUCTION 47 

90. Alta California, 16 December 1878; William Hammond Hall, Report of 

the State Engineer, p. 26. 

91. Charles P. Korr, "William Hammond Hall: The Failure of Attempts at 

State Water Planning in California, 1878-1888," Southern California 

Quarterly 45:4 (December 1963), pp. 305-321; quote from William 

Hammond Hall, Report 1.Q. 1M. Honorable ~ Q.( Commissioners Q.( ~ 

~ ~ Irrigation District, 18 December 1877, Appendix 1.Q. 1.b& 

Journals of the Senate a..n..Q. Assembly Q.( the ~ Q.( California, 22d 

sess., 1877-1878, vol. 4 (Sacramento: State Printer, 1878); Lt. Col. 

George H. Mendell, Report Q1l a. Project 1.Q. Protect the Navigable 

Waters Q.( California from ~ Effects Q.( Hydraulic Mining, H. Ex. 

Doc. 98, 47th Cong., lst sess. (Washington, DC: Government Printing 

Office, 1882). 

92. Department of Public Works, Division of Water Resources, Financial 

and General Data Pertaining 1Q. Irrigation, Reclamation i!llil Q1.hg_ 

Public Districts in California, Bulletin No. 37 (Sacramento: 

California State Printing Office, 1931), pp. 25-106. 

93. "George H. Mendell," Office of History Biographical Files; Srut 

Francisco Chronicle, 20 October 1902; Srul Francisco ~. 21 October 

1902; Robert Brereton to George Davidson, 16 Apr. 1899, 3 Sept. 1910, 

14 Apr. 1911, and 29 Sept. 1911, Davidson Papers, Bancroft Library; 

Lewis, George Davidson, pp. 121-128. 

94. Pisani, From the Family Farm, pp. 396-403. 
Lieutenant Colonel Banon S. Alexander 

Major George H. Mendell Professor George Davidson 
REPORT 

OF THE 

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 

ON 

THE IRRIGATION 

OF 

THE SAN JOAQUIN, TULARE, AND SACRAMENTO VALLEYS 

OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. 

Lieut. Col. B.S. ALEXANDER, Corps of Engineers, U.S.A., 

Maj. GEORGE H. MENDELL, Corps of Engineers, U.S.A., 

Prof. GEORGE DAVIDSON, United States Coast Survey, 

COMMISSIONERS. 

WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

1874. 
43d Congress 

1st Session 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Ex. Doc. 

No. 290 

IRRIGATION OF THE SAN JOAQUIN, TULARE, AND SACRAMENTO 

VALLEYS, CALIFORNIA 

MESSAGE 

FROM THE 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 

TRANSMITTING 

The report of the Commissioners on the Irrigation of the San Joaquin, 

Tulare, and Sacramento Valleys, in the State of California. 

MARCH 24, 1874.--Referred to the Committee on the Public Lands and 

ordered to be printed. 

To the Senate and House of Representatives: 

I have the honor to transmit herewith the report of the Board of 

Commissioners on the Irrigation of the San Joaquin, Tulare, and Sacramento 

Valleys of the State of California, and also the original maps accompanying said report. 

U.S. Grant 

EXECUTIVE MANSION, March 23, 1874. 
Report of the Board of Commissioners on the Irrigation of the San 

Joaquin, Tulare, and Sacramento Valleys of the State of California.--

Lieut. Col. B. S. Alexander, Corps of Engineers, U.S.A.; Major Geo. H. 

Mendell, Corps of Engineers, U.S.A.; Prof. George Davidson, United 

States Coast Survey, Commissioners.--February, 1874. 

CONTENTS 

CHAPTER I. 

I. Introductory.--2. Preliminary reconnaissance.--3. The map. 

CHAPTER II. 

The necessity for irrigation in California. 

I. Necessity 

influence of 

irrigation ?--5. 

considerations. 

CHAPTER III. 

of surveys.--2. The system 

irrigation on the navigation 

Existing and hypothetical 

CHAPTER IV. 

of irrigation.--3. The 

of rivers.--4. What is 

canals.--6. General 

History, description, and statistics of irrigation in foreign 

countries. 

CHAPTER V. 

Cost of irrigation.--Conclusions. 

APPENDIXES. 

No. 1. Irrigating Association in Italy. 

No. 2. Statistics of San Joaquin and Tulare Valleys. 

No. 3. Existing legislation on irrigation. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 53 

CHAPTER I. 

1. Introductory--Law of Congress authorizing the commission--Order of the 

President creating it--Its final organization--Scarcity of funds. 

2. Preliminary reconnaissance--Examination of the rivers and lakes in the 

valleys of San Joaquin, Tulare, anq Sacramento--These three valleys 

designated "the Great Valley of California." 

3. The map; it embraces the Great Valley of California; what it 

shows--Sketch of the valleys and foot-hills. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

The following is the act of Congress authorizing the commission: 

AN ACT to provide a board of commissioners to report a system of irrigation for the San Joaquin, Tulare, and Sacramento Valleys, in California. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 

United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President be, 

and he is hereby, authorized to assign two engineers of the Army and one 

officer of the Coast Survey now stationed on the Pacific coast, for the 

purpose of examining and reporting on a system of irrigation in the San 

Joaquin, Tulare, and Sacramento Valleys of the State of California; and 

for that purpose the officers so assigned may associate with themselves 

the chief of the geological survey of California, and also one other civilian distinguished for his knowledge of the subject. 

Sec. 2. That these five pers-onr···stnrll-cOl'lsttnne· a· ooard, ·witw-·pow·er 

to fill vacancies, whose duty it shall be to make a full report to the 

President on the best system of irrigation for said valleys, with all 

necessary plans, details, engineering, statistical, and otherwise; which 

report the President shall transmit to Congress at its next session, with 

such recommendations as he shall think proper. 

Sec. 3. That the Secretary of War shall furnish subsistence and transportation for the board while in the field, and the compensation of the 

members of the board who are not in the service of the United States shall 

not exceed two thousand dollars each, but the other members of the board 

shall receive no additional compensation for their services. 

Approved March 3, 1873. 
54 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

We insert here the following order of the Secretary of War, organizing 

the board of commissioners: 

[Special Orders No. 75.] 

WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, 

Washington, April 9, 1873. 

Under the act of Congress approved March 3, 18 7 3, published in General 

Orders No. 56 of 1873 from this office, Lieut. Col. Barton S. Alexander 

and Maj. George H. Mendell, Corps of Engineers, are hereby appointed members of the commission, Lieut. Col. Alexander to be president thereof, for 

the purpose of examining and reporting on a system of irrigation in the 

San Joaquin, Tulare, and Sacramento Valleys of the State of California, 

and will hold themselves in readiness to proceed to the duties of the 

commission on receipt of further instructions from the Secretary of War. 

By order of the President of the United States: 

Official: 

J. P. Martin, 

Assistant Adjutant-General. 

E. D. TOWNSEND, 

Adjutant-General. 

Also the further instructions of the Secretary of War: 

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, 

Washington, D.C., April 12, 187 3. 

SIR: A copy of the act of Congress approved March 3, 1873, published 

in General Orders No. 56, current series, Adjutant-General's Office, 

authorizing the assignment of two engineers of the Army and one officer of 

the Coast Survey now stationed on the Pacific coast, for the purpose of 

exammmg and reporting on a system of irrigation in the Sn Joaquin, 

Tulare, and Sacramento Valleys of the State of California, and for that 

purpose the officers so assigned may associate with themselves the chief 

of the__ geologicaL-S-U-r-vey -0C California, and also one other civilian 

distinguished for his knowledge of the subject, is herewith transmitted 

for your information and guidance. 

The President has, in Special Orders No. 75, Adjutant-General's 

Office, Washington, April 9, 1873, a copy of which is inclosed herewith, 

appointed you and Major Mendell members of the board, and also Prof. 

George Davidson, assistant m the Coast Survey, as contemplated in the 

first section of the act. 

The board so constituted are authorized to associate with themselves 

the chief of the geological survey of California, and also one other civilian distinguished for his knowledge of the subject. 

As the president thereof, you will convene the board in San Francisco, 

or such other convenient place as you may select, and proceed to the business devolving upon it. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 55 

As soon as practicable, the board will proceed to the valleys mentioned, and make the investigations called for in the act, reporting 

progress monthly. 

Having completed these investigations, the board will return to San 

Francisco and make up their report, and, if practicable, transmit it to 

this office in time to be handed to the Secretary of War before December 

1, 1873. 

Estimates will be made upon this office from the appropriation for 

"surveys for military defenses," for such sums as may be necessary to 

carry out the provisions of the act, not exceeding in amount five thousand 

dollars. 

By order of the Secretary of War: 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

Lieut. Col. B. S. Alexander, 

A. A. HUMPHREYS, 

Brigadier-General and Chief of Engineers. 

Corps of Engineers, San Francisco, Cal. 

Professor Davidson received the following instruction from Prof. 

Benjamin Peirce, the Superintendent of the Coast Survey: 

Cambridge, Mass., April 25, 1873. 

Dear Sir: As already advised by telegraph, you have been appointed by 

the President of the United States as commissioner for examining and reporting on a system of irrigation in the San Joaquin, Tulare, and 

Sacramento Valleys of California, as by act of Congress approved March 3, 

1873. 

You are authorized to accept the appointment, and to proceed to the 

discharge of the duties specified in the act. 

Yours, truly, 

George Davidson, Esq., 

BENJAMIN PEIRCE, 

Superintendent United States Coast Survey. 

Assistant, Coast Survey, San Francisco, Cal. 

In accordance with these instructions the board, consisting of Lieut. 

Col. B. S. Alexander, Corps of Engineers; Maj. George H. Mendell, Corps of 

Engineers; and Prof. George Davidson, of the Coast Survey, met in San 

Francisco, April 23, 1873, organized, and elected Professor Davidson its 

secretary and Major Mendell its treasurer. 

A letter signed by the members of the board was forwarded to Prof. 

Joseph D. Whitney, State geologist of California, but then at Cambridge, 

Mass., inviting him, in accordance with the first section of the act of 

Congress, authorizing the commission, to become a member of the same. 

At the same time a telegram was sent to Professor Whitney asking him 

to join the commission as a member. 

In answer to the telegram, Professor Whitney replied that he could not 

join the commission. 
56 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

On the 6th of May, 1873, it was unanimously resolved that the 

president of the commtsston be instructed to invite Mr. R. M. Brereton, of 

San Francisco, to join the board· as a member, in accordance with the terms 

of the act of Congress. 

In answer to the letter of the president of the commission, Mr. 

Brereton declined to become a member in consequence of professional 

engagements. 

Having thus exhausted the requirements of the law creating the Board 

of Commissioners on Irrigation in reference to its organization, it was 

determined to proceed to the duties before us, under our present 

organization, and without any further addition to our numbers. 

We may add that we were driven to this course by the want of funds at 

the disposal of the commission for the purpose of making the necessary 

reconnaissance and report. 

Only $5,000 were allotted to us for carrying out the provisions of the 

act of Congress in reference to this subject. 

If two civilians had been associated with the board, they would each, 

by the terms of the law, have been entitled to $2,000 as compensation for 

their services. This would have left us only $1,000 for making the 

necessary maps to illustrate our report, and for the transportation and 

subsistence of five members instead of the present organization of only 

three members without salaries. 

With only $1,000 for these purposes, we feared that the object to be 

attained in creating the commission would have been defeated. 

PRELIMINARY RECONNAISSANCE. 

On the 13th of May the board proceeded to make an examination of the 

Merced, San Joaquin, King's, Kaweah, and Kern Rivers, from the plains to 

the mountains. They also examined the eastern side of Tulare Valley as far 

as Kern Lake, and inspected the systems of irrigation that have been 

introduced at Centreville, Visalia; and Bakersfield. 

Returning, the board examined the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, 

between ·Watson's ferry-· and- ·Banta's,! observing particularly · the 

works of the San Joaquin and King's River Canal and Irrigation Company, 2 and the system of irrigation which this company is introducing 

on the west side of that valley. 

In the month of June, the board examined the Tuolumne, Stanislaus, 

Calaveras, Mokelumne, and Cosumnes Rivers, on the east side of the San 

Joaquin Valley, from the points where they escape from the foot-hills to 

the plains. This completed our examination of the San Joaquin and Tulare 

Valleys. 

The Sacramento Valley was also thoroughly examined at various times 

during the summer and fall. 

On the east side, we examined the American River, the different branches of the Yuba and Feather Rivers, and the various small streams emptying 

into the Sacramento River between the Feather River and Tehama; and on the 

west side of the valley we examined the Sacramento River itself as high up 

as the town of Shasta; also Stony Creek, Cache Creek, (including Clear 

Lake,) and Puta Creek. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 57 

Having thus examined the three valleys mentioned in the act of Congress, the San Joaquin, Tulare, and Sacramento, which, taken together, we 

have designated "the Great Valley of California," and having seen the 

lands which may be irrigated, and ascertained from observation the necessity for its irrigation, and having seen the principal lakes, rivers, and 

creeks from which the water for irrigation must be obtained, we proceed, 

in accordance with our instructions, to present our views on the subject 

of the irrigation of these valleys. 

THE MAP. 

For the purpose of illustrating this report we have had a topographical map of the great "Valley of California" prepared. This map embraces 

the San Joaquin, Tulare, and Sacramento Valleys, and shows the Sierra 

Nevada Mountains on the east side of the valley, and the Coast Range of 

Mountains on the west side, to the summits of the respective ranges. We 

refer to this map in all subsequent discussions. The map shows the "Great 

Valley of California," and the foot-hills and mountains by which it is 

surrounded, all the lakes, rivers, and principal creeks, with their 

catchment-areas; the overflowed or swamped lands, of which there are about 

1,225,000 acres; the division into counties, and the township-lines of the 

United States surveys; the railroads and principal towns. On this map the 

canals that have already been constructed are laid down in heavy, full, 

red lines; the canals that have been projected, and actually surveyed, on 

the southern end and west side of the valley, in light, full, red lines; 

and we have also indicated a hypothetical system of irrigating canals on 

the eastern side of the valley in dotted red lines. 

On the eastern side of the Great Valley, all the way from the southern 

end of Tulare Valley, south of Kern Lake to Red Bluff, the ground rises 

from the lowest depressions or central lines of drainage in a gentle inclined plain, swelling then into undulations, ~nd then into foot-hills, 

which, as we proceed eastward, rise into mountains, culminating in the 

Sierra Nevada. 

On the western side of the valley th-e -gtoun<:l first rises--in -a plain- of 

gentle slope, then swells into foot-hills, then mountains, culminating in 

the Monte Diablo range on the west side of the San Joaquin and Tulare 

Valleys, and in the Coast Range on the west side of the Sacramento Valley. 

The ascent from the foot-hills to the summit of the mountains is much 

steeper on the western side of the Great Valley than it is on the eastern 

side, and the drainage-area is much smaller on the western side than it is 

on the eastern. 

Again, the Sierra Nevada being much higher than the Coast Range or the 

Monte Diablo range of mountains, the condensation of moisture, or the 

amount of rain-fall and snow in a year, is far greater on the Sierra Nevada than on the lower mountains to the westward. 

An inspection of the map shows a marked contrast as regards the 

water-supply of the eastern and western sides of the valley. 
58 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

CHAPTER II. 

1. Necessity for irrigation in California--The subject a novel one to the 

United States--Reasons why irrigation is necessary. 

2. The climatic conditions of the Pacific coast--The wet and dry seasons 

described--Tabular statements. 

3. The oro graphical features of California--The mountain -ranges and their 

effect upon the law of precipitation of rain. 

4. The average yearly rain-fall sufficient to insure good crops--The 

amount of rain-fall necessary for a crop--The rain-fall at different 

localities throughout the Valley of California. 

5. The variability of the average yearly rain-fall, and the irregularity 

of rain-fall in each year--Tabular statement of extremes of 

rain-fall--Seasons of drought. 

6. Annual crops may be secured by a proper system of controlling and 

delivering the waters of precipitation--Visit to irrigated lands 

--Crude methods adopted for irrigation. 

7. Mildness of the climate especially well adapted for agricultural 

pursuits--Appearance of the face of the country in the wet season--The 

weather in the dry season--Matured crops standing all summer--Tables 

of temperature. 

8. The Great Valley of California is admirably adapted for irrigation--It 

is the marked geographical feature of the Pacific coast in the United 

States--Detailed description of the Great Valley--Map to show its 

relation to California and Nevada--Soil of the Great Valley--Average 

product per acre--Volunteer crops--Permanent effects of irrigation 

--Prospective population. 

- THE NECESSITY FOR IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA. 

The subject of irrigation is a novel one to the inhabitants of the 

States lying east of the one hundredth meridian, where the harvests are so 

uniformly assured that a season of five or six weeks of continuous drought 

during the growing of the crops would be looked upon as a great national 

calamity, and prayers would doubtless, as heretofore, be offered in the 

churches for rain. There the average yearly rain-fall is 39 inches, somewhat regularly distributed through the different months; but on the Pacific coast there are two very marked seasons, one long, dry, and almost 

cloudless, embracing part of the spring-months, all of the summer, and 

part of the autumn, the other comparatively short and wet. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 59 

Some of the peculiarities of the climate and of the rain-fall have 

been frequently stated throughout the United States and abroad, but their 

effects upon our agricultural industry have been very rarely considered. 

The subject, however, has been practically brought home to the people of 

this coast; and all painfully realize the fact that if the country 

bordering the Pacific and that lying between the Rocky Mountains and the 

Sierra Nevada are to be developed and the crops assured for the support of 

their inhabitants and for exportation, some system of controlling the 

available waters and delivering them to the land must be devised and 

executed. 

The extent of the Great Valley of California is hardly appreciated by 

the inhabitants of the State itself, certainly not throughout the United 

States or in Europe, and yet it contains in one body an area of almost 

level plains equal in the aggregate to the States of Massachusetts, 

Connecticut, and Rhode Island, and greater than that of Maryland, or of 

New Jersey and Delaware. If the area of the rolling foot-hills be added to 

the plains, the total arable land of the Great Valley is equal to the area 

of Massachusetts and Maryland, or nearly equal to half of the entire State 

of Ohio. 

The soil of this great valley is capitally adapted for the cultivation 

of grain, cotton, tobacco, the vine, and many of the subtropical fruits. 

The exportation of wheat, &c., after seasons of good rain-fall, is ample 

confirmation of this fact if the personal knowledge of the commissioners 

did not certify to it. 

Under circumstances so anomalous in the 

States, it therefore appears necessary to 

reasons that render irrigation necessary; 

to these reasons; and, subsequently, to 

tions and illustrations. 

state, 

then, 

give 

experience of the United 

in consecutive order, the 

to add short explanations 

more extended exemplificaSTATEMENT OF REASONS WHY IRRIGATION IS NECESSARY ON THE 

PACIFIC COAST. 

A. The climatic conditions of the -Pacific coast are such that crops are 

uncertain south of latitude 42°. 

B. The orographical features of the country conspire with the climatic 

conditions to render crops especially uncertain in certain localities. 

C. The average yearly rain-fall over the basin of the Great Valley is 

sufficient to insure good crops annually. 

D. The rain-fall in different years is very variable, and seasons of 

drought and of great floods occur; and in any one season it is very 

unequally distributed in different sections. 

E. With a proper system of controlling the waters of precipitation, and 

delivering them to cultivated lands when needed, annual crops may be 

assured. 

F. The climate is mild throughout the wet or winter season, and especially well suited for all agricultural pursuits. 

G. The Great Valley of California is admirably adapted for irrigation. 
60 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

A.--The climatic conditions of the Pacific coast are such that crops are 

uncertain south of latitude 42°. 

The climate of the Pacific coast west of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains is altogether different from that of the Atlantic coast, 

and differs also from that of the country included between the eastern 

slope of the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. The ordinary form of 

rain-fall tables fails to exhibit its characteristic, so that upon this 

coast tabulated results of precipitation of rain and snow are made out for 

the rainy season, which extends from about October 15 to April I. No rain, 

in the ordinary acceptation of the term, falls during the dry season, 

between April 1 and October 15, in the latitude of 38°. Northward of 

that latitude, and especially northward of latitude 40°, there is 

frequently a small rain-fall during the summer and a heavy rain-fall 

during the winter. 

Southward of 38° the rainy season is shortened and the dry season 

lengthened, so that at San Diego, in latitude 32 1/2°, the rain-fall on 

the immediate coast averaged only 9.2 inches during twenty-three years. 

On the coast, about latitude 28°, is the region of the "doldrums," 

where little rain falls, but where a cloudy region exists. South of that 

latitude, the seasons are changed, and our rainy season is the dry season 

of the southern part of Lower California, and our dry season their wet 

season. 

At the extremity of the peninsula of Lower California only 3 1/2 

inches fell last summer. The rain-fall at San Francisco, which may be 

taken as a type, averages 23.5 inches annually, distributed as follows: 

June 

July 

August 

September 

October 

November 

December 

January 

February 

March 

April 

May 

Yearly Average 

Inches. 

0.04 

0.01 

0.02 

0.10 

0.64 

2.83 

5.42 

5.30 

3.60 

3.18 

1.74 

0.64 

Source: Tables and Results 

Snow in the United 

Knowledge, No. 222, 

p. 133. 

Inches. 

Total for the summer 0.07 

Total for the autumn 3.57 

Total for the winter 14.32 

Total for the spring 5.56 

23.5 

of the Precipitation of Rain and 

States, Smithsonian Contributions to 

by Chas. A. Schott, U.S.C.S., 187 2, 

The tabulated results of rain-fall upon the western coast of the United States, from San Diego to Puget Sound, given by the Smithsonian Contributions, No. 222, confirm this example as a type, having the following 

characteristics: 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 

A most decided mtntmum during the summer-months, amounting, 

at some places, to an absence of rain, and a well-marked 

maximum late in December. Range excessive. 

61 

But, perhaps, the marked conditions of the wet and dry seasons of the 

Pacific coast, as compared with the rain-fall in the Atlantic States, can 

be best illustrated in the two charts annexed, wherein is graphically 

shown the peculiarity of the summer and winter rain-falls over the whole 

United States. 

Other tables and other more extended charts could be produced to illustrate a characteristic in the winter rain-fall, namely, that during that 

season there is a marked cessation of rain, ranging from one to four 

weeks. 

This cessation does not occur at any regular epoch, so that its effect 

is not seen in a chart constructed only upon average quantities, but it 

has occurred nine years out of ten. Very frequently during this cessation 

of rain, the cold winds from the north, accompanied by a clear sky, blow 

fiercely, and blast the young growing crops; or when this dry interval is 

prolonged, even without these cold northers, the weather is usually clear 

and fine, perhaps hot, and the young grain withers and may be wholly lost, 

even for fodder, if the last rains of· the season come late. 

In some years the rains cease suddenly in February, and the crop is 

lost. This was notably so in the Great Valley in the spring of 1873, where 

a most promising harvest was blighted by the ceasing of the rains, and 

only those few fields that were irrigated yielded a crop; those that had 

been summer-fallowed yielded about half an average crop; the remainder, 

especially in the southern half of the valley, yielded probably an average 

of six or eight bushels. 

Southward of the Great Valley, to the Mexican boundary, the necessity 

for irrigation increases, and the problem becomes more intricate, because 

the extensive arable sections have a limited supply of water, and the 

country is not so easily watered. In the San Diego River no water flowed 

through its lower parts for abo-ut five yarsendtng November, 1873. 

Although the commission has not been required to examine any other 

than the Great Valley, the foregoing fact is stated in confirmation of the 

peculiar climatic conditions of the coast. 

B.--The orographical features of the country conspire with the climatic 

conditions to render crops uncertain in particular sections. 

The orographical features 

other conditions equal, the 

place. 

of the Pacific slope are such that, 

uniformity of rain-fall can nowhere 

were 

take 

Speaking generally, the Coast Range of Mountains and the Sierra Nevada 

run parallel with the coast-line, and the Great Valley lies between them. 

The Coast Range of Mountains maintains an average elevation of over 

2,000 feet, reaching as much as 6,200 a few miles south of Monterey; and 

3,800 on the peninsula of San Francisco. 
62 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

The southerly storms of winter bring up rain north of latitude 28° 

to 30°, and drive the moisture-laden air against the southwestly or 

sea ward flanks of these mountain-ranges, and the precipitation of rain 

amounts to two and a half times the quantity that falls upon the eastern 

flanks. This has been established by measurement at the reservoirs of the 

Spring Valley Water Company, and confirms the reports of the farmers and 

stockmen. 

Nine years' observations at Pillarcitos Dam3 give an average of 

58 inches of rain, while San Francisco, distant only fourteen miles, has 

23.5 inches. 

The same law holds good along the western flank of the Sierra Nevada, 

which chain averages 9,500 feet elevation. From several years' observations on the line of the Central Pacific Railroad, the fall of rain at 

Summit station is three times that between Rocklin and Auburn, and many 

times greater than on the eastern flank of the Sierra, where the rain-fall 

is very limited. 

The same law is well known along the southernmost part of Lower California. 

At the head of the Sa cram en to Valley, in Ia ti tude 41°, where the 

Coast Range of Mountains crowds upon the Sierra Nevada, the clouds are 

banked up heavily, and it is safe to say that four times, and in some 

seasons perhaps ten times, as much rain falls at Shasta as in the region 

of Kern Lake at the southwestern extremity of the valley. This latter 

section is the driest region in the whole valley, and probably only half 

the rain falls there that falls about the vicinity of Bakersfield. 

On the Coast Range of Mountains snow very rarely falls, and never lies 

over twenty-four hours; but on the Sierra Nevada it falls to a depth of 60 

or 70 feet, (observations at Summit station, 1866-'67,) and lies throughout the winter with an average depth of 14 feet. This snow forms a great 

natural store-house of water. It supplies the streams throughout the year. 

If the greater body of it is melted during the winter by warm rains it 

causes disastrous floods; but in ordinary seasons the main body of it is 

melted about June and causes the summer-rise in the rivers. 

The law of the greater precipitation of rain upon the western flanks 

of the mountains is well -exhibited in the number, size, and volume of the 

streams which have their sources in these mountain-ranges. The streams of 

the west, or seaward, flank of the peninsula of San Francisco and of the 

Coast Range northward are greater than those on the eastern flank; and 

especially marked is this in the case of the Sierra Nevada, where it may 

be also noted that the streams of the west flank exceed in aggregate volume those of both flanks of the Coast Range. 

The figures to establish this well-known law are not produced in this 

place, as they will be used in the remarks upon the unequal fall of rain 

over the country. 

C.--The average yearly rain-fall over the basin of the Great Valley is 

sufficient to insure good crops annually. 

This proposition embraces two vital questions: 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 63 

1st. What amount of rain-fall, if properly distributed, will insure a 

crop? 

2d. What amount of rain-fall is there over the entire basin? Because 

if the amount of water is insufficient to insure crops over the entire 

valley, the whole subject of irrigation becomes limited and restricted, 

and also more complicated in every aspect. 

We are satisfied that the proposition is correct. 

We can best determine what amount of rain-fall will guarantee a crop 

by a good practical example, and fortunately that is at hand. During the 

rainy seasons of 1870-'71, 1871-'72, 1872-'73, a record of the rain-fall 

at Visalia, in the southeastern part of the Great Valley, was kept by Dr. 

James W. Blake, and is so instructive that we introduce the daily rainfall for the year, upon which good crops were obtained in that section. 

In 1870-'71, the total rain-fall was about 6.8 inches; in 1871-'72, 

10.3 inches; in 1872-'73, 7.2 inches. In the first and third of these 

years the crops were failures; in the second year the harvest was an 

abundant one. In 1872-'73 the distribution of the rain-fall was very 

equable and adequate to the end of February; after that only one-quarter 

of an inch of rain fell upon one day in March and one in April, and the 

crops were virtually lost. 

The critical period in the growing crops appears, in this as in other 

districts, to be about the middle or end of February, when the grain is 

several inches high, and another rain-fall of one or two inches would give 

good crops, whilst a cessation of rain leaves them blighted. 

Rain-fall at Visalia, 1871-'72, when a full crop was secured. 

Inches. Inches. 

1870. November 26 0.50 1871. January 9 1.05 

27 0.24 February 4 0.30 

28 0.44 5 0.16 

December 17 0.10 9 0.17 

18 '0.12 22 0,45 

19 0.33 23 0.50 

20 0.06 24 0.38 

21 0.28 27 0.40 

22 0.68 March 28 0.91 

23 0.15 29 0.05 

27 0.20 April 13 0.08 

28 0.98 16 0.48 

29 0.62 17 0.07 

31 0.40 27 0.13 

28 ..QJ.l 

Total inches 10.34 

Throughout the southern sections of California crops have been secured 

when 12 inches of rain have fallen in the wet season; but the precipitation is not so reliably uniform as farther north. Farmers and stockmen 

claim good crops with 15 inches of rain, if it has fallen somewhat evenly 
64 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

throughout the season. This amount would not be necessary to mature the 

crops if, at the beginning of the rainy season, the earth had not been 

parched several feet deep by the excessive dryness and heat of summer. 

The land cannot be plowed until the first rains have moistened the 

earth to a sufficient depth. During May we experienced a temperature of 

130° in the sun between Bakersfield and San Emedio Canyon,4 and 

for months the temperature in the sun ranges over 100°. This great heat, 

accompanied by excessive dryness of the atmosphere and months of cloudless 

sky, evaporates every particle of moisture from the ground, and produces 

conditions which the farmers of the Atlantic States can hardly comprehend. 

It also demands a larger supply of water for maturing a crop than would be 

the case if the ground were moist when the proper season of plowing and 

sowing arrived. 

The second question under this proposition now arises, What is the 

amount of rain-fall over the basin of the Great Valley? 

Although the statistics are not as numerous as could be desired, yet 

they are sufficient to enable us to affirm with certainty that the average 

yearly rain-fall is not less than 20 inches, and may be much larger. 

This, it must be understood, is over the whole basin, from the crest of 

the Sierra Nevada to the crest-line of the Coast Range. 

Commencing at the northward, we gather the following statistics from 

the Smithsonian publication already noticed, and from other sources: 

At Fort Crook,5 on the Upper Sacramento River, elevation 3,390 

feet, in eight years, from January, 1858, to October, 1867, an average of 

23.7 inches of rain-fall. 

At Fort Reading,6 on the Sacramento River, near Redding, in 

three and three-quarter years, from April, 1852, to March, 1856, 29.1 

inches. 

At Clear Lake, head of Cache Creek, in six years, from 1867 to 1873, 

34.4 inches. 

At Sacramento, in twenty-four years, from September, 1849, to August, 

1872, 19.6 inches. 

At Benicia, in thirteen and a half years, from November, 1849, to 

December, 1864, 15.1 inches. 

At Stockton, jn_ three and one-half years, from January, 1854, to Decem·-

ber, 1857, 13.7 inches. 

At Millerton/ on the San Joaquin River, in six and 

three-quarter years, from July, 1851, to June, 1858, 19.0 inches. 

Thence, through the broadest part of the valley to Fort Tejon,8 

we have no observations except those at Visalia during the three dry 

winters of 1870-'71-'72-'73, as already detailed, and averaging 8.1 

inches. 

At 

ley, in 

inches. 

Fort Tejon, 3,240 feet above the sea and 3,000 feet above the valfour and two-third years, from March, 1855, to August, 1864, 19.5 

From the mouth of the Sacramento southward along the west side of the 

valley, to its extremity, there are no records by which we can approximate 

the rain -fall. 

The averages of the foregoing results, giving them weights proportionate to the number of years of observations, give the following results: 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 65 

Average yearly rain-fall in the valley, or foot-hills of the Valley of 

California, north of the mouth of the Sacramento River, equals 23 inches; 

average in the valley south of the Sacramento River, 16 inches. 

In the southern part of the valley, the average rain-fall over the 

valley proper is barely sufficient for maturing a crop if we consider that 

at Fort Tejon, in the mountains, the rain-fall is he a vier than in the 

valley, and therefore that the derived average of 16 inches, which was 

obtained for a short period and few stations, is too great. 

This is confirmed by the experience of the country where the usual 

estimate is that one crop in three years or two crops in five years is all 

that can be raised. 

But both in the northern and southern parts of 

of the mountains, where, as we have shown, the 

place, have a greater area than the plains of the 

throughout the northern anq southern parts of the 

the average, a superabundance of water for all the 

crops. 

the valley, the flanks 

largest rain-fall takes 

valley, and therefore 

basin there falls, on 

purposes of maturing 

D.--The rain-fall in different years is very 

drought and of great floods occur, and in 

unequally distributed in different sections. 

variable, and seasons of 

any one season it is very 

A glance at the annexed charts of rain-fall will show to what a narrow 

belt of coast the rain-fall upon the Pacific slope is restricted, in fact, 

embracing but the State of California, part of Oregon, and Washington 

Territory, while the region for which irrigation is required embraces but 

a fraction of California. 

Hence it is very evident that any slight modification in the immediate 

causes which occasion the precipitation of rain along the coast will lead 

to large variations in the rain-fall of different localities and of 

different seasons. 

A deflection of the oceanic current which bathes the western coast of 

the United States, or the decrease of the temperature of this stream by a 

few degrees, and the a'bsence of the vapor-laden air which hangs over it, 

or the absence or moderate character of the "southeasters" during the 

winter months, or all combined, will be accompanied by months of 

beautifully clear skies, mild weather, and a very small amount of 

rain-fall. 

But no matter what the causes are, we have to deal with the facts as 

we find them, and can best illustrate our proposition by some examples in 

California from the Smithsonian tables collated to 1867. 

Table showing the extremes of rain-fall at various 

localities in California. 

At Fort Reading, (3 years,) range 

At Sacramento, ( 17 years,) range 

At Millerton, (6 years,) range 

At Stockton, (3 years,) range 

Inches. 

37.4 

27.5 

49.3 

20.3 

to 

to 

to 

to 

Inches. 

15.9 

11.2 

9.7 

11.6 
66 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

Table showing the extremes of rain-fall at various 

localities in California, cont. 

At Fort Tejon, (5 years,) range 

At Monterey, (5 years,) range 

At San Diego, (12 years,) range 

At Benicia, (12 years,) range 

Inches. 

34.2 

21.6 

13.4 

20.0 

to 

to 

to 

to 

Inches. 

9.8 

8.2 

6.9 

11.8 

Source: Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge No. 222, already cited. 

These results do not, however, fairly represent the ranges, because 

the yearly averages of the tables are computed from January 1 to December 

31 of each year, as is done in the Atlantic States, but they are the best 

available. 

From other sources we have the following results reckoned by wet seasons. 

At Clear Lake, 

( 1,300 feet elevation, 6 years,) range 

At Visalia, (3 years,) range 

At San Francisco, (22 years,) range 

At Pillarcitos, (9 years,) range 

At Sacramento, (24 years,) range 

At San Diego, (22 years,) range 

At Modesto, (1870-'71) 

At Stockton, (1870-'71) 

At Marysville, (1870-'71) 

Note: At Shasta it is reported that 94 

Inches. 

66.7 

10.3 

49.3 

82.0 

36.4 

14.8 

inches of 

1870-'71, which was a dry winter over the 

State, and 32 inches in 1872-'73, which was 

with mod~rately dry spring. 

Inches. 

to 16.2 

to 6.7 

to 7.0 

to 39.0 

to 4.7 

to 4.5 

2.4 

5.0 

6.7 

rain jell in 

rest of the 

a wet winter ~- .. _,, ' '· '. '-! •.. .__ t/ .. -

These minima clearly indicate that there must exist years of drought 

when the crops cannot mature, and we have shown that a few inches more of 

water from rain-fall or from irrigation would have saved the produce of 

large areas of land. 

In some seasons the greater volume of rain falls early in the season, 

and if the seed is sown before that the crops seem assured; but a following dry spring, as in 1873, cuts off one-half the crop throughout the 

moister parts of the valley, and totally destroys the crops in the southern part, except those isolated places blessed with the waters of irrigation, which we visited at localities on the east and west sides of the 

southern part of the valley. 

The rain-fall of the years 1868-'69, 1869-'70, 1870-'71, was marked as 

not only below the average over the whole extent of the country, but 

throughout the southern section south of Monterey, and in the southern 

part of the Great Valley the rain-fall was so limited that neither grain 

nor grass grew. Hundreds of farms were abandoned, and stock-men were 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 67 

compelled to drive their cattle, horses, and sheep to the gulches of the 

mountains not only for food but for water. 

In February, 1870, not a blade of grass was to be seen over the 

extensive valley of the Santa Clara; and the broad plains of Los Angeles, 

covering over one million of acres of arable land, were nearly desolate 

even to the borders of the streams. From Tulare Lake to San Diegb, the 

country was nearly desolate; and in March, 1871, the usual season when the 

crops should be luxuriant, not a blade of grass was to be seen over the 

great plains and through the valleys, which are richly covered after 

favorable rains. Hundreds of thousands of sheep, horses, and cattle were 

lost by starvation. 

The practical deduction of the farmers in the southern part of the 

Great Valley is that they can secure about two crops in five seasons; but 

this is still reduced in the extreme southern section, where we traversed 

ten and twenty miles at a time without a cabin to indicate a claim, yet 

where the land was remarkably good. The great drought of the seasons 

1862-'63, 1863-'64, when only 13.6 and 10.1 inches of rain fell at San 

Francisco, was not so severely felt by the State, because the population 

was much smaller, and grain-crops were not then so largely cultivated; but 

a recurrence of such years at the present time or in the future would be 

accompanied by the most disastrous results to the prosperity of the 

country, unless artificial means be adopted to secure the use of the 

waters from the streams. 

In 1850 only 7.0 inches of rain fell at San Francisco; such a season 

now without irrigation would produce a famine. 

E.--With a proper system of controlling the waters of precipitation and 

delivering them to cultivated lands when needed, annual crops may be 

assured. 

The statistics of rain-fall which we have presented and our personal 

knowledge of the country satisfy us that the average rain-fall is sufficient to secure an annual crop if the water be properly distributed; but a 

still - more important <-question -arises, whether in seasons of insufficient 

rain-fall enough water can be gathered from the streams draining the 

flanks of the mountain-range and applied to the cultivated lands, in addition to the rain-fall, to mature the crop. The statistics of rain-fall and 

crops at Visalia, already given, though limited, are valuable in this 

connection; but the experience last spring of the farmers on and beyond 

the line of the San Joaquin and King's River Canal is particularly interesting. 

In this section we examined about twenty thousand acres of nearly 

matured crops at the end of May, and received from the farmers themselves 

their statement of the effects of irrigation. 

Up to the time when the rains ceased, in February, the prospects of 

the farmers were particularly bright, and they would not take the waters 

of irrigation. 

The grain was about six inches high, and very strong; but the dry 

weather, clear skies, and north winds soon parched up the earth, and the 

wheat began to grow yellow and sickly. 
68 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

About the beginning of March every exertion was made to use the waters 

of the canal for irrigation; secondary ditches were hurriedly cut, and the 

water conveyed to the lands in a very crude manner. 

One good flooding was given to saturate the soil; the grain revived, 

the crop was saved, and when we visited it the farmers claimed from thirty 

to as high as fifty-five bushels of wheat per acre. 

They were earnest and enthusiastic in their praise of irrigation, as 

well they might be, for it was simply the difference of a total loss of 

their year's labor and grain that would yield them $1.20 per bushel. 

Much of this land had previously failed to secure purchasers at $2.50 

per acre, and many farmers had debated whether to abandon their farms or 

wait for another rainy season to make up for previous losses. 

These crops raised the value of all lands capable of irrigation from 

$2.50 and less to $25 and $30 per acre. Many farmers from the western side 

of the valley visited these growing crops to compare them with their own 

parched fields, and there was a unanimous expression of opinion of the 

value of irrigation. 

We examined similar effects at other points on the western side of the 

valley, and throughout the whole of the flanks of the Sierra Nevada where 

the water from the mining-ditches is used for irrigating the hill-sides 

for grain, grass, alfalfa, and fruit. 

But all the irrigation that has been effected so far has, with one or 

two notable exceptions, been done with little or no system, and with a 

lavish waste of water that could never be permitted in any well-arranged 

system where the minimum of water would necessarily have to be husbanded 

to accomplish a maximum of results. 

So-called canals and ditches have been constructed without regard to 

permanency or regimen, or the least foresight. And the "dog-in-the-manger" 

policy has been carried out by those claiming the water-rights, some of 

which are . of the most extravagant character, and if fully persisted in 

must prevent the full development of which irrigation is capable. 

Our examination has taken us over the entire valley and foot-hills, 

and we have visited all the principal and most of the small streams of the 

eastern and western sides. From rough measurements we became satisfied 

that with well-constructed main irrigating-canals- to recetve · · and conduct 

the waters of the streams and lakes, with the secondary, tertiary, and 

other ditches leading therefrom, and with a proper system of distribution 

of water, there was ample water to irrigate a large part of the whole 

valley; and, moreover, that if the waters were properly stored in those 

localities where large areas of good land exist with the smallest amount 

of rain-fall, there would be sufficient water to irrigate the whole area 

of the valley. But the system of irrigation would require to be of the 

highest character to attain this end; with some exceptions, the disjointed 

canals now constructed could not be made to approximate such a result; and 

when others area added in similar defiance of sound engineering, the result will be a partial and temporary good for only a part of the valley, 

and will lead to an intricacy of endless legal troubles. Those canals that 

have been properly constructed can be readily consolidated with an 

extensive system. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 69 

F.--The climate is mild throughout the wet or winter season, and 

especially well suited for all agricultural pursuits. 

Throughout the whole of the Great Valley a slight fall of snow, such 

as occurred in December, 1873, is looked upon as strange and unusual. It 

then fell to a depth of a few inches and lasted but a few hours; but many 

years intervene without the occurrence of snow. 

Ice is very seldom seen, and only in the early morning of some day far 

below the usual temperature, which averages nearly 50° Fahrenheit 

throughout the winter. 

During this season, all agricultural pursuits are steadily carried on 

without a thought or care of a cold period sufficient to injure the crops; 

the stock roam the pastures and hill-sides without protection from the 

weather, and by the first of February the whole valley and mountain-flanks 

are clad in the brightest and richest green. 

Delicate flowers that thrive only in hot-houses in the Atlantic and 

Western States are cultivated in the open-air and grow to great size. If 

the rains have been late, plowing is carried on to the end of December, 

and even later; or if the early rains have been very heavy and have 

inundated the lowlands so that the seed is destroyed, the land is again 

plowed and another crop planted. In fact, open-air pursuits are here 

carried on during the winter-months as comfortably as during May in the 

Middle States. 

The exceptional "northers" that blow strongly and cold with a dry wind 

are apt to blight the young crops; but toward the end of a moderately dry 

season they have a good effect if without much force. 

After the last rains in March, the warm weather increases rapidly; the 

clear, sunny weather, and the dryness of the atmosphere aid in maturing 

the grain very rapidly. Then follows a remarkable feature in the agriculture of this country: the crops when ripened need not be cut for months; 

in some cases they are not cut until the next wet season approaches, or if 

cut and thrashed to grain is sacked, piled up, and if necessary allowed to 

remain upon the dry earth untilthe rains of October. 

The effect of this dry weather is seen in the quality of the wheat, 

which produces a flour with much less moisture than any in the Atlantic 

States. 

During this dry season the heat is very excessive, but unaccompanied 

by the enervation and lassitude which an equally-heated and humid atmosphere would certainly cause. 

Throughout the valley at midday, in the middle of summer, the temperature very closely approximates 100° in the shade, and is frequently 

above that. 

While we were in the vicinity of Kern Lake, the temperature at the end 

of May was 130° in the sun, yet we were able to drive in an uncovered 

wagon, forty miles per day, without much discomfort; even with this high 

day-temperature, the nights were pleasant. 
70 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

Table of temperatures in and adjacent to the Great Valley. 

Geographical Temperature. 

position . .; 

4> r:: "' 0 4> 

..c: 

..., ~ 

i: ... ..., 4> "' :! Places • > 4> 4> 

"' ..., :g 0 0 .D ..., .D .: 0 0 0 "' .; ..c: u "' 4> .; "' '3 .... .... "' "' "' ::s 0 0 

~ ::s a E ·Q "' .: . 0 a :::. g ~ ~ .: ·;:: "' ~ a .: 

~"' 4> "' < " ~ 0 " ::?1 "' ..:I ..:I p., ~ ::?1 

In the Great feet 0 ' 0 ' 0 0 0 0 In 

Valley: 

Fort _£1eading 1 674 40.31 122.05 4 yrs 83.0 44.0 39.0 62.1 29.1 

Chico 150 39.46 121.50 I 1/2 yrs 92.3 37.0 55.3 64.7 17.7 

Colfax2 2,421 39.03 120.55 1 1/2 yrs 91.7 33.3 58.4 62.7 30.8 

Marysville3 76 39.12 121.42 1 yr 90.0 38.0 52.0 63.3 -- Sacramento4 54 38.31 121.20 24 yrs 94.0 32.0 62.0 60.3 19.6 

Vacaville5 Solano 100 38.20 122.00 1 yr 86.0 37.0 49.0 53.3 24.2 

Stockton6 23 37.37 121.14 1 1/2 yrs 91.0 41.0 50.0 66.0 4.8 

Fort Miller, 

(Milleiton) 7 402 37.00 119.40 5 yrs 90.0 47.0 43.0 66.0 24.5 

Auburn 1,363 38.57 121.02 1 1/2 yrs 91.0 34.3 56.7 62.8 17.6 

Benicia8 183 38.08 122.14 18 yrs 80.0 44.0 36.0 59.1 22.9 

San Franciaco9 22 37.48 122.27 19 yrs 78.0 37.0 41.0 56.4 21.5 

Monterey 1 140 36.36 121.52 6 yrs 59.0 50.0 9.0 55.0 12.2 

Santa Bar~~ra 11 300 34.31 119.38 1 yr 92.0 42.0 50.0 60.2 15.0 

San Diego 150 32.42 117.14 7 yrs 74.0 52.0 22.0 62.0 10.4 

Fort Yuma 12 120 32.43 114.36 6 yrs 92.0 56.0 36.0 74.0 3.2 

Port Or~ ~rd, 

Oreg. 50 42.44 124;29 4 yrs 61.0 46.0 15.0 53.6 71.6 

Authorities and Remarks: 

1. Army Meteorological Register, 1855. 

2. Engineer department Central Pacific Railroad, 1870-'71. 

3. W. C. Belcher, 1858. 

4. Thomas M. Logan, M.D. 

5. Prof. J. C. Simmon. 

6. Engineer department Central Pacific Railroad. 

7. Army Meteorological Register. 

8. W. W. Hays, surgeon U.S.A. 

9. Henry Gibbons, M.D. 

10. Army Meteorological Register. 

11. J. A. Johnson. 

12. Army Meteorological Register. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 11 

Along the foot-hills of the Sierra, the heat of last July was very 

great, reaching from 100° to 116° in the shade for seventeen consecutive days in some localities. 

But before this excessively-heated season 

reached, the crops have been matured and are 

weather and the parched surface of the ground 

from being mildewed, and it is not even shriveled. 

of the year has been 

safe, because the hot, dry 

prevent the standing grain 

It has been difficult to collect observations 

connected series; but the following tables have been 

the yearly mean temperature at various localities, 

maxima and minima temperatures. 

for temperature in 

compiled to exhibit 

together with the 

They fully confirm the mildness of the winter-season and the equable 

temperature of all seasons. 

The foregoing tabular statement gives a mean temperature of 61°.4 

to the different results in 

the average of the maxima, 

35°.4; and the extreme range 

throughout the valley, g1vmg weights 

proportion to the years of observation; 

91 °.8; and the average of the minima, 

observed, 58°.4. 

The following table exhibits the monthly temperature of one station, 

Sacramento, in the valley, and of three upon the coast; the latter 

introduced to exhibit the relation between them. 

Months Sacramento, Fort Point San Diego, Astoria, Ore. 

10 years 11 years 20, 10-12 years 11 1/4 years 

Thermometer Thermometer Thermometer Thermometer 

December 46.791 . January 4559 Wmter t.221 50 59 Wmter . till 53.

55 Wmter . r-831 38.44 Wmter . February 50.86 47.75 5·1:81 51.54 54.60 54.09 38.78 39.35 

March 54.021 . r.151 . r

7

·

111 · April 59.45 Spnng 55.52 Spnng 60.72 Spnng r-241 48.75 Spnng . May 63.12 58.86 57.61 55.43 62.59 60.14 53.16 48·

72 

June 70.351 r8.93

1 

r.68

1 July 73 !57.50! .45 Summer 59.

86 Summer 70.

32 Summer 60.

29 Summer 

August 71.03 71.61 58.84 59.21 72.02 69.67 60.77 59.52 

September 68.841 v9.311 F 11 r9.381 F 11 October 62.56 Fall r.30l 58.36 58 a04 65.18 a 52.69 Fall 

November 53.28 61.56 56.44 . 59.04 6453 46.23 52.4 1 

Yearly 

average 59.91 56.05 62.11 50.00 

The observations at Sacramento are by Dr. Thomas M. Logan; those at 

Fort Point, San Diego, and Astoria, by the United States Coast Survey. 
72 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

G.--The Great Valley of California is admirably adapted for irrigation. 

This great valley is a marked geographical feature of the Pacific 

coast of the United States. 

To show its relation to the State of California and of Nevada, we 

append the map of the State geological. surveys; and to exhibit it in greater detail, we append the map of the valley on a larger scale as drawn in 

the office of the geological survey, with additions under the direction of 

the commission. It lies between latitudes 34° 50' near Fort Tejon, and 

40° 41' near Shasta, giving an extreme length of four hundred and fifty 

miles, and an average width of forty miles, including the foot-hills of 

the mountains. The general trend of its longer axis is north-northwest and 

south-southeast, lying parallel to the Pacific coast line, from which the 

middle line averages a distance of eighty-five miles. 

It lies between the great range of the Sierra Nevada on the east and 

the Coast Mountains on the west, the crest-lines of these ranges being 

nearly parallel. 

The average elevation of the former is perhaps 9,500 feet; that of the 

latter over 2,000; while the valley ranges from 30 feet at Sacramento, to 

282 feet at Kern Lake at the south, and to 556 feet at Redding at the 

north. These ranges of mountains are separated by an average breadth of 

one hundred and ten miles; and from Mount Shasta at the headwaters of the 

Sacramento River to the Tejon Pass, the length is five hundred and twenty 

miles. This gives an area of 57~200 square miles, equal to that of Illinois, or Wisconsin, or Michigan, or Iowa, or Ohio and half of Indiana 

combined, or of half the area of all the Middle States. 

The drainage of this large area is effected through the Sacramento and 

San Joaquin Rivers, the former being one of the few great rivers of North 

America emptying into the Pacific. 

This great basin is hemmed in on all sides by mountains, except at the 

great rupture in the Coast Range occupied by San Francisco, San Pablo, and 

Suisun Bays, into which the Sacramento River empties. 

The only direct communication with the Pacific Ocean is through the 

Golden Gate, which is one mile wide at its narrowe~tJ>a.rt..:_ _____ __ 

· ··The - northern part of the valley is more contracted than the southern 

part, and the extent of the low flat lands much less. It is drained by the 

Sacramento River and its tributaries through the center of the valley 

proper. 

This river presents a striking peculiarity, in that, with mountains on 

either side, it does not receive a tributary of note for two hundred miles 

of its course northward from the confluence of the Feather River. 

Like all rivers flowing through broad valleys, it presents the phenomenon of running on a ridge down the middle line of the valley; on either 

side, at a distance of three or four miles, the valley is lower than the 

river-banks, reaching 20 feet in the vicinity of Colusa; and in seasons of 

continuous heavy rains, the river discharges part of its volume through 

sloughs into the parallel depressions, which also receive the discharge of 

the mountain-streams, and large areas thus become overflowed. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 73 

On the western side from the mouth of the Sacramento northward the 

flanks of the mountains are narrow and nearly treeless, the rain-fall 

comparatively small, and the streams very short and generally dry in 

summer. 

The only streams that carry water in summer are Puta Creek, Cache and 

Stony Creeks, but in summer these lose their waters beneath their beds 

soon after leaving the hills. On the western side, north of Knight's 

landing,9 the plains are destitute of trees. 

On the eastern side, north of the mouth of the Sacramento River, the 

distance from the river to the crest of the Sierra Nevada is nearly twice 

that of the western side. The flanks receive the winter-clouds driven 

against them by the southerly gales, and condense the vapor into rain or 

snow, and the rain-fall over given areas is three or four times that on 

the west side of the valley. There are consequently more and larger 

streams tributary to the Sacramento, the Mokelumne, Cosumnes, American, 

Yuba, Feather, and numerous smaller streams, each equal, or nearly so, to 

the Puta, Cache, or Stony Creeks. 

The mountains are well timbered; the foot-hills moderately so. The 

lowlands and plains have a narrow belt of wood along the streams, and 

scattered trees and groves are found over the greater part of the plains. 

South of the mouth of the Sacramento River the valley gradually 

increases in width to the vicinity of the Kaweah River, where it reaches a 

breadth of seventy miles. 

Through the middle or rather west of the middle line of the valley 

runs the San Joaquin River and the connecting line of sloughs and lakes 

from the southern extremity of the valley. 

As on the Sacramento River, the banks of the San Joaquin River are 

higher than the land two or three miles on either side, but in a much less 

marked degree than in the former case; and the same general feature holds 

good for all the streams. 

On the western side the flanks of the mountains are narrow and treeless, and the rain-fall upon them probably not over one-third or 

one-fourth that of the eastern side; consequently the streams are all very 

short,----the courses small, and in summer t-he beds dry- at the - ba-se of ---the---

foot-hills, while the plains are treeless, except a narrow fringe along 

the banks of the streams. 

On the eastern side of the valley, the flanks of the mountains are 

very broad, averaging over fifty miles in width, well timbered in many 

places, but the quantity of the timber decreasing to the southward, while 

the foot-hills are sparsely wooded and in very many localities treeless. 

The number of the streams and their relative volumes decrease to the 

southward, but they drain large areas, as we have elsewhere shown. 

The Calaveras, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, Merced, San Joaquin, King's, 

Kaweah, and Kern Rivers are all good streams, and some of them quite 

large. The plains and most of the foot-hills are treeless, except along 

the valleys of the streams; and toward the southern extremity many miles 

are passed without seeing a tree. 

One of the features of this part of the valley is the large lakes, 

Kern, Buena Vista, and Tulare, 10 which receive the drainage of the 

streams at the southward, King's, Kaweah, and Kern. 
74 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

Tulare Lake has an area of seven hundred square miles, equal to half 

the area of the State of Rhode Island. It is about 40 feet deep, and has 

very low marshy banks, which are subject to overflow in wet seasons, when 

the area of the lake becomes very much increased. 

The lakes Kern and Buena Vista have an aggregate area of about 

forty-four square miles; the former we sounded across, and at the end of 

May, 1873, it had a maximum depth of 16 2/3 feet. The water was then very 

green, warm, and unfit for domestic use. 

As a general proposition, the whole valley may be considered as formed 

of four plains, two north of the mouth of the Sacramento River and two 

south of it. The two northern plains slope toward each other along the 

line of the Sacramento River, and at the same time slope toward the south. 

The two southern plains slope toward each other along the line of lakes 

and San Joaquin River, and at the same time toward the northward. 

So flat and level do these plains appear that the eye is constantly 

deceived by them and the judgment undetermined which way they slope until 

instrumental means are applied. 

From Redding to the mouth of the Sacramento River, the fall of the 

valley is 556 feet in one hundred and ninety-two miles; from Kern Lake to 

the mouth of the San Joaquin, it is 282 feet in two hundred and sixty 

miles; while cross-sections indicate that the slope of the east and west 

plains toward the line of greatest depression is quite moderate. 

In the southwestern section of the valley, between Firebaugh's and 

Hill's ferries/ 1 the levelings show that the ground falls from the 

foot-hills to within four and a half miles of the river at the rate of 6 

feet per mile, thence it is nearly level to within a half mile of the 

river, which it then approaches with an ascent of 1 1/2 feet per mile. 

At Banta's the plains are contracted, and the fall reaches 18 feet per 

mile toward the river. In the southeastern section of the valley the fall 

of the land from the vicinity of Bakersfield to Tulare Lake is about 5 1/2 

feet per mile for thirty-eight miles; Tulare River, from the crossing of 

the Southern Pacific Railroad, falls at the rate of 3 feet per mile to the 

lake in eighteen miles; and the fall from Visalia to the north point of 

Tulare Lake is 4 1/2 feet per mile for twenty-nine miles. 

For the northeastern and northwestern sections·· of .. the valley the com-·· 

mission has no data available to exhibit the cross-section. 

We have mentioned in general terms the two main rivers which drain the 

valley; but it appears necessary to state more in detail that their tributaries are generally well distributed for controlling and delivering water, and that they divide the valley into natural irrigation-districts. 

This is notably so on the eastern side of the valley from its northern 

extremity to the Kaweah River at Visalia. In the southeastern part the 

main reliance is upon Kern River, which is a good-sized stream, flowing 

probably 2,500 cubic feet a second, (May 23, 1873,) where it leaves the 

canyon, and losing comparatively little in volume where it leaves the 

foot-hills near Bakersfield. But the area to be irrigated from this 

source, aided by the small streams in the extreme southeastern part of the 

valley, is very large, and the water must be economically distributed. 

This river drains the highest and wildest part of the Sierra Nevada, 

and its course is said to be marked by deep canyons, above each of which 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 75 

there may doubtless be opportunities to establish large reservoirs, while 

advantage can be taken of forming reservoirs in the hills to hold the 

water of all the minor streams. These are, of course, propositions for the 

future. 

North of the Kaweah the streams are well distributed, and there is an 

ample supply to supplement the ordinary rain-fall on the plains, except 

possibly, in a long series of years of drought. 

The principal streams on the eastern side of the valley, commencing at 

the southward, with their area of catchment above the points where dams 

should be constructed, as taken from the map herewith appended, are the 

following: 

San Emedio and other small streams 

Agua Caliente, Tehatchipi, &c. 

Kern River 

Posa Creek 

Tule River 

Kaweah River 

King's River 

San Joaquin River 

Fresno Creek 

Chowchilla Creek 

Mariposa and Bear Creeks 

Merced River 

Tuolumne River 

Stanislaus River 

Calaveras River 

Mokelumne River 

The branches of Dry Creek 

Cosumnes River 

American River 

Coon and Bear Creek and branches 

-··---·--- . Yu_b_aRive_r _ . Feather River·-· 

Small streams hence to Redding, about 

Square miles 

650 

461 

2,382 

278 

446 

608 

1,853 

1,630 

258 

303 

248 

1,072 

1,513 

971 

389 

573 

208 

589 

1,889 

484 

1,329 

3,393 

1,600 

Several small streams lying between some of those enumerated have not 

been mentioned as having less than one hundred miles area each. The total 

of those enumerated is 22,127 square miles of catchment; but without surveys it is impracticable to estimate the ratio of area of each catchment 

to the area to be irrigated in the different districts. 

On the southwestern side of the valley the streams are, as already 

related, short, small, and drain small areas where the rain-fall is a 

minimum. There the main reliance for the waters of irrigation must be upon 

Kern and Buena Vista Lakes, with an aggregate of forty square miles, upon 

Tulare Lake with an area of seven hundred square miles, and upon the 

waters of the San Joaquin, as already used by the San Joaquin and King's 

River Canal and Irrigation Company. 
76 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

Although the small streams of the southwestern side lose themselves as 

soon as they leave the foot-hills, yet they drain a total area of two 

thousand square miles, and in the future the waters may be retained in 

hill-reservoirs for the uses of irrigation. In this section the following 

are the areas of catchment of streams having each over a hundred square 

miles, the areas reckoned above the positions of the necessary dams: 

Los Gatos 

Cantua 

Big Panoche 

Little Panoche 

Square miles 

420 

164 

319 

136 

Thence to the northward as far as Corral Hollow Creek12 the 

total area of catchment is five hundred and thirty-three square miles. 

On the northwestern side of the Great Valley the streams are larger 

than on the southwestern. Some of them drain large areas, and are capable 

of affording a good supply of water for comparatively broad tracts of 

land. Clear · Lake, with an area of eighty square miles, and 1,350 feet 

above the sea, forms a great natural reservoir, discharged through Cache 

Creek; and for a very trifling sum its- surface may be raised 15 or 25 feet 

by the construction of a dam a few miles below the head of the creek. 

The waters of this creek have already been dammed for irrigation, as 

elsewhere related. But the main source of supply for this northwestern 

section is from the Sacramento River at a point near Red Bluff. A canal 

from this vicinity will irrigate the lands skirting the foot-hills and 

reaching to the bottom of the trough described as running about three 

miles from and parallel with the Sacramento River and as much as 20 feet 

below its bank, while another canal may follow the right bank of the river 

to irrigate westward to the lowest line of the valley. 

The rain-fall in this region averages larger than throughout the whole 

southern or San Joaquin part of the valley, but it is probably less than 

one-half what falls on the northeastern side. 

For the irrigation of the comparatively small belt of flat land lying 

between the foot-hills and the canal, leaving the Sacramento River. at Red 

Bluff, there are numerous small streams available, but the · fofiowing are 

the principal streams, naming them from the mouth of the Sacramento River 

northward, with their areas of catchment above the proper location of the 

necessary dams: 

Putah Creek 

Cache Creek, (Clear Lake) 

Stony Creek 

Arroyo de los Sancos 

Reed's Creek 

Cottonwood, near Redding, about 

Or, a total of 

Square miles 

584 

1,024 

591 

212 

219 

700 

2,330 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 

We elsewhere state that the area of 

irrigated is about 7,650,000 acres, and, 

swamp or overflowed lands, this area is 

or 8,500,000 acres; but if the low 

estimated that 18,750 square miles, or 

irrigation. 

77 

the lands which may be readily 

if we include what are called 

increased to 13,300 square miles, 

foot-hills are included, it is 

12,000,000 acres, are capable of 

In the former case, the area of catchment outside of the lands to be 

irrigated is between three and three and a half square miles to each 

square mile to be irrigated, while in the latter case it is about three 

square miles to one. 

Now, if a monthly average of 3 inches of the rain-fall over the whole 

area of catchment was delivered during the rainy season by all the 

streams, they would furnish a supply equal to a monthly average depth of 

10 inches of water over the whole of the first-mentioned area. Of course, 

in consecutive seasons of drought this amount would be much decreased. 

From rough observations of the actual discharge of Kern River near the 

end of May, 1873, it was found to be equal to a depth of I 1/2 inches per 

month from the whole area of catchment of 2,400 square miles. This would 

give a depth of 3 inches for irrigation over 1,200 square miles, or 

768,000 acres, which is larger than its natural irrigation-district; or, 

to express the foregoing quantity in other terms, the Kern River in May 

was daily discharging a body of water equal to a stratum 3 inches deep 

over an area of 25,600 acres. The discharge was doubtless much larger from 

the middle of February to the end of March, when the waters of irrigation 

are most needed. These partial results are very suggestive and satisfactory, and we are convinced that the whole eastern side of the valley 

northward of the Kern River will yield more ample supplies of water. 

The soil throughout the Great Valley is of the best and most readilyworked character, but the commission has not the data to enter into a 

detailed description of such an extensive region. 

In some of the localities visited by us, more especially in the southern section of the valley, small areas of otherwise fine land showed the 

presence of "alkali;"13 and east of Kern Lake a rude manufacture of 

salt had been attempted by the evaporation of water obtained from shallow 

wells. ····---·· 

Broad belts of "adobe..l4 are found throughout the southern section of the valley, while loam occupies the larger part of the main depression through which the rivers and lakes drain. 

On the southwest side of the valley we found that on some of the irrigated lands near Los Banos Creek the adobe soil, dried hard to a depth of 

2 inches after one complete flooding in March, prevented the evaporation 

of the moisture beneath, and the owners of one tract of three thousand 

acres claimed for the standing club-wheat (June 1) a probable yield of 

fifty-five bushels per acre. This crop would have been a total failure but 

for the waters of the San Joaquin and King's River Irrigation Company. 

Along the eastern side of the valley, close under the foot-hills, 

there are considerable areas of good soil of small depth underlaid by what 

is locally known as "hard pan." Over other areas the soil is of moderate 

depth over gravel deposits. But throughout large areas of the valley and 

on the eastern side, extending in many places from the foot-hills to beyond the line of the Southern Pacific Railroad, the surface of the soil is 

peculiarly marked by innumerable and contiguous nearly circular mounds, 
78 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

locally known as "hog-wallows." These mounds, lying without perceptible 

symmetrical arrangement, are moderately uniform in shape and size; ranging 

from 6 inches in height to as much as 3 or 4 feet, although by far the 

greater number average about I to I 1/2 feet, as exhibited in the 

railroad-cuttings, and from 20 to 50 feet in diameter. The largest we saw 

were on the Kaweah, above Visalia, and were composed of gravel, &c. 

In many places the immediate substratum of these mounds is "hard pan;" 

but over large areas, where they abound, there appears to be no difference 

between their soil and the subsoil. 

The mounds are mentioned because, where they occur on otherwise level 

plains, the waters of irrigation will not reach the tops of them, and it 

will require two or more seasons of plowing, conducted with special reference, to sufficiently reduce them for rece1vmg irrigation. This we saw 

successfully done when crossing the valley from Millerton to Watson's 

Ferry. The farmers agree in saying that the summits of these mounds give a 

ranker growth of grass or grain than the low intervals between them. It is 

not our province to discuss their mode of formation, although it would 

appear to be the results of glacial action. 

Notwithstanding these drawbacks, which are comparatively limited, it 

may be safely said that with water, the life-blood of this country, and 

with intelligent cultivation, the greater part of the plains of this great 

valley will annually yield an average of thirty bushels of wheat, or an 

equivalent of any other crop, to an acre. 

The average in seasons of ample rains on fresh soil well cultivated is 

over that amount; but, unfortunately, there is little or no rotation of 

crops, no manure is supplied to the ground, and the cultivation is generally of the poorest character. 

Where water has been available from rain-fall or irrigation, and the 

cultivation intelligently conducted, remarkable crops have been gathered, 

reaching from fifty to eighty bushels of wheat per acre, and as many as 

five crops of ~lfalfa, yielding an aggregate of fifteen tons an acre per 

year. 

Throughout the country "volunteer crops" (that is, crops without cultivation, from dropped seed of the previous crop) are frequently relied upon 

for successive seasons, and reach· as high as forty-five...,..tltrshels of barley 

per acre under favorable circumstances. 

The official reports of the State Agricultural Society abound with 

proof of the great fertility of these virgin plains, and of the salubrity 

of the climate for maturing and harvesting. 

It is on record that in the San Joaquin Valley two crops of barley, 

each averaging over forty bushels per acre, were grown and harvested in 

two hundred and forty-five consecutive days. 

Nevertheless, without a regular and certain supply of water to the 

land, the limit of cultivated land will soon be reached, and, consequently, the limits of population; but when five, eight, and twelve millions of 

acres are cultivated, and the regularity of good crops almost assured, it 

will be impossible to estimate the vast population and the varied industries which the valley will support. 

But it will not be the Great Valley alone whic]). will be filled with 

people; the valley of every stream, large and small, will be cultivated 

with part of the water which will subsequently reach the lower lands. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 79 

This great basin should in twenty years become the granary of the 

world. 

The effects of irrigation will be permanently advantageous, because, 

when the soil once becomes moistened it will subsequently require the 

application of less water for each crop, and when once a thorough and 

comprehensive system is adopted the waters could readily be applied, if 

necessary, before the first rains to soften the ground and make it fit for 

the plow. 

In fact, the whole method and season of cultivation would doubtless be 

modified, and it is within the range of probability to look forward to an 

average of two crops a year. 

In the development of the irrigation of the valley another favorable 

feature would naturally be added in the cultivation of trees. These would 

not only be a remunerative source of investment, but would have a 

beneficial influence upon the soil and upon the young crops, because, if 

in sufficient bodies and numbers, they would protect the crops from the 

strong cold northers which have been mentioned as blighting the young and 

tender grain; and they would in a measure prevent the excessive rate of 

evaporation which now prevails during the hot summer-months in this 

comparatively treeless valley. 

CHAPTER Ill. 

1. Necessity of surveys--The funds at the disposal of the commission 

would not authorize surveys--Necessity of an instrumental reconnaissance and of detailed surveys. 

2. System of irrigation--No continuous canal on the eastern side of the 

Great Valley--Each river may have one or more dams and canals--The San 

Joa.quin and King's River Canal--Other canals--Some portion of the 

plain cannot be thoroughly irrigated--Canals on the western side of 

the Sacramento River--Main canal may be navigable--Clear Lake and its 

contents. 

3. Influence of irrigation on the navigation of rivers--This influence is 

small--Experience in Italy and in India--Argument , to show that this 

influence will be small on the navigation of the Sacramento and San 

Joaquin Rivers--Compensation by making some canals navigable. 

4. What is irrigation?--Mistakes that have been made--Description as to 

how water is to be taken from a river and distributed over the land by 

dams, head-works, and canals--Examples taken from the San Joaquin and 

King's River Canal Company. 

5. Existing and hypothetical canals--Existing canals at Bakersfield and 

Visalia--Canals from the King's River--The Chapman Canal--The Fresno 

Canal--Small canals--Hypothetical canals shown on the map. 
80 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

6. General considerations--Necessity of proper plans and location of 

works--Necessity of some authority--Farmers alone will never project 

and execute a comprehensive system--Connection between the irrigation 

of the foot-hills and mining and reclamation--Duty of Government. 

NECESSITY OF ·suRVEYS. 

We remark that it was evident to us from the moment we commenced our 

examination of the Great Valley that it would be entirely impossible for 

us, on account of the limited time at our command, as well as the limited 

means at our disposal, to enter into details as regards the many problems 

in engineering which must present themselves for solution before a full 

report on the best system of irrigating these valleys could be perfected. 

Such a report, as well as the first legislation on the subject of 

irrigating the Great Valley, should be founded on a careful instrumental 

reconnaissance, to embrace all the streams, and determine where a dam or 

dams on each of them can be best located; the amount of water that may be 

utilized; and the lines of main irrigating-canals. This would enable the 

valley to be divided into districts, and determine the amount of land that 

may be irrigated in each. 

After such reconnaissances shall have established the extent and 

resources of the natural districts into which the valley is divided, then, 

when works of irrigation are contemplated in any given district, a minute 

survey should be made of that district, to determine the detailed location 

of the main canals and distributing-ditches. 

The first reconnaissance specified 

outlay, but the subsequent minute 

plans, and estimates of the cost 

expenditure. 

could be made of a reasonable 

surveys, embracing specifications, 

of works, will require a large 

It is not necessary, however, that the proposed instrumental reconnaissance shall be undertaken and carried through the entire valley at once, 

because the different districts are somewhat independent of each other, 

and are not in the same immediate need of irrigation. 

THE SYSTEM OF IRRIGATION. 

We see from the topographical features of the eastern slope of the 

Great Valley that although water for irrigation is abundant, yet there 

cannot be any long line of continuous canal on that side, because all the 

rivers named above, and many smaller streams, flow down from the Sierra 

Nevada Mountains, and enter the plains in a direction more or less 

perpendicular to the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, into which nearly 

all of these rivers finally empty. 

No continuous canal can, therefore, be built, without great cost, 

along the foot-hills on the east side of the valley, because such a canal 

would cross the rivers escaping from the Sierra Nevada Mountains generally 

at right angles. The expense of bridging these streams with aqueducts or 

siphons to carry an irrigating-canal, in this country, with the present 

price of labor and material, would be enormous. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 81 

The system of irrigation on the eastern side of the Great Valley must, 

therefore, be by many short canals, so as to avoid crossing the different 

rivers and smaller streams by aqueducts. 

Each river may have one or more dams thrown across it in the most 

favorable places. 

All other considerations being the same, the higher up the streams the 

dams are placed the better, because it will always be desirable that the 

location and plan of the canals should be adapted to the irrigation of the 

largest area practicable at reasonable cost; and, besides, by keeping the 

canals which draw their supplies of water from the main rivers on a higher 

level, we will be enabled to draw from them to supply those canals which 

are fed from the smaller streams, such as the Fresno, Chowchilla, 

Calaveras, Cosumnes, and Bear Rivers, as well as many others still 

smaller, which do not head in the high mountains, and whose water will, 

therefore, fail in the dry season. These dams across the larger rivers, as 

a general thing, will not be for the purpose of storing the river-water, 

however desirable such storage might be, but for the purpose of raising 

the surface of the water to such a height as will enable it to be carried 

out over or through the banks of the rivers, and get the canals into the 

plains which are to be irrigated at the least possible expense. 

Each main river on the eastern side of the valley may thus have two 

canals, one on its right bank, the other on the left bank, and these main 

canals may be carried along on the proper grade so as to intersect the 

similar canals of the adjacent rivers to the right and left, supplying 

water, also, where it is wanted and where it can be made available to 

those smaller canals on a lower level which draw their supplies from the 

streams that do not head high enough in the mountains to have a perennial 

supply. 

The proper location of the dams across the main rivers, and of the 

head-works and alignment of the main exterior canals, will present the 

most difficult and important problem which the hydraulic engineer undertaking the irrigation of the eastern side of the Great Valley will have to 

solve. 

The dividing-line between a cost too great, in order to embrace more 

..land, and the sacrifice of land that should be- irrigared;---wnl -men have··-...,.;..~ 

to be carefully determined by financial considerations. 

It may be remarked that the banks of the rivers as well as of the 

smaller streams, as they flow through the lower plains, are, in many 

cases, higher than the plains to the right and left. The increased elevation of the banks of the rivers and creeks is usually discernible by the 

naked eye; but where instrumental levels have been taken the increased 

height of the banks, in some cases, appears to be very marked. Thus, on 

the Sacramento River, a few miles south of Colusa, the bank on the west 

side of the river was found by accurate levels to be twenty-one feet 

higher than the land at a distance of two and a half miles westward from 

the river. On the lower parts of the plains, where the river-banks are 

higher than the adjacent country, it will be necessary to carry the primary or secondary canals along on these banks in order that the adjacent 

plains may be irrigated. 
82 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

It being impossible for us, on account of the limited time and means 

at our command, to enter upon such a minute reconnaissance of the Great 

Valley as must be made before a comprehensive and economical system of 

irrigation can be planned, we have availed ourselves of all attainable 

information bearing on the subject of irrigation of the valleys mentioned 

in the act of Congress. 

The information thus obtained, mostly from surveys for proposed canals 

and from railroad-surveys, together with our own observations while traveling through and examining the country, furnish much of the data for this 

report. 

Fortunately, our information about the west side of the San Joaquin 

and Sacramento Valleys is quite full, and is sufficient to enable us to 

lay down, with tolerable accuracy, the alignment, size, and slope of the 

main canals on that side of the Great Valley. 

The San Joaquin and King's River Canal and Irrigating Company have 

already built a canal for irrigation from the great bend in the San 

Joaquin River (a few miles below Watson's Ferry) to Los Banos Creek, a 

distance of forty miles, and that company have caused an extensive system 

of experimental surveys to be made on the west side of the San Joaquin 

River, all the way from near the mouth of that river, to and around Kern 

Lake, to Kern River. 

These surveys were made with the view of extending their present canal 

and also of ascertaining the practicability of constructing other canals 

on a higher level, drawing their supply of water from Tulare Lake and Kern 

River. 

The company having kindly placed all the data in their office at our 

disposal, we are enabled to lay down the alignment of the canals for irrigation on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. 

These canals are: 

1st. The canal already built from the great bend of the San Joaquin 

River to Los Banos Creek, a distance of forty miles. It is 28 feet wide on 

the bottom, is 6 feet deep, has a sectional area, when full, of 276 square 

feet, and with a grade of 1 foot per mile. The canal, when full, will 

therefore deliver 726 cubic feet of water per second, which would irrigate 

one hundred and fortyJive thousand acres of --la-114;· allowing 1 cubic foot 

of water per second for two hundred acres. 

2d. The proposed continuation of this canal, on a grade of 6 inches to 

the mile, to the Lower San Joaquin River, near Moore's landing.16 

3d. A proposed canal from Summit Lake/6 but actually drawing 

its supply of water from Tulare Lake, (which is fed by King's, Kaweah, 

Tule, and Kern Rivers,) and extending from Summit Lake to the Lower San 

Joaquin River at Antioch.17 This canal is laid down from actual 

surveys made by the company and is on a grade of 6 inches per mile. 

4th. A proposed canal carried from Kern River, on a grade of 3 inches 

to the mile, beginning on the left bank of that river above Bakersfield 

and extending around and to the southward of Kern and Buena Vista Lakes. 

This canal would irrigate the country between it and Kern River and those 

lakes. 

Here we may properly remark that the plain to the east and south of 

this latter canal, lying between it and the surrounding foot-hills, does 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 83 

not seem to be capable of irrigation, because it is higher than the proposed canal, even with its small grade. 

Doubtless, some irrigation of portions of this plain can be effected 

by storing the water which now escapes through the small streams from the 

surrounding mountains during the winter-season. It may be possible, too, 

in the distant future, when the country becomes rich enough to stand the 

expense, to irrigate all of this land by taking the water out of Kern 

River high enough up that river to enable it to flow over the entire 

plain, but the expense of such a construction would be too great for many 

years to come. 

The same remarks apply to the extensive plains southwest and northwest 

of Tulare Lake, between that lake and the line of the upper canal, 

(leading to Antioch,) and the foot-hills of the Coast Range. Except 

partial irrigation of small portions of these plains by 

storage-reservoirs, they must be considered as non-irrigable; for there is 

no large supply of water on this side of the valley that can be spread 

over them, and water cannot be brought from the large rivers on the 

eastern side of the valley except at a cost which would be 

disproportionate to the benefits to be derived from such enterprises. 

We also have a very good preliminary survey of the alignment of a 

canal for irrigation and navigation on the west side of the Sacramento 

River, leading from a point just below Red Bluff to the navigable waters 

of Cache Slough. This survey was made under the auspices and by authority 

of the State of California in 1866. 

We have laid down on our map the route of this canal as projected by 

its engineers. It leaves the Sacramento River just below Red Bluff, keeps 

close to the foot-hills, so as to irrigate all the lands below it, and 

finally terminates at the head of navigation at Cache Slough. 

The quantity of land to be irrigated by this canal was estimated to be 

782,000 acres, and the quantity of water necessary for the irrigation of 

this land and for navigation was supposed to be 6,571 cubic feet per second. This canal was projected for navigation as well as irrigation. In 

view of this fact, we think if a canal for irrigation alone were to be 

built here, important changes in the location, size, and slope of such 

--~·-···-canal could be made, whereby the cost would be greatry· reduced. ---·-- -

But even if this canal be made for navigation, which it probably ought 

to be, its size may be greatly reduced if Stony, Cache, and Puta Creeks be 

used as feeders, which was not done in the original project. 

A branch-canal leaves this main canal on the right bank of Stony 

Creek, and extends thence to the Sacramento River, and then down on the 

right bank of the river to Knight's landing, for the purpose of irrigating 

the land between the river-bank and the "trough," or lowest depression of 

the valley between the river and the foot-hills to the westward. 

A private corporation, the Clear Lake Water-Works Company, has undertaken the appropriation of the waters of Cache Creek for purpose of irrigation. 

A canal is now partially completed for the irrigation of sixteen thousand acres of land in Capay Valley, and a dam has been constructed at the 

lower end of this valley for the purpose of starting two canals, one on 
84 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

either side of Cache Creek, for the irrigation of the plains in Solano and 

Yolo Counties. 

Clear Lake, which is drained by Cache Creek, is a fine natural reservoir, covering about eighty square miles; and as its drainage-area, 

together with that of Cache Creek, is one thousand square miles in extent, 

and as most of the water can be stored in the lake by inexpensive works, 

when it is not wanted for irrigation it follows that a large body of land, 

probably four hundred thousand acres, can be irrigated by the proposed 

canals, which are to draw their supply of water from Cache Creek. This 

company has also kindly placed at our disposal all the information which 

their plans and surveys furnish, and we have laid down their finished 

canal as well as their proposed canals on our map. 

THE INFLUENCE OF IRRIGATION ON THE NAVIGATION OF RIVERS. 

It has been supposed by some persons that the withdrawal of large 

quantities of water from the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, and from 

their tributaries, and the appropriation of these waters to purposes of 

irrigation, would be inconsistent with the navigation of these rivers. 

The supposition is natural; but, anomalous as it may seem, the 

experience of the extensive irrigation of the plains of India and of Italy 

would seem to contradict it. 

Captain Baird Smith, 18 in his "Italian Irrigation" says, pp. 171 

and 172: 

I may mention here that the singular and interesting 

phenomenon of percolation, which is so marked in the beds of 

the Himalayan rivers of India, is not less strikingly shown 

in those of Northern Italy. In seasons of great dryness the 

entire volumes of the Ticino19 and other irrigating 

rivers have at times been entirely exhausted to meet the 

demands of the cultivators. The results are thus adverted to 

by M. Lombardini, a minute and accurate observer, who has 

devoted himself especialli-to the study of rfver piien"omena: 

"The subterranean water with which the plain is charged 

are also occasionally collected in the rivers, whose beds 

are below the level of the ground. These streams, exhausted 

in their upper portions by the channels of irrigation derived from them, are found to become gradullllY refilled at 

lower levels with new waters. The Ticino at Tornavento, the 

Adda at Cassano, and the Oglio at Torre Pallavicina,20 

in times of great dryness, are entirely closed and exhausted. Yet, without the aid of any visible affluent whatever, 

the streams soon re-appear, formed by new supplies derived 

from percolation through the banks and springs in the beds, 

so that they early again become navigable." 

This is precisely the result observed in Northern India, and with which the main objection urged against the 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 

grand Ganges Canal,21 that it will ruin the navigation 

of the river, has hitherto been combated. I am glad to be 

able to bring Italian as well as Indian experience to the 

support of this work, besides which even the greatest of the 

Lombardian canals appear small. 

85 

In speakin~ of the effect of the canals on the navigation of the river 

Jumna in India, 2 the same author says, (Baird Smith, p. 386:) 

During four months it is occasionally necessary to abstract 

the entire visible stream for the supply of the canals, and 

for eight or ten miles below the bunds or embankments employed for the purpose, the bed is dry. Beyond this distance 

water appears; and by the time the river has reached the 

latitude of Saharunpur,23 it has become a deep 

unfordable stream, with a considerable velocity of current. 

The explanation of this singular result, observed in greater 

or less degree in all streams which traverse the tract of 

country under the Siwalic Hills, 24 both east and west 

of the Ganges, is not difficult. From sections exposed by 

wells sunk in the vicinity of the Jumna, it is evident that 

the bed of the river is composed of a porous, readily 

permeable stratum of shingle resting upon clay or clay sand, 

which is comparatively impervious. The upper or shingle 

stratum is thoroughly saturated with water to a depth which, 

from sections we have observed, may be estimated at from 60 

to 80 feet. The slope of the bed for the first ten miles 

from the lower hills is excessive, and there is consequently 

a considerable under-current through the shingle bed. The 

volume of the river may therefore be regarded as consisting 

of two separate parts: 1st. The visible stream, over the 

shingle bed; and, 2d, the invisible or under-stream through 

the shingle bed. The canal bunds affect only the former; and 

it is the latter which makes its appear;,.nce when, at. the 

lower levels of the river's course, the sub-stratum of clay 

outcrops, and the porous shingle bed terminates. The 

under-current is thus thrown to the surface, and constitutes 

the main body of the river, and, with the additions it 

receives from affluents, is the volume available for 

navigation during the months of minimum supply. 

From our observations, we believe that if a general system of irrigation of the San Joaquin, Tulare, and Sacramento Valleys is carried out, 

the effect of such irrigation will have very little influence on the navigation of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, which are the only na vi gable rivers in the Great Valley of California. 

It should be observed that the quantity of water that will be used for 

the irrigation of the valleys mentioned above will be only a portion of 

the flow of these two rivers at and below the points at which they are now 
86 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

navigable; and of this portion a certain quantity will find its way back 

into the rivers again by percolation and underground drainage after it has 

done its work of irrigation. This will be particularly true of the San 

Joaquin River, where the greatest amount of irrigation is required. 

This river is navigable for steamboats in its high stage only as high 

as the mouth of Fresno Slough, where the head-works of the San Joaquin and 

King's River Canal are located, and in its lowest stage only as high as 

Stockton Slough, which below the influence of the tides. Now, during its 

high stages when water is always abundant in the rivers flowing from the 

Sierra Nevada, the San Joaquin River receives the drainage of the whole 

Tulare Valley through Fresno Slough, a few miles below Watson's ferry. 

The irrigation of the Great Valley above this point can therefore have 

very little influence on the navigation below it; for it is only the 

quantity of water which is taken up by the increased evaporation due to 

irrigation, and that going to form a component part of the increased 

vegetation of the country that is lost to navigation. 

After once wetting the soil down to the water-bearing strata, all the 

remainder of the water of irrigation will be carried off by undergrounddrainage, and will find its way into the river at or above the point where 

winter-navigation ceases. Indeed, it may well be questioned whether the 

irrigation of the southern end of the Great Valley will not tend rather to 

improve than to InJUre the navigation of the river; for the water of 

irrigation will be held back during floods, when it is not wanted for 

navigation, and that portion of it which finds its way again into the 

river by underground-drainage will do so in a great measure when the river 

is falling, and at the time, therefore, when it is wanted for navigation. 

In considering the effect of the abstraction of water for the 

irrigation of the San Joaquin Valley from that river, and from its 

tributaries below the mouth of Fresno Slough ·on the navigation of the 

river, we have on the west side the San Joaquin and King's River Canal, 

with a maximum discharge of 726 cubic feet per second, which is only about 

one-tenth the actual flow of the river at that point in the summer-season. 

It is said that the effect of this canal in lowering the water in the 

river has been tested by the experiment of closing the head-gates in the 

canal so as to exclude all water from the canal. __ The effect was to. raise 

the water in .the ·-river belo-~---the -- heacl'~works on~ inch and a half, from 

which we may conclude that the withdrawal of the quantity of water which 

the canal carries from the river lowers the water in the river one inch 

and a half. 

To this extent, therefore, this canal may at certain stages of water 

injure its navigation. 

The effect of canals of irrigation drawing their supply of water from 

the tributaries of the San Joaquin River on its eastern side, say from the 

right bank of the Upper San Joaquin River itself, from the Fresno, the 

Merced, the Tuolumne, and the Stanislaus, on the navigation of the river 

between Stockton and the head of high-water navigation, we believe will 

not be injurious, and, in fact, may be beneficial. 

The effect of drawing water for irrigation from the tributaries of the 

San Joaquin below Stockton, from the Calaveras, the Mokelumne, and the 

Cosumnes can scarcely be felt on the navigation of the San Joaquin below 

that point, for here the depth of the water in the river is influenced by 

the ebb and flow of the tides. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 87 

The west side of the Sacramento Valley, as we have seen, must be irrigated by water drawn from the Sacramento River at, or a short distance 

below, Red Bluff,25 and from Stony, Cache, and Puta Creeks. 

The Sacramento River is navigable during the season of high water as 

far as Red Bluff; though since the consolidation of the railroad company 

with the California Steam Navigation Company it is rare that steamers are 

sent up the river higher than Princeton.26 

During the low stage of water, Colusa27 may be regarded as the 

head of navigation. 

The effect of withdrawing a large quantity of water by a canal for 

irrigation, leaving the river in the vicinity of Red Bluff, would be to 

decrease the depth of water in the river at and immediately below that 

point. 

At the time, however, when irrigation will be most needed--during the 

winter and spring--the river is always high, and the withdrawal of the 

quantity of water that will be required for irrigation would scarcely be 

felt. 

During the late summer and early fall, when the river is low, but 

little water will be wanted for irrigation, and the withdrawal of what 

would be required could have but little effect on the navigation of the 

river at Colusa or Princeton, the head of navigation at that season of the 

year, for these places are one hundred miles by the river below the head 

of the proposed canal. 

Of course, there will be a certain stage of the river when it is falling, and again when it is rising, when, without the withdrawal of any 

water from the river for irrigation, it would just be navigable for small 

steamers between Colusa and Red Bluff. If, at this stage, a large quantity 

of water be withdrawn from the river, the depth of water would be decreased, and the river would not be navigable. 

How much the influence of such a canal on the navigation of the upper 

part of the river at these stages would not be felt, it will be impossible 

to state with certainty without knowing the discharge of the river at such 

times and the quantity of water that would be taken from it by the canal. 

We may remark, however, that it is only the falling phase of the river 

that need be considered in this conn-ectimr:··-rrr-th-e-nr01TrliF-ol 1uly · and 

August the river falls very slowly; and if it is just navigable at a certain stage, the withdrawal of a large quantity of water from it at that 

time might affect the navigation for some weeks; but in the fall, when the 

river rises, after the first rains, it rises suddenly, and the effect of 

the cause we are considering could only be felt for a few days, and generally for a few hours. 

The effect of· withdrawing a portion of the waters of Stony Creek for 

irrigation could have but little, if any, influence on the navigation of 

the river; for the greater portion of this water would find its way back 

again into the river above Princeton, which is the practical head of na vigation, unless the river above be improved. And the appropriation of the 

waters of Cache and Puta Creeks to irrigating-purposes cannot affect the 

navigation of the river; for both of these streams find their escape into 

the river through Cache Slough, a tidal arm of the Lower Sacramento. 
88 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

On the east side of the Sacramento River, between Red Bluff and the 

city of Sacramento, the principal tributaries are the Feather, the Yuba, 

Bear and American Rivers. Besides these rivers, there are numerous smaller 

streams, escaping from the foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada, and emptying 

into the Sacramento River above the mouth of the Feather, the largest of 

which are Butte and Chico Creeks, which are living streams all the year 

round, in the vicinity of the town of Chico.28 

We do not think that the appropriation of all the water that will be 

wanted for the irrigation of the eastern side of the Sacramento will have 

any injurious effect on the navigation of that river, and for the reasons 

already stated in speaking of the tributaries of the San Joaquin on its 

eastern side. 

On the whole, therefore, we conclude this subject by stating it as our 

belief that the irrigation of the Great Valley of California, in the 

manner we have sketched on our map, will have no injurious effect on the 

navigation of the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers except for a short 

time, at a certain stage of their waters, and for a short distance below 

the points where the proposed canals leave them, viz, the mouth of Fresno 

Slough on the San Joaquin, and Red Bluff on the Sacramento. Even here we 

do not think that the injury to navigation will be at all serious. 

The canals for irrigation on the western side of the valley, owing to 

the necessity of giving them a gentle slope, may easily be made navigable. 

The San Joaquin and King's River Canal as far as constructed is navigable, 

and its continuation as projected will furnish a more certain and cheap 

navigation than that of the Upper San Joaquin River. 

A canal from the Sacramento River, leaving it at Red Bluff, on its 

western side, may readily be made navigable. Thus, these two navigable 

canals would afford compensation to any supposed or real injury they might 

do to the navigation of the rivers. 

When we reflect that no canal for navigation could be proposed in this 

or any part of the United States without the possible or supposed injury 

of some railroad, and, in fact, that no great public work of any kind can 

be carried into execution without injuriously affecting some existing 

interests, we think, if a comprehensive scheme for the irrigation of the 

Great Valley of. CalifO£nia· -is . ever undertaken, the effect of such irrigation on the navigation of its rivers may be disregarded. 

WHAT IS IRRIGATION? 

It may be well to state here, in general terms, in what the works of 

irrigation for these plains must consist; or, in other words, how the 

water is to be taken out of the rivers and spread over the land. This 

appears to us to be necessary to a proper comprehension of the subject, 

because the irrigation of the land has been practiced but very little by 

the farmers of the United States. With the exception of rice-culture along 

the sea-coast of a few of the Southern States, agricultural irrigation may 

be said to be almost unknown in this country. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 89 

Even in California it is yet in its infancy, although it was practiced 

for many years in some places by the old Spaniards particularly in the 

southern portion of the State. 

The profession of the hydraulic engineer for agricultural purposes is 

almost unknown, and the farmers, as a general thing, do not understand how 

to use the water when it is delivered alongside their lands. 

We have noticed that in some of the new canals which have been built, 

many mistakes as to their alignment and slope have been committed. In 

fact, the very first principles of hydraulic engineering, as applicable to 

agriculture, have been violated. 

This is particularly the case in relation to the canals, or 

irrigating-ditches, at Visalia and Bakersfield. The irrigating-ditches at 

these places have too great a slope. The consequence is that the banks are 

washed away and the bottoms of the ditches scoured out, so that the water 

cannot be elevated sufficiently in many places to flow over the surface of 

the land which was intended to be irrigated. 

Again, no attention, apparently, has been paid to drainage. The consequence is that the surplus water of irrigation, and that which escapes at 

low places through the banks of the ditches and sloughs, settles in pools 

in the lowest ground, becomes stagnant, and, under the influence of a sun 

which may be called tropical, renders the vicinity of these two towns 

unhealthful in the summer-season. 

A main canal for irrigation must be taken from a river or lake. The 

quantity of land to be irrigated, the nature of the soil, the minimum 

rain-fall on this land during the year, and the kind of cultivation, or 

the amount of water which the land will require in a given period, are the 

elements which determine the size of the canal or the quantity of water it 

must deliver in a given time. 

The first thing to be done is to raise the surface. of the water in the 

river to such a height as will enable it to flow out through a canal on to 

the plain to be irrigated at the least possible expense. This is usually 

done by a dam across the river, though sometimes water can be taken from a 

river without a dam. The dams, as a general thing, will not require to be 

built to the full height of the banks of the rivers, but only high enough - to command the highest land to be irrigate<r. --- -- -- ----· ·· - ·· ·---

The canal will then be carried from the water above the dam, through 

the river-bank, in more or less deep cutting, on to the irrigable land. 

These works, by which the water is taken from the river out to the 

land to be irrigated and its quantity regulated, are usually called "The 

head-works of the canal." It would be useless to enter into a detailed 

description concerning them, because they will differ in every river. 

In looking over the "head-works" of the canals for irrigation in India 

and in Italy, we find great numbers of these works, but no two of them 

alike. 

The size and slope of the main canals will depend on the quantity of 

water which they must carry in a given time, and the tenacity of the soil 

forming their bottoms and sides. 
90 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

Perhaps the easiest way of showing how the land in these plains should 

be irrigated will be by an example. But it must be understood that these 

examples, in practice, will be of almost infinite variety, and it is only 

by understanding the principles upon which the canals and ditches must be 

laid out and constructed that a proper system of irrigation can be 

successfully introduced. 

Let it be borne in mind that the object to be accomplished is, at any 

given time, to put from two to four inches of water on the soil, and hold 

it there until it is absorbed; say, one irrigation in the fall of the 

year, to enable the land to be plowed and the grain to be sowed; and three 

or four irrigations in the winter and spring, depending in number and 

quantity on the kind of cultivation and the amount of rain-fall during 

that time. 

In order to show in the clearest manner in what the works for 

spreading the water from a main canal over the land usually consist, we 

have taken a case from the actual practice of the San Joaquin and King's 

River Canal Company, in which a portion of the land represented is 

prepared for the irrigation of wheat or barley, and the remaining portion 

for grass-pasturage. The system is shown on the sheet herewith, marked A. 

The main canal has a grade of I foot per mile, and the ground slopes 

from the canal toward the lowest depression of the valley, which in this 

case is the San Joaquin River, about 8 feet per mile. The slope is shown 

on the sketch by dotted contour-lines for each foot of elevation. 

Water is not taken directly from the main canal to the ground to be 

irrigated. It is first drawn from the main canal into a series of smaller 

canals, called "primary ditches." These primary ditches leave the main 

canal where the slope of the ground is favorable, in a direction more or 

less at right angles to its course. They follow the highest part of the 

land to be irrigated. 

The distance apart of these primary ditches will vary according to the 

circumstances of the ground. In the example we are considering this distance is one mile. 

The section of these primary ditches, like that of the main canal, is 

usually made partly in excavation and partly in embankment. In the example 

before" us,- however, these primary ditches are· entirely in embankment, the 

water r'unning on the natural su~face of the ground, the earth to form the 

embankment being taken from outside the ditch. As a general rule, the 

water should not be taken from them directly to the ground to be irrigated. They are feeders drawing the water from the main canal and distributing it through a series of secondary ditches of smaller size, in which the 

water is on the surface of the ground, and retained in a given channel by 

banks of earth from 1 to 2 feet high. It is from these secondary ditches 

that the water is drawn off into the plow-furrows, and distributed on to 

and over the land to be irrigated. 

It will be noticed that in the example of practical irrigation shown 

on our map, the contour-lines show that the ground slopes in nearly a true 

plane away from the main canal at the rate of about 8 feet to the mile. We 

have seen how the water is first delivered from the main canal into primary ditches, running down this slope at distances of one mile apart, and 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 91 

how this water is again distributed from the primary into secondary ditches, located one quarter of a mile apart, and running parallel to each 

other, with a slope of from 4 to 5 feet per mile; each of the secondary 

ditches is to irrigate the land between it and the next one below it. This 

piece of land in the example is eighty acres. We have now to show how the 

water is actually applied to the ground. For the sake of clearness we will 

confine our attention for the moment to the eighty acres shaded on the 

map, shown also in the sketch annexed marked B. The secondary ditch, 

marked AB, is to irrigate these eighty acres. 

This land is first divided by plow-furrows parallel with the primary 

ditches and placed 40 yards apart. These are shown at 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, &c., 

up to 39-40. It is again divided by plow-furrows, called "checks," laid 

out parallel to the secondary ditch AB, at distances of fifty yards apart, 

measured along the line parallel with the secondary ditch. These are shown 

at 41-42, 43-44, up to 53-54. 

The note on the drawing marked A shows that each secondary ditch has a 

capacity sufficient to fill ten of the little boxes leading from it at 1, 

3, 5, 7, &c., into the plow furrows. 

To irrigate this land, then, we first close the gate at C in the middle of the secondary ditch AB, and open the gate at A, which communicates 

with the primary ditch, then the water will flow into the secondary ditch 

from A to C. Open the little gates at 1, 3, 5, 7, &c., and it will escape 

into the plow-furrows and run down to the first check-furrow, 41 41 1/2, 

where its flow will be checked, and it will gradually flow over the belt 

of land between AC and 41 41 1/2. This little belt can then be irrigated 

to any depth that may be required. When this is done, the plow-furrows at 

the intersection with the first check at 1 2, 3 4, &c., with 41 42, are 

opened with a hoe, and the water will then run down on to the next belt, 

included between 41 41 1/2 and 43 43 1/2, and so the process is continued 

until the forty acres included in the parallelogram ACDE has all been 

irrigated. 

Now, if the gate at C be opened and those at 1, 3, 5, 7, &c., be 

closed, the water will flow into the lower part of the secondary ditch 

from C to B; and if the gates at 21, 23, &c., be opened, the other forty 

acres, CBFE, can be irrigated in the same manner. 

As the ground slopes away from the secondary ditches and the parallel 

check-furrows at the rate of 8 feet to the mile, and as these checks are 

fifty yards apart, the slope between the adjacent checks will be 2.7 

inches. When the water has backed up on the upper side of any given 

check-furrow to the depth of 2.7 inches, it follows that the ground on the 

lower side of the next check-furrow above will just be covered, and when 

it is 4 inches deep on the upper side of the lower check it will be only 

1.3 inches deep on the lower side of the upper check. This does not give 

an entirely equal distribution of the water, but in porous soils there is 

a system of compensation for this unequal distribution by the percolation 

of the water standing in the secondary ditches and check-furrows finding 

its way to the belts of land immediately below them. 
92 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

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IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 93 

. Thus, in. th~ ~xample we are c?nside~ing, the water from the secondary 

dttch AB wtll trngate the ground tmmedtately below this ditch by percolation if the soil is porous, and the water on the upper side of the checks 

41 42, 43 44, &c., will be absorbed and irrigate the soil immediately 

below them. Of course, where the soil is impervious to water, like clay or 

adobe, the check-furrows should be closer together, in order to insure a 

more equal irrigation. 

In the example of irrigation for alfalfa or permanent pasturage, the 

little furrow-channels are multiplied, insuring a more equal distribution 

of water. 

The water which is not absorbed by the ground is carried off by the 

catch-drains and utilized for irrigating lands at a lower level. 

This whole system of the distribution of water on to the land, as 

illustrated in our sketch, is in accordance with the principles which the 

experience of European countries as well as of India has established. 

It should not be forgotten, however, that the quantity of water, as 

well as the details of its distribution, will vary acccording to the kind 

of cultivation. As the cultivation of wheat will require a difference in 

the times and details of irrigation from that of alfalfa or other grasses, 

so the cultivation of Indian corn will differ from wheat, and sugar-cane 

would differ from either of the others. In fact, each product will require 

a difference in the method of distributing and a difference in the quantity of water for each irrigation. 

EXISTING AND HYPOTHETICAL CANALS. 

Although we have been enabled to lay down on our map, with some approach to accuracy, the canals for a comprehensive system of irrigation on 

the west side of the Great Valley of California, because we have had access to surveys which were made for that purpose, such is not the case on 

the eastern side of the valley. Here we have no detailed surveys of the 

country. 

It is true there are several small canals and irrigating-ditches on 

the eastern side of the valley, some of which- are- completed and in operation; but, as a general thing, those canals have not been laid out on 

scientific principles; they have not been projected on a plan, so as to 

form a part of a comprehensive irrigation-system for this side of the 

valley, and the surveys of these canals, even if attainable, would furnish 

us with very little valuable information. 

We may mention, among these small canals and irrigating-ditches, those 

at Bakersfield, where the water is taken from Kern River; the irrigation 

at Visalia, where the water is taken from Kaweah River; three small canals 

leading from King's River, now partially completed; the Chapman Canal, on 

the right bank of the San Joaquin River; and the Fresno Canal, on the left 

bank of the Fresno River, (both partially completed, and laid down on our 

map.) Of these, the Fresno Canal is the best. 

Besides the foregoing, there are small systems of irrigation scattered 

at different points throughout the foot-hills, all the way from the 

Tuolumne River to the Feather, the water for irrigation being drawn from 

ditches that were originally constructed for mining-purposes. 
94 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

Many of these ditches have been more or less abandoned for mmmg, and 

their water is now diverted to the irrigation of gardens, orchards, and 

vineyards, which betoken the permanent settlement and cultivation of these 

foot-hills. 

It results from our lack of detailed topographical knowledge of the 

country on the eastern side of the Valley of California that we can now 

only sketch a hypothetical system of irrigating-canals on that side of the 

valley. This we have done on our map. 

The location of the supposed canals are shown in broken red lines, and 

are laid down as near as may be in accordance with the principles 

heretofore mentioned in this report; that is, each main river has two 

canals, one on either bank, extending to the right and left just below the 

base of the foot-hills, until they meet similar canals from the adjacent 

rivers; the whole of them taken together forming, as it were, a main 

exterior canal of large size, extending from the Kern River, on the south, 

to the vicinity of Red Bluff on the east side of the Sacramento River. 

From these main exterior canals, hugging close to the foot-hills, the 

country below them and lying between them and the central lines of 

drainage of the Great Valley can be irrigated by branch-canals, which will 

be the service-canals for the distribution of water for irrigation. The 

branch-canals in their turn would have their system of primary and 

secondary ditches, as has been already explained. 

The hypothetical system of exterior and branch canals for the eastern 

side of the valley shown on the map must be understood as being only hypothetical. Although we have examined all the rivers on the eastern side of 

the valley with great attention, we do not know that we have in any single 

case selected the proper point on any river from which a main exterior 

canal should leave it, and, of course, it follows that we do not know that 

we have laid down any canal in the position it ought to occupy. 

No comprehensive system for the irrigation of this portion of the 

valley, nor in fact for the irrigation of any country, can be made without 

a complete instrumental survey made for that special purpose. Then, the 

proper location, size, and height of the dams across the different rivers 

and streams can be discovered; the alignment, size, and slope of _ the exterior and interior---- canals, . as well - as of distributing-ditches, determined, 

and the country divided into different irrigating-districts which would be 

more or less independent of each other. 

Here it may be remarked that all such natural districts, because they 

are natural, cannot be altered by legislation, and their boundaries are 

independent of the artificial boundaries of a State, county, or township 

unless those boundaries follow the natural lines of drainage, or the divisions of drainage-areas into different water-sheds. 

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 

THE IRRIGATION OF THE FOOT-HILLS, STORAGE-RESERVOIRS, MINING, 

RECLAMATION OF OVERFLOWED LANDS, ETC. 

In the preceding discussion of this subject, we have confined ourselves entirely to the irrigation of the valleys mentioned in the act of 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 95 

Congress. We have endeavored to show the necessity of their irrigation, 

and some of the results that will flow from it. 

That these plains will be extensively irrigated in the future, we have 

no doubt. But the works for a complete system of irrigation will be enormous and the cost too great for the present day. 

A large increase of population in these valleys will be necessary 

before such works can be perfected. Time will bring this about, but probably fifty years will be necessary to complete it. 

It is all-important that the works should be properly planned and 

located in the beginning, so that whatever is done to meet the present 

requirements of a sparse population may form a part of those that will be 

necessary to meet the demands of a population of millions by simply enlarging them. 

Canals that may eventually cost $15,000 per mile need not at first 

cost more than $5,000 per mile, but they should be located on the right 

ground and so planned and built as to admit of enlargement without shifting the banks. 

The works required, even at the present time, will be extensive and 

costly, and unity of action is absolutely necessary to their proper execution. If the Government of the United States lends any aid toward the 

accomplishment of this great scheme of irrigation, it should do so in full 

accord with the government of the State of California; and whatever action 

the State government may take in the matter should be taken in the 

interests of the people of the State, or otherwise the scheme of 

irrigation will be a failure. 

Some authority must be exercised, in the first instance, in planning 

and locating any proper system for comprehensive irrigation. If left to 

themselves, the farmers in any country of large extent can never devise or 

execute such a system. 

Constant conflicts would take place among them about the rights of 

water. The streams ought not to be left to the exclusive control of those 

living on their banks. 

The main canal in many places will be miles away from where the water 

is most required; and if the location and construction of such canal and 

the distribution ditches be left to riiaiiY- differerif · proprietors to carry 

out, each anxious for his own interests, and those interests in conflict 

or in apparent conflict with each other, and there be no authority to 

control their action, it is manifest that the system of irrigation will be 

begun in confusion and will end in financial disaster. 

In future the foot-hills, particularly the foot-hills of the Sierra 

Nevada range, will also call for irrigation. In fact, as we have before 

stated, they are already irrigated in many places by water from miningditches. 

The plains will furnish the large farms, but the homes of the wellto-do farmers will be found in the foot-hills or mountains. Their more 

healthful climate, more varied and picturesque scenery, finer fruits, and 

greater facilities of obtaining building-materials, as well as wood and 

water, mark them as places for the farmer's permanent home, and then they 
96 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

too will call for irrigation. This will be an irrigation different from 

that of the plains. The water will come from the Sierra Nevada Mountains. 

Large storage-reservoirs will then be constructed in the gorges and 

valleys of the mountains, and water will be brought down from them in 

ditches, pipes, and flumes, as water for hydraulic mining is now carried 

to the mines. 

This system of irrigation for the foot-hills will doubtless be 

combined with obtaining water for mining those extensive gravel deposits 

of gold, which are yet almost untouched for want of water at sufficient 

elevation to work them profitably; many of which deposits could not be 

exhausted in a hundred years. 

As the gold production of these mines will be immense, we may suppose 

that in the future the works for supplying them with water and for irrigating the foot-hills will be in like proportion. 

The western flank of the Sierra Nevada will be dotted with reservoirs 

like some portions of India. Their water will first be used for miningpurposes, where it will be as valuable as for irrigation. Afterward it 

will be used for watering the foot-hills, and the waste water finally 

carried into the canals leading from the different rivers built for 

watering the plains. 

We are aware that we are not called upon by the strict letter of our 

instructions to mention these considerations, and we allude to them only 

to show that in a complete and comprehensive consideration of the subject 

of irrigation in California they should not be forgotten. 

And there is one other view of the subject which should be stated: we 

allude to the reclamation of the overflowed and swamp lands in the San 

Joaquin, Tulare, and Sacramento Valleys. Extensive irrigation will assist 

in their reclamation, for the water of irrigation, and particularly that 

stored for future use, will be held back during floods, when these lands 

are liable to damage, and will escape by percolation or be let into the 

rivers again through artificial channels after the floods are over, when 

it can do no injury. 

It has been well said that "water is the wealth of California." If it 

has been so in the past, we believe it will be still more so in the fu-

-rure·:····-- ·----~------~- -----~--- ------- ·---- ----

If the people of this State can be once convinced that the irrigation 

of the plains will be extended in time to the foot-hills, and their irrigation will be combined with the development of new and extensive miningenterprises; that all irrigation will assist in the reclamation of more 

than one million acres of rich land, now almost valueless on account of 

being overflowed in wet winters; and that the water, after having been 

used for mining, will not be injured, but rather benefited for purposes of 

irrigation, we believe, after a complete system of irrigation is laid out 

for them, and proper laws and regulations in reference to the use and 

abuse of water established and enforced, that unity of action would be 

insured, and the people would take hold of the subject of irrigation with 

a will, and carry it out, except perhaps in particular instances, without 

much aid from Government. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 97 

But it is the duty of the Government to teach the value of irrigation, 

and lay out a comprehensive system, and enforce proper laws on the 

subject. 

CHAPTER IV. 

History, description, and statistics of irrigation in foreign countries. 

Introductory remarks: Authorities--Irrigation in India; its necessity--

Famines--Extent of proposed works--Price of labor--Description of 

Ganges Canal--Other canals in the Punjab and in the northwest provinces--Delta-systems of Southern India--Other canals in India--Tanks; 

their numbers and dimensions--Mudduk Masoor tank--Mode of construction 

--Inundation-canals--Wells--Superiority of channel-irrigation--Improvements by the English--Silt--Velocity of canals--Drainage; its relation 

to health--Measuring water; its necessity in California--Navigation of 

canals--Primary ditches--Administration of canals in India. 

Statistics: Of Western Jumna Canal--Of Bari Doab Canal--Of other irrigation-canals in the Punjab--Of inundation-canals from the Sutlej and 

Indus Rivers--Of the Ganges Canal--Of Eastern Jumna Canal--Of Dhoon 

Canals. 

General remarks: Financial aspect--Cost of maintenance; of repairs. 

Description and statistics: Of Delta-irrigation in Madras--The Cauvery 

Delta--The Kistna Delta--The Godavery Delta--Official report for 1873 

--Financial statement--Prospects for the next five years--Private 

enterprises in India--Madras Irrigation Company; its agreement; 

embarassments--The East India Irrigation Company; agreement; failure 

--Opinions of governor-general of India and of home office. 

In the rainless regions oC .. Egypr a net Til soriie-:portfons-- of ltioia, irrigation and systematic agriculture are of the same age, the latter being 

quite impossible separate from the former. The present purpose does not 

require an inquiry into the date of its origin and the circumstances 

attending the introduction of irrigation in ancient times. It is sufficient on this point for us to know that it has been used for thousands 

of years, and that in some countries it has been continuously applied 

throughout their historic existence. The wide distribution and range of 

this mode of cultivation under the most diverse climatic conditions deserves to be ref erred to. 

This range is almost as long and as wide as that of civilization 

itself. It embraces countries where the rain-fall is high and the mean 

temperature that of the temperate zone, and others where the temperature 
98 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

is tropical and the rain-fall small or very unequally distributed. Within 

its limits are included England, France, Spain and Italy, Egypt and India, 

Java and the neighboring islands, the West India and the Sandwich Islands, 

Mexico and Peru. Even in our own country, irrigation exists in the 

river-cultivation of the South and on a small scale in our acquired 

territory where it was introduced by the Spaniards, who, in their turn, 

derived it from the Moors. The vestiges of works found in Arizona and 

Mexico point to a time when this mode of cultivation existed to a much 

greater degree than it does at present, and when perhaps the rain-fall was 

in excess of its present amount. It is also practiced to some extent in 

Utah. 

In an investigation looking to the extensive introduction of irrigation into our imperfectly-watered plains, it is essential to inquire into 

the circumstances of its existence in other countries, in order to 

ascertain the proper principles of construction and of administration as 

they appear to have been established by the experience of other nations. 

The literature of irrigation is extensive, and the occasion is such that 

one might easily be tempted to collate historical and descriptive 

information, all interesting enough, on a scale that might defeat or 

interfere with the practical ends in view. It will be sufficient to give 

our attention chiefly to the modern phases of the subject, and to examine 

the conditions existing in countries whose civilization corresponds in 

some degree to our own; to ascertain the principles of administration; and 

to refer to those countries where it has long been established, or where 

it is being most widely extended, to learn its effects and its methods. 

It is, then, the object of this chapter to take a cursory view of 

irrigation as it exists in some of the countries where it has long been 

established; to ascertain whether its influence is or has been favorable 

upon the prosperity, manners, and health of the people; to learn how works 

of this kind are provided and managed; to inquire into their financial 

condition, the cost of construction and of maintenance; and, generally, to 

inform ourselves as to what other nations have done or are now doing to 

introduce or extend this system of cultivation. 

It may be remarked here that a sound financial basis is essential for 

the existe-nce of -irr-igation;-- and if this basis be wanting, we ought- not to 

permit the judgment to be carried away by beautiful pictures of trees and 

flowers and growing crops; these have in some cases been purchased at too 

dear a price. Irrigation may be desirable, but indiscriminate irrigation 

may be disastrous. The same conditions of care and prudence and judgment 

apply to this as to all other industrial enterprises. 

Some of our points of inquiry could be better studied on the fields of 

practice than from the descriptions in books; but under existing circumstances we are compelled to draw our information from the researches of 

others. Fortunately, we have descriptions of most of the existing systems 

from the hands of intelligent observers, and, if we find diversity of 

opinions and inequality of mental vision when directed to the same circumstances, we only repeat a common experience. Irrigation has its panegyrists and its depreciators. The truth will most probably be found to lie 

between--in the middle way. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 99 

The principal authorities for what follows are these, namely: Col. 

Baird Smith, Irrigation in the Madras Provinces; Col. Baird Smith, Italian 

Irrigation; Lieut. Moncrieff, Irrigation in Southern Europe; M Aymard, 

Irrigation du midi de l'Espagne; I. B. Roberts, Irrigation in Spain; papers and discussions by various civil engineers in England, published in 

Proceedings of Institution of Civil Engineers; various parliamentary and 

official reports in regard to Indian irrigation from 1848 to 1872. 

IRRIGATION IN INDIA. 

India affords us the most conspicuous examples of irrigation on a 

grand scale, and it is here more than anywhere else in the world that a 

great systematic scheme is in progress of development. Irrigation in some 

other countries is merely an incident. It permits the cultivation of certain crops, which, indeed, add greatly to general and individual wealth, 

and if it were withdrawn the general prosperity would doubtless suffer, 

but the basis of future existence would remain. In many parts of 'India, 

irrigation is the very condition of existence, both of the government and 

of the people. More than half of the revenue of India comes directly from 

the products of the soil; and the country is so vast, and the communications have been so difficult, that a generally good harvest has not sufficed to preserve large districts no so favored from the most dreadful 

ravages of famine. The failure of the northeast monsoon in 1832 caused in 

the Madras presidency most severe and extended suffering; and in Guntoor, 

out of a population of 500,000, it is estimated that 200,000 persons died 

of famine and of the fevers resulting from scarcity of food. More 

recently, in Orissa, a severe famine, causing a great loss of life, 

occurred, (said to be 1,000,000 persons;) and now in Bengal a similar 

disaster is impending. 29 

Hence, for double reasons, both for humanity and for the sake of its 

own revenue, the government is impelled to provide a remedy for these 

terrible evils. This remedy is irrigation, which is indispensable to insure a crop of rice, the main staple of food among the people. Under the 

influence of these powerful motives, the government has been, for some 

years, and- is -now~ actively" eifgagea in"ou1ld1ng-canals . and in extending 

irrigation on a scale that certainly appears, at first glance, large but 

which, in comparison with the work to be done, is no more than reasonable. 

The works that are now in course of construction and that are now projected, it is estimated, will cost $175,000,000, and the rate of expenditure 

is now many millions of dollars each year. When we attempt to realize the 

possible results of so great expenditure, it is important to notice that 

prices of labor and of most materials are very much below those ruling in 

our own country. The wages of a skilled laborer are 50 cents per day, and 

of an ordinary laborer 12 cents per day. Earth-excavation may be done for 

5 cents per cubic yard, and masonry from $1.50 to $3 per yard. On the 

other hand, it is well to remark that the constructions are of the most 

permanent character, and of a much more expensive kind than we would be 

likely to adopt in our western plains. 
100 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

The great extent of the country, its topographical features, its enormous population, and the volume of its large rivers, permit and require 

canals of length and section surpassing beyond all comparison any to be 

found elsewhere, unless it be in the single instance of the Imperial Canal 

in China. 

The Ganges Canal is, indeed, an artificial river. It is intended to 

carry nearly 7,000 cubic feet of water per second. Its depth is I 0 feet, 

and its width 170 feet in its upper part. Including its principal 

branches, it is nine hundred miles in length, and it is intended to 

irrigate 1,500,000 acres of land, an extent equal to that watered by the 

whole system of canals in Lombardy and Piedmont. Its length much exceeds 

the aggregate of the irrigation-lines in Lombardy and Egypt combined. It 

is the unrivaled instance of modern times. Its original capital cost was 

about $12,000,000, not including interest or other charges. In the United 

States the same work would cost $100,000,000. 

The Ganges Canal is arranged for navigation as well as for irrigation. 

This circumstance, and others, relating to the difficulties of the 

country, and to its populous condition, which rendered necessary a great 

number of bridges, account for its cost, which, with the low prices ruling 

in India, is, however, regarded as excessive. Its aqueducts and 

embankments are necessarily on a very large scale, and it presents many 

points of interesting study in an engineering point of view. Some of these 

are the proper slope of the bed, which at first was, and, although 

improved, is still too great; the means for reducing this slope by 

overfalls; and the different arrangements to effect the result. 

We learn from its history the prime necessity of giving the proper 

velocity to the water, and of the disastrous results that may follow from 

the velocity being too great or too small. Reference will be made to this 

point again in the statistics of the canal. 

This canal is purely the work of the English; it was projected and 

built by the government. 

The other canals of importance in the northwest provinces and of the 

Punjab are the Eastern Jumna, the Western Jumna, and the Bari Doab Canals, 

carrying from two to three thousand cubic feet of water per second, and 

each several hundred miles in length.30 

Passing from Northern to Southern India, we find in the deltas of the 

Cauvery, the Godavery, and the Kistna Rivers, a comprehensive system of 

canals, no one of which, indeed, can compare in length or in dimensions 

with those just named, but which, taken together, irrigate large areas in 

their respective deltas. 

The map of the Cauvery Delta, herewith attached, will illustrate better than a verbal description the arrangement of the canals and the system 

of irrigation. These delta-systems were not the earliest of the works 

restored and extended by the English, but they have been the most successful. They have enriched people and state alike. They have placed declining 

districts in a condition of the highest prosperity, and they have produced 

this result in a remarkably short time. 

The slow development of irrigation, so noticeable generally on other 

canals, is wanting here. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 101 

The flowing water was in demand and was brought into use at once. The 

reasons for this remarkable success were the facts that the people were 

familiar with irrigation, and that from the conditions of the climate 

there could be no successful cultivation without irrigation, and, further, 

that by a conjuction of fortunate circumstances the works were very cheaply provided. 

These systems form the staple of the argument for the extension of 

this mode of cultivation in other parts of the country. 

The limits of this meagre review of the Indian system will permit us 

only to refer by name to some of the other important canals recently completed or in course of construction. These are the Soonsekala and Bellairy 

Canals from the Toombuddra River, three hundred and fifty miles long; the 

Saone,31 just completed, from the river of the same name, to carry 

4,500 cubic feet per second, with a capacity to irrigate about 1,000,000 

acres; the Sirhind Canal, from the Sutlej River,32 to cost 

$15,000,000; the Lower Ganges Canal, to carry 6,000 cubic feet per second; 

the Orissa Canal,33 built by the East India Irrigation Company, all 

of which are very large enterprises, some of them rivaling the Ganges 

Canal in magnitude and importance. We may add to these the Agra Canal from 

the Jumna, and the Eastern Ganges Canal. There are other new works and 

extensions of existing systems to which it is not necessary to allude by 

name. 

The government has built or restored, or is in the act of building, 

all of these canals but two, and it now owns all except one. 

The history of private enterprise in this connection will 

elsewhere. Its efforts thus far have been unsuccessful, and there 

be no prospect that it desires or that it will be permitted to 

any further enterprise of this character. 

be given 

seems to 

undertake 

This for the present may end our sketch of the channel-system, and we 

may pass to the notice of another conspicuous feature in Indian agriculture, namely, irrigation from tanks, or, to use our own more familiar 

term, from reservoirs. 

One cannot restrain surprise when he first looks upon a map of the 

Madras provinces, and notices the number and distribution of these tanks. 

They appear- to occupy nearly as much land as remains to be· cultivatea.--rrf 

fourteen districts of the Madras presidency, the English found, in better 

or worse condition of preservation, fifty-three thousand tanks, estimated 

by Col. Baird Smith to have 30,000 miles of embankment and 300,000 separate masonry works, consisting of sluices and waste-weirs. These tanks 

afford a revenue of $7,500,000. How many more there are in India it is 

probable no one knows. We do know that the numbers above given are found 

in a relatively small area. 

These tanks are, it is believed, all, or nearly all, of native origin, 

and the dates of their construction remain in uncertainty. It is known 

that some have been in existence for many hundred years. 

The English have repaired many of these works, but so far as is known 

they have not built them, at least to any great extent. 

Recently there have been plans for building new or restoring old tanks 

on a large scale. 
102 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

Tanks are necessary adjuncts to a system of irrigation which aspires 

to use a very large portion of the water in a country where heavy freshets 

prevail, or where the rains fall in a short interval, for they store the 

surplus waters. 

In size tanks vary greatly. The Ponairy tank in Trichinipoly34 

had an embankment of thirty miles in length and a storage-area of about 

seventy square miles. The Veevanum tank, which is shown on the map of the 

Cauvery Delta, has an embankment of twelve miles in length and an area of 

over thirty square miles. 

A reference to the details of the Mudduk Masoor tank on the river 

Choardy may serve to give us some sort of conception of the labors undertaken by the natives four hundred years ago to secure a supply of water 

for cultivation. 

It is interesting, too, in an engineering point of view, to notice the 

height of the dam; for it has been claimed by high authority that it is 

impossible to build safely earthen dams approaching this one in height. 

The dam, or bund, as it is called in India, bridges a narrow 

gorge, its extremities resting on high mountains on either side. Its 

length on top is 550 yards. Its interior slope varies from 2 1/2 to 3 base 

for 1 in altitude. This slope was revetted with large stones laid dry. The 

greatest height of the dam is 108 feet and the base in its broadest part 

is 1,100 feet; it is made of red earth containing considerable gravel. It 

possessed no waste-weir, and this fact is supposed to account for its 

ruin. The depth of water in the tank is believed to have been from 90 to 

95 feet, which would give a storage-area of forty square miles, and 

contents of 1,400,000,000 cubic yards of water. Its drainage-basin is 

about five hundred square miles. 

Most of these tanks are, of course, not nearly so large, and those on 

the plains are generally shallow, having a depth of 6 feet and up to · 10 

feet. They were generally placed where the accidents of the ground favored 

an economical storage. In some cases they were supplied directly from the 

natural drainage; in other cases they were filled by artificial channels 

which brought to them the flood-waters of the rivers to be stored for 

times of need. 

The dam is usually of earth and built in ~t-he ~n-ative way, that is, the 

earth was carried in baskets and distributed in layers of 6 to 8 inches in 

thickness, which were packed by the feet of the carriers passing to and 

fro; no clay puddling was used, the silt, carried by the infiltrating 

water, serving to render the dam finally water-tight. They were provided 

with masonry sluices to deliver water into the channels which irrigated 

the land below. 

The interior slope was usually revetted with stones. They were generally provided with masonry waste-weirs, which stopped several feet short of 

the height of the earthen dam. In the crest of the weir were placed stone 

posts 4 or 5 feet high, which permitted the easy construction of a light 

dam of brush or straw to hold the water up as high as possible. If a flood 

came, this temporary dam, when not previously removed, gave way easily and 

the flood-water took its course over the weir. 

From various causes, their numbers are becoming less; some are filled 

by silt; others are breached from want of attention and repair. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 108 

The extension of the channel-system through the tank-districts supersedes the tank-irrigation by degrees. 

The fertilizing silt, brought from the mountains, gives the running 

water a value superior to that stored in tanks, where the matter in suspension is deposited. On the other hand, by reason of this deposit in 

tank-beds, they are classed, where dry, as among the most fertile lands of 

India. 

A map of a small district in the Madras presidency is attached which 

may serve to give some conception of the numbers and average areas of 

these reservoirs. 

Among the irrigation-facilities not yet noticed are what are termed 

inundation-canals. These differ from the class first noticed, which may, 

with some allowance, be called perennial, in the fact that they only carry 

water from the rivers in seasons of high freshets. The beds are on a higher level than those of the perennial canals. The season of (reshets is so 

unequal, and the supply of water is so precarious, that irrigation by 

inundation-canals becomes peculiarly uncertain, even when the water carried by them is stored in reservoirs. The irrigation in Egypt is of this 

character. 

These canals are of native origin. As a rule, they have no headworks, and they are peculiarly liable to injury from breaches, by floods, 

and by silt deposit. 

Some of the principal canals of this character are taken from the 

Indus and the Sutlej Rivers. 

Wells afford another source of supply, from which an unknown acreage 

of very large extent is watered. These wells are generally square pits 

lined with masonry, from a few feet to 60 feet in depth, and from each 

three to ten acres are irrigated. 

The details of the ratsmg and distribution of the water are very 

curious and interesting, but for our purposes we may dismiss them with the 

remark that they indicate a patient, painstaking population of which the 

people of our own western country afford few examples. This system may 

impress us with the value of water, but otherwise it has no lesson for us. 

The water in these wells rises to a higher level where the canal 

):)asses near them, a fact which may be noticed in California; 

The cost of irrigation from wells in some cases is stated to be as 

much as $7.50 per acre each season. 

The canals afford better water so much more cheaply that the wellsupply loses its importance. The change to channel irrigation is, however, 

slow, as the history of the various canals hereafter to be alluded to will 

show. 

This completes the outline of the modes of irrigation-supply existing 

in India. We do not find any statement of land irrigated nor of the relative proportions irrigated from the various sources. Nor is it important 

that we should be able to state this amount with even an approach to accuracy. 

The main conclusions are plain that canal-irrigation is considered to 

be the most economical and the most valuable, and that every effort is 

made to replace the old methods by the new, and that· as yet the work has 

only been begun. 
104 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

British India contains 800,000 square miles and a population of 

200,000,000, and but a small proportion of the land is yet under this mode 

of cultivation. 

The English appear as restorers and promoters of irrigation, and not 

as its originators. 

The service they render is to place the system under sound principles 

of construction. The native system, like all the earlier systems of the 

world, was defective in alignment and expensive in repairs. 

The English are introducing proper slopes and proper velocities, and 

are making the arrangements permanent, where before they were temporary. 

The construction of permanent dams in the sandy beds of the rivers was 

beyond the native skill. They were compelled to rely upon temporary 

structures, generally banks of sand, which were swept away by the annually 

recurring floods. To protect the canals from the destructive action of 

floods, the natives closed the head by a temporary bank, to be removed 

when the flood had passed. The English have provided permanent headworks, arranged with sluices, by which the floods may be controlled. The 

drainage, which was little considered by the natives and which yet remains 

in need of correction in some places, is now attended to, and regulations 

are provided to guard against the sanitary evils which follow upon the 

presence of stagnant pools in hot countries. 

Silt is a formidable enemy in India. The rivers in floods come down 

laden with particles of soil in suspension. The Ganges in flood has in 

suspension one fifteen-hundredth of its bulk. The Ganges Canal, flowing 

6,000 cubic feet, therefore receives for a time 4 cubic feet a second, or 

nearly 13,000 cubic yards of silt in a day. 

The great problem is to dispose of these large quantities. When the 

velocity is slackened, as it must be in a canal, for generally the banks 

and beds cannot sustain so great a velocity as the river maintains, the 

silt begins to make deposits. Then, again, if the silt is of a fertilizing 

character, it is very desirable to transport it in suspension to the irrigated land to assure its fertility. 

Again, the water of the river in its lower stages may contain very 

little silt, and a velocity which silt-laden water may carry with safety 

through earthen beds and slopes becomes under the changed-- condition erosive and produces great lllJUry. So the conditions may contradict themselves, as, indeed, they actually do in the Ganges Canal. 

The question of the proper velocity to be given may thus not admit of 

positive solution in some cases; but when the solution is possible, its 

importance cannot be overestimated. Upon this point may hinge the success 

or failure of the canal. 

If the velocity be too great, it may involve heavy expenditures for 

repairs, which finally may become so burdensome that the canal has to be 

lined with masonry, as is the case on the canal of Caluso and others in 

Italy; or, if the velocity be too low, the canal-section has to be increased to carry the requisite quantity of water, thus entailing increased 

expense, and perhaps the canal must be closed once or twice a year for 

clearance, at a large outlay. 

The canals in India show great differences in the cost of repairs. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 105 

In some cases the canal-section at its head for a mile or so is made 

wider than the general section to insure the deposit in this part, so that 

when clearance has to be made it is done at one place rather than all 

along the line. Then, too, the river at the head of the canal may silt up 

to the level of the crest of the dam, and the canal-supply may thus be cut 

off. This is generally provided for by placing a number of sluices in the 

dam or adjoining it, so arranged as to scour out a channel above and leave 

the canal-head clear. 

For clearance of flood-water in the canal, waste weirs are sometimes 

placed in its banks connecting with natural channels, which shall carry 

off the surplus water. 

DRAINAGE. 

Standing pools of water as connected with irrigation are, of course, 

the result of defective drainage, but they may be produced in different 

ways or proceed from different causes. In India these cases occur when an 

embankment is carried across a natural channel, leaving no exit for the 

water collected above. Such a construction, it is plain, endangers the 

safety of the canal. Again, there is leakage through the pervious beds and 

banks, and when the canal is carried 20 or 30 feet above the ground, as is 

the case in the Ganges Canal, this leakage may be considerable. 

Another source is careless practice in distributing the water, and in 

not providing for its escape after it has done its duty. There is plain 

loss to the canal in all of these cases, and, worse than this, the sanitary condition of the neighborhood becomes unfavorable. 

The rice-cultivation, which, in a certain sense, involves the opposite 

of drainage, is too well known to be productive of miasmatic diseases, in 

all parts of the world, to deserve more than a reference here. 

We know what to expect of rice-fields, but there is danger that wheatfields may prove no mean rivals of rice-fields in unhealthfulness. It 

costs money to secure good drainage; and if this fact is no reason why 

there ought not to be good drainage, it certainly accounts, in common with 

ignorance, for its absence in many cases. 

It has·-been thought by many that the 'itHtoductio]f of a--syslencor sen:--: 

ing water by the cubic foot instead of making a definite charge per acre 

irrigated would, by making it to the interest of the cultivator to use the 

water economically, put an end both to waste and to part of the evils of 

bad drainage. 

The same crop on different soils requires different quantities of 

water, while there is equal variety in the amount required by different 

crops on the same soil. This latter difference is recognized in India, the 

charges depending on the character of the crop; the sugar-cane, for instance, pays about $3, while cereals pay about one-fourth as much, but no 

discrimination is made either for the receptiveness of the soil or for 

care and economy on the part of the irrigator. 

It certainly seems to be a reasonable proposition that water should be 

sold, as all other articles of commerce are sold, by measure; but the 

difficulties attending its measurement under different and ever-varying 

heads, and through varying dimensions and shapes of outlets, and more than 
106 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

this, the ignorance and susptctous character of the cultivators, have thus 

far been able to defeat the establishment of such a system. 

It may well be considered whether such a system ought not to be ingrafted upon the irrigation of California in its infancy, where the people 

are in some degree familiar with the measurement of water by the miner's 

inch, and where their superior intelligence ought to be equal to the comprehension of its justice, and of the favorable sanitary results it 

promises to secure. If, however, this mode of measurement cannot be 

established at once, we may be doubtful of its later success. 

The new canals in India generally combine navigation with irrigation. 

It may be remarked that in the abstract those objects conflict. The 

irrigation-canal ought to carry water at a high velocity, as high as its 

bed and banks will permit. The navigation-canal ought to have little or no 

velocity. Where the soil is light, the velocity of the irrigation-canals 

may of necessity be so low as to permit navigation at little or no additional expense. The case is one to be determined by attendant circumstances of facility of communication and expense, and no absolute rule can 

be laid down. 

A canal from Tulare Lake, for instance, to irrigate the west side of 

the valley, would necessarily have a low grade in order to insure a command over the maximum quantity of land. The velocity would be small, and 

navigation would be practicable as well as desirable. 

PRIMARY DITCHES. 

It is important for the success of the canal that the primary ditches 

should be laid out on the proper lines. This line may not be the one desired by any particular cultivator. The considerations that should govern 

its location are mainly topographical and general. 

To insure a good location and an economical distribution of the water, 

it seems essential that the owners of the canal should mark them out even 

if they do not build them. 

It is also regarded as conducive to economy and good drainage that 

irrigation shoQld oQ1. Jle.. __ allowecL directly .from the canal, but only from 

the primary or secondary ditches. 

It is to other countries more nearly assimilated to our own institutions and modes of civilization than is India that we must look for an 

administration-system that shall fit our condition, if, indeed, any such 

system can be found. In India, the government does everything and the , .. 

people do nothing in the management of the canal-system. On the other 

hand, in our country we expect the people to do everything and the Government nothing. There, all power and authority are in the hands of the officials, whose range extends to the merest details. This state of affairs is 

much lamented by intelligent observers, but in the present condition of 

the people any other system is impossible. We shall find in Italy and 

Spain that the principles of self -administration, and, in some degree, of 

self-government, have existed in irrigation-associations for years, and in 

some cases for ages. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 107 

Americans will doubtless find in this kind of administration something 

congenial with their opinions, and perhaps they may discover in it the 

germ of their own modified system of the future. 

We may terminate this review of Indian systems with the following 

observations from the pen of an intelligent observer and critic, well 

informed in the history and experience of irrigation: 

Statistical details and magisterial experience show 

clearly that where irrigation, with its pleasant train of 

consequences, is introduced, crime diminishes, plenty and 

security prove the best policemen, lawless habits yield to 

their genial influences, and men who were the Ishmaelites of 

society fall without force or constraint into the ranks of 

the great army of industry. 

STATISTICS OF CANALS IN INDIA. 

CANALS IN THE PUNJAB. 

Western Jumna Canal. 

This canal was built in the fourteenth century by the Mogul Emperor 

and was restored by the English about 1820. In 1871 the capital account 

stood at $1,381,000, leaving out the interest and charges which had accumulated against the enterprise during the years when its receipts did not 

defray its expenses. It required fourteen years to work up to its 

expenses. It irrigated, in 187 I, 444,385 acres; the capital cost per acre 

being something over $3. Its length is over four hundred miles. It carries 

from 1,800 to 2,200 cubic feet of water per second. The maximum water-rate 

per acre is $2.50; the minimum 67 cents, the average being $1.22 per acre. 

The cost of maintenance in 1871 was 46 cents per acre. The profit for the 

year was 26 per cent. The government reaps additional profit from 

increased tax on lands. The principal crops are sugar, rice, cotton, and 

wheat. One cubic foot per second irrigates in ·thC'":'·-summe1' -+02 acres and-· in 

the winter I 14, making a total of 216 acres. The rain-fall near head of 

canal in 1871 was 70 inches and at the lower end about 1 I inches. 

The Bari Doab Canal. 

This canal was built by the English, and opened about 1860. To 1871 it 

had cost $6,297,600, to which should be added for interest and deficit, in 

paying expenses, $1,388,672, making a total cost of $7,686,272. It irrigated, in 187 I, 287,070 acres. The canal has carried 2,300 cubic feet per 

second, but in low water it may come to 1,300 feet, and has capacity to 

irrigate about 500,000 acres. When it attains this extent of irrigation, 

the capital cost per acre will be about $15; the maximum charge for water 

per acre, $2.94; the minimum charge for water per acre, 75 cents; the 

average gross income per acre irrigated, $1.17; cost of maintenance, 65 

cents per acre, being 56 per cent profit on original capital in 1871; and 
108 

in 1872, 2.68 per cent., 

rates are the same for 

distri bu ting-di tches about 

acres per foot a second; 

total, 152 acres. 

ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

and, including land-tax, 4 2/3 per cent., which 

the next preceding year; repairs of principal 

$8 per acre. It irrigates in hot weather 41 

in cold weather, Ill acres per foot a second; 

OTHER IRRIGATION-WORKS IN THE PUNJAB. 

Delhi and Gargaon Works. 

These works have cost $92,000, and they irrigated in 1871 about 8,000 

acres. They were worked at a loss of over $3,000, and in the previous year 

the loss was about $7,000. If the enhancement of the land-revenue be included, the profit is said to be about 10 per cent. 

Lower Sutlej and Chenab Inundation Canals. 

These are old Mohammedan works, which carry water only during the 

prevalence of freshets. The period of freshet fluctuates very much, and 

irrigation is peculiarly uncertain. Capital expended, $56,000. Expenses 

exceed direct revenue to the extent of 33 per cent. of capital; acres 

irrigated, 188,000. 

Upper Sutlej Canals. 

These canals are of the same character as those last mentioned. They 

have cost $282,000. Deficit, 1871 and 1872, $50,000, 16 per cent. of capital; 87,000 acres irrigated. These inundation-canals in all are six hundred and fifty miles in length. The repairs upon them are enormous. In the 

last year 2,300,000 cubic yards of silt had to be taken from them. 

Indus Inundation-Canals. 

These are old native works over five hundred miles in length; cost, 

$192,569; loss in 1871---and- 1872 about $50,000, over 25 per cent. of capital; loss previous year, 6 per cent; irrigate 144,000 acres. 

CANALS IN THE NORTHWEST PROVINCES. 

The Ganges Canal. 

This canal was begun in 1842 and opened in 1856. In the year 1860-'61 

it first paid its expenses; 1862-'63, deficit of $50,000; 1863-'64, paid I 

per cent. profit; 1864-'65, paid less than 1 per cent.; 1865-'66, paid 

2.83 per cent.; 1866-'67, paid 3 1/2 per cent.; 1867-'68, paid 2.44 per 

cent.; 1868-'69, paid 7.29 per cent.; 1869-'70, paid 4.69 per cent. At the 

end of 1870 this canal had cost $12,038,305. The deficit of revenue and 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 109 

the interest on the capital had accumulated a further charge, variously 

stated, the minimum being $4,000,000, the maximum more than $5,000,000. 

This added makes the cost of the canal in 1871 from 16,000,000 to 

$17,000,000, and as the profits above given are calculated only on the 

paid-up capital, the rates should be diminished in a corresponding ratio. 

In 

acres; 

acres; 

acres; 

acres. 

1861-'62, 

1863-'64, 

1865-'66, 

1868-'69, 

irrigated 

irrigated 

irrigated 

irrigated 

Progress of irrigation. 

372,322 

449,788 

573,129 

1,441,918 

acres; 

acres; 

acres; 

acres; 

1862-'63, 

1864-'65, 

1866-'67, 

1869-'70, 

irrigated 

irrigated 

irrigated 

irrigated 

205,605 

566,517 

634,734 

1,089,673 

Sugar-cane, $2.20 per acre; 12 per cent. of land pays this rate. Gardens, rice, $1.25 per acre; 20 per cent. of land. pays this rate. Indigo, 

cotton, &c., 80 cents per acre; 51 per cent. of land pays this rate. 

Grains, 60 cents. per acre; 17 per cent. of land pays this rate. 

Giving mean rate of $1.02 per acre. 

In 1866 and 1867 average gross revenue per acre irrigated, $1.21; cost 

of maintenance per acre, 50 per cent., or 61 cents. It required ten years 

for this canal to reach 30 per cent. of its probable ultimate irrigation. 

The Eastern Jumna, which now pays a handsome profit, took thirty years to 

reach the same condition. 

EASTERN JUMN A CANAL. 

This is a canal taken from the river Jumna. It was an old native work, 

which had fallen out of repair, and it was restored by the English and 

opened in January, 1830. It did not pay its expenses until the year 1838; 

the deficit up to that time being about $130,000. In 1839, 1841, and 1844 

it ran largely behind its expenses. In 1845, 1846, and 1847 its income was 

insignificant; including 1847, and counting from its opening, it was behind its working expenses $141,000, to say no~hing of interest on its 

capital cost and of previous defiCits. In 1856 it was again behind 

$20,000. In 1857 and 1858 deficit were $3,230, and it was not until 1865 

that its profits caught up with charges of interest and maintenance. In 

1867 its capital was $876,030, and it irrigated 239,555 acres. The capital 

cost was at this time $3.70 per acre. It paid this year a revenue of 25 

per cent., and the state was further benefited, indirectly, by increase of 

land-assessment. The average income .per acre irrigated was $1.12; cost of 

maintenance, 25 cents, being 22 per cent. 

DHOON CANALS. 

Capital expended to end of 1865, $266,850. Worked at a loss ever since 

1841. Accumulation of charges and interest to 1865, $129,770. In 1866 and 

1867 Dhoon paid a profit of 2 3/4 per cent. on original capital, and irrigated 8,852 acres. Capital cost per acre irrigated, about $30. 
110 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

The Rohilcund Canals35 irrigate about 100,000 acres; in some 

without interest, 

at a loss. The 

years, often very much less. The cost of these canals, 

is about $170,000. They have generally been worked 

water-tax is only about 25 cents per acre. 

Agra Irrigation Works36 cost over $100,000, and have in some 

years not paid their expenses, while in other years they have returned an 

insignificant income. Since 1864 they have been closed for sanitary 

reasons. 

GENERAL REMARKS. 

The canals and irrigation works in the northwest provinces, comprising 

Ganges, Eastern Jumna, Dhoon, and minor works, had cost, at the end of 

1869, $13,503,525; add interest and charges, $4,589,000, giving a total of 

$18,092,525; net revenue 1869-'70, $683,515, being about 5 per cent. on 

the capital alone, and less than 4 per cent., including capital, 

accumulated interest, and charges. If we include the enhanced land-tax due 

to irrigation, the revenue is considerably increased. The amount of 

increased tax to be estimated as due to irrigation cannot be ascertained 

with precision, but it is probably sufficient, when added to the direct 

revenue to make a fair return on the capital invested. Nevertheless, the 

financial aspect of these enterprises, taken as a whole, is not at present 

satisfactory. The slow development of irrigation is certainly a remarkable 

feature in their history; it is sufficient alone to ruin financially an 

enterprise of this· character. No joint-stock company could exist on such a 

basis; none could be formed to build a canal which, when finished could 

not for five or ten years pay its expenses, and from which no profitable 

return could be expected for twenty or thirty years. Yet it deserves to be 

remarked that the value of these properties increases from year to year, 

and that the time must come when they will be very valuable. It may also 

be noticed that an enterprise of this kind may, be reason of increase in 

land-tax, be profitable to the government when it would be disastrous to a 

joint-stock company. 

In India the government is really the landlord, a circumstance which 

makes the obligation of irrigating the country pec·uliarly strong, and· 

which, at the same time, insures a share of profit which could not inure 

to a private company. The cost of maintenance of the canals when built and 

in full operation deserves to be remarked. This ranges from 56 per cent. 

of gross receipts on the Bari Doab, 50 per cent. on the Ganges, 37 per 

cent. on the Western Jumna, to 22 per cent. on the Eastern Jumna. In this 

item are included all expenses of salaries, of repairs, and of contingencies. It is the item of repairs which it is important to notice, for the 

repairs may alone eat up all the profits, as indeed they actually do in 

the inundation-canals of the Sutlej and Indus. The repairs on the Bari 

Doab Canal are 33 per cent. of the whole expense of maintenance, whereas 

they are but 15 per cent. on the Western Jumna. 

In the Ganges Canal the expenses on this account have been enormous, 

amounting almost to a remodeling of the work. Both in the Bari Doab and 

the Ganges Canals these repairs are stated to be necessary, on account of 

the faulty original construction, owing to which great erosion of the beds 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 111 

and banks occurs in some places and large deposits are made in other 

places. This is alluded to here merely to show that a correct adjustment 

of dimensions, slope, and mode of construction has a direct relation to 

the financial state of these enterprises. 

CHANNEL-IRRIGATION IN THE DELTAS OF RIVERS IN THE MADRAS 

PROVINCES. 

The works in the deltas of the Cauvery, Godavery, and the Kistna Rivers87 have been the most remunerative in India; but some explanation 

of the circumstances attending the development of irrigation is necessary 

for even an incomplete comprehension of the case. Different authorities 

estimate returns from these works so variously that we may well despair of 

getting any clear knowledge. 

First, in the Cauvery delta there have been irrigation-works from the 

dawn of history. A dam made of. stones of moderate dimensions, set in clay, 

is still in existence, which has stood sixteen hundred years, and which is 

yet an important part of the system. Many channels were cut from the 

river-bank, which were supplied by the aid of temporary dams, and an extensive system of channel-irrigation has existed for ages. 

The English came into possession of Tanjore in 1801, and about thirty 

years afterward attempts were made to correct some evils which had been 

growing in magnitude, and which affected the prosperity of the district 

and even threatened to destroy it. 

The Cauvery River on entering the delta is divided into two channels, 

one called the Cauvery, and the other the Coleroon. From the Cauvery 

505,000 acres of rice-land were irrigated, which required a supply of 

12,600 cubic feet per second; while from the Coleroon 165,000 acres were 

watered, requiring 4,125 cubic feet per second. Now, the trouble was this, 

namely, that the Cauvery in 1833 could supply but 9,375 feet, while the 

Coleroon had 7,500 feet. The Coleroon had too much water, the Cauvery, too 

little, the gross amount, however, being equal to the duty required of 

both channels. Moreover, there was considerable danger that the whole 

river would go to the Coleroon, and leave the Cauvery district without 

water. 

The English began to regulate the rivers, first, by building a dam 

across the Coleroon adjusted in height to give the Cauvery the needed 

increment of supply. After a time, the Cauvery, instead of not getting 

enough water, got too much, and there was danger that the whole river 

would go to the Cauvery, to the destruction of the lands depending on both 

streams. This danger was averted by a dam across the Cauvery, and after 

eight or ten years the engineers were able to control both rivers, and to 

distribute the water as was required. This was accomplished in 1845. 

The whole story is very interesting and instructive, and it is well 

told by Col. Baird Smith. 

The English, therefore, did not build the system of canals shown on 

the map of the Cauvery Delta. They, however, saved them from ruin, and 

improved them, and thereby assured the prosperity of the district. When, 

therefore, we hear of the profits of irrigation in this delta being so 

great, we should reflect that the profits paid are on the capital expended 
112 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

to save, and in some cases to restore, old works, and not to build them. 

This district is termed the Lombardy of India. 

Col. Baird Smith estimates the profits in 1853 to be 23 per cent.; 

others place them much higher. The fluctuations of the crops, which, 

before these operations, were as much as 50 per cent., have since been 

quite insignificant. In these provinces the government-tax is in the form 

of a percentage of the products. The rate m this district is two-fifths 

of the gross products, which includes land and water tax, and which 

certainly appears very high. 

We cannot avoid having respect for the ancient rulers of India when we 

reflect upon the intelligence displayed in the arrangement of the system 

of canals in the Cauvery Delta. 

The Kistna Delta. 

The irrigation of the Kistna Delta was effected by the English, who 

were moved to undertake it by the terrible famine in Guntoor, already 

referred to. These works are comparatively recent, having been commenced 

in 1852. The profits are estimated at 15 per cent. 

The Godavery Delta. 

The Godavery Irrigation Works are intended to irrigate about 800,000 

acres. They were constructed by the English, beginning in 184 7; and in 

1862 and 1863 the returns were estimated to be 47 per cent. on the capital 

expended. 

It has already been stated that the circumstances of these delta-works 

were peculiarly favorable. The rivers run on the crest of the alluvial 

deposits they have themselves made, and their banks are from 6 to 20 feet 

above the land to be irrigated. This circumstance gives the canals command 

of the land at once. There were many old channels in these deltas, which 

were used to convey the water, which saved the construction of new works; 

and when new channels were needed they were easily excavated in the 

alluvial soil. 

The delta-works on these three rivers, in all, irrigate about 

1,500,000 acres of land. The cultivation is generally in rice, 40 acres of 

which require a cubic foot per second. The quantity of water used would be 

sufficient to irrigate fully five times as much land in cereals. 

Among the projects sanctioned by the government, which are now in 

course of execution, are large extensions of irrigation-works in each of 

these deltas. 

From the official report of the government of 

has just been received, we make the following 

present financial condition of the irrigation-works 

"best information available:" 

India for 1873, which 

extracts, showing the 

as estimated from the 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 

Madras, (30 works only) 

Bombay, including Sindh 

Bengal 

Northwestern provinces 

Punjab 

Sindh 

Total*** 

Capital account 

to the end of 

1871-'72. 

*$6,535,000 

* 3,990,000 

10,815,000 

16,655,000 

11,300,000 

* 4.000.000 

53,295,000 

* Amounts not known; these are approximate sums. 

Net income as 

per latest information. 

$1,835,000 

7,500 

** 112,500 

@ 830,000 

@@940,000 

950.000 

4,450,000 

** Loss. A capital of $10,000,000 in Bengal nets a loss of $112,500. 

@ Includes increase of land-revenue due to the canals of $220,000. 

@@ Includes increase of land-revenue due to the canals of $490,000. 

*** Pounds sterling converted at $5. 

This report states--

That so far as existing information goes, the net results 

of the entire outlay on irrigation-works, up to the year 

1872-'73, is a return of $2,068,200 per annum above the 

interest, at 4 per cent., on the first cost of the works. 

113 

We may remark, in regard to this claim, first, that the government is 

receiving a very large portion of this revenue from works which it never 

built, but to which it fell heir, and of which the cost does not enter the 

capital account; secondly, the deficits of working expenses on many of 

these works ··for years, and · the interest on these deficits, are not 

included in these capital accounts. 

In further considering the prospects of works of this character for 

six years in advance, the report states: 

No profits have been calculated from any of the new works 

within the period embraced in the forecast. 

It is found by experience that, as a rule, the growth of 

irrigation from new canals is slow, and in the first few 

years the canals hardly pay working expenses. 

The only source of increased income to be reckoned, 

therefore, is the growth of the returns from the canals 

already working. 
114 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

It has been found from experience that returns continue 

to grow long after the works are apparently in full use. 

This growth is largely due to increasing economy in the use and management of the water, which permits the cultivation of a larger area with the 

same amount of water. 

The increase of net revenue for the next five years it is estimated 

will be $100,000 for each year. 

The new works sanctioned by the government, which are now in progress, 

are estimated to cost $115,000,000, and the estimated yearly expenditure 

from loans on this account runs from $5,000,000 to $8,000,000 for the next 

six years. 

Other works are contemplated, and are in course of survey and examination, which are not included in the statement given above. 

It further appears from this report that the Ganges Canal irrigated in 

the last year but 684,139 acres; that its capital account is now 

$13,000,000; and that the direct returns for the past year were 2 1/3 per 

cent. on this expenditure; that the capital account of the Eastern Jumna 

Canal is now $1,030,000; that its acreage last year was 184,153, and its 

direct returns were 16 3/4 per cent. on the invested capital. These returns are less favorable than those which we have already given for the 

preceding year. No explanation for this difference is known to us, but it 

is probable that the rain-fall was more favorable to the cultivators than 

was the case in the two preceding years, and hence that there was not so 

great a necessity for irrigation. 

A large portion of the cultivation in these districts is devoted to 

cereals, and in some seasons the rain-fall is such that these crops do not 

require irrigation. 

The facts contained in this last official report add further evidence 

in support of the conclusions, resulting from our previous inquiry, and 

confirm the opm10n that, except in particular and favorable instances, 

the irrigation-works of India are not such investments of capital as private companies would desire to make. It does not follow from this proposition that it is not good financial policy for the government to extend 

these works. The government has indirect sources- of revenue--depending upon 

the production of the country, which may more than make up for direct 

deficits. This, at least, is the opinion of the government of India. 

PRIVATE CANALS IN INDIA. 

Under the English supremacy, the native works of irrigation remained, 

as before, the property of the government, which undertook to keep them in 

repair, to administer them, and to receive their revenues. The results of 

irrigation have always appeared so favorable to the Indian government that 

it has endeavored in every way to extend their range and increase their 

facilities. In order to hasten the work, after very full discussion, it 

was decided to call in the aid of private capital. To this course there 

were many objections. It was generally held that the property in water 

could not safely be intrusted to private hands; that the ignorant cultivators would, without the intervention of the government, be helpless 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 115 

against a powerful corporation; and that any supervision by the government, to be effectual in protecting the cultivators, would interfere with 

the freedom of the enterprise, and, therefore, with its prosperity and 

success. At this time it was thought by the government that the profits of 

irrigation were great and immediate, and that they should inure to the 

government and not to a corporation. On the other hand, the demands upon 

India for railways and other improvements were so great, and its resources 

so inadequate, that it appeared indispensable to call in private aid, if 

the development of irrigation was to be undertaken on an extensive scale. 

So it was determined to make the experiment of private irrigation; and in 

1858 an agreement was entered into with the Madras Irrigation Company to 

build a canal, estimated to cost $5,000,000, and upon this sum the government guaranteed an income of 5 per cent. The system of guarantee had been 

the rule with the government for some years in constructing the lines of 

railways. The government was to divide all profits above 12 per cent. The 

other conditions of the agreement were substantially the same as those yet 

to be mentioned in the contract with the East India Irrigation Company for 

the construction of a canal in Orissa. The history of the Madras Company's 

enterprise is briefly this: The company raised and expended $5,000,000. 

They found that a considerable sum would yet be required to complete their 

works. They applied to the government for guarantee on an increase of 

capital. The government declined to grant further guarantee, and the 

company was unable to raise any more funds. The government under these 

circumstances felt obliged to give further assistance, which it did by 

lending the company $3,000,000, to be repaid from the profits of irrigation. In 1872 the government had paid $2,559,260 in interest, and had 

expended in all $5,559,260. The company had expended $5,000,000, making 

the total expenditure $10,559,260, to which should be added, for five 

years' interest on $3,000,000 at 5 per cent., $750,000; total cost, 

$11,309,260. The works were commenced in 1859 and completed in 1871. The 

prospect of immediate returns is quite unfavorable. The company expected 

to irrigate in 1872 at least 40,000 acres and perhaps as. much as 100,000 

acres. The rate is $3 per acre. The estimate by the government is not as 

favorable as that entertained by the company. It is worthy of remark that 

--the system of guarantee of interest on the capital removes from --the 

company a great motive for economy. The operations of this company have 

been considered extravagant, and the cost unnecessarily large. 

THE EAST INDIA IRRIGATION COMPANY. 

The Madras Company had hardly made a beginning before the East India 

Company undertook to build a canal in the delta country of Orissa under 

the following conditions: No guarantee of interest by the government; the 

government to give, free of charge, all land required for permanent works; 

when the works are completed, the company shall sell to the government all 

the water that irrigators shall desire to use; that the government shall 

distribute the water, and shall return to the company the net amount received from cultivators, full expenses of distribution and collection of 

water-rates to be deducted from gross receipts; the price of water shall 

be fixed by the government and the company, by arbitrators, two chosen by 

each party, and an umpire selected by the arbitrators in case they fail to 
116 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

agree; the government to have the right to purchase for six months after 

the expiration of the twentieth, thirtieth, fortieth, and fiftieth years 

of occupation, paying the mean market-value of the stock in London for 

three years preceding purchase; the company shall keep their works in good 

repair, and if they fail so to do the government may make the necessary 

repairs, re-imbursing itself from the water-revenue; when the net profits 

exceed 25 per cent., the excess shall be equally shared by the company and 

the government; the works shall be executed under inspection of the government, and the company shall reconstruct any part not approved by the government. 

It appears, from this statement, that the company builds the works and 

keeps them in order. The government acts as the agent of the company, and 

reserves to itself the right to protect the cultivators from inordinate 

charges on the part of the company. 

The company proceeded under this contract to execute an extensive 

system of irrigation, but before long they fell into embarrassment, and 

were unable to raise the means to carry on the work. The government gave 

them assistance from time to time, and finally purchased the works from 

the company before they were completed. 

The famine which occurred in Orissa during the progress of these 

works, by which many hundred thousand persons perished, demanded the 

speedy construction of the canal, and this added to a growing conviction, 

now become settled, that under the peculiar circumstances in India it was 

undesirable that irrigation-works should be intrusted to private parties, 

induced the government to make propositions of purchase to the company, 

which were accepted and the works passed out of its hands. This transfer 

leaves the Madras Company, before mentioned, the only private corporation 

engaged in selling water for irrigation, as least on a large scale. 

All the principal works now in progress or that have been undertaken 

for the past ten years are in the hands of the government. Private enterprise, never heartily engaged in this kind of work, appears now to have 

been compelled to abandon the field. The opinions of the government are 

made clear by the following extracts, viz: 

Minute by his excellency Sir William 

January, 1864, and dispatch of the 

of India, dated August 8, 1864. 

Denison, governor-general of India, 

home government to the government 

These extracts give a fair statement of the views of all the government council of India, and it does not, therefore, seem necessary to quote 

further from the official correspondence on the subject. 

Minute by his excellency Sir William Denison, governor-general 

of India. 

My experience of the working of the Irrigation Company in 

Madras justifies me in asserting that the system which has 

been adopted in dealing with this company is essentially 

faulty, and will lead to every kind of complication; disputes will arise, as indeed they have already arisen, as to 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 

the value of the water, the mode of distribution, the quantity to be given per acre, whether the occupier of land under 

the level of the supply-channel is to be compelled to take 

water, &c., ad infinitum. I see no means of framing the 

clauses of a contract in such a manner as will reconcile the 

rights of the government as proprietor of the water, as 

landlord of the estate, and as protector of the rights of 

its subjects, with the claims of a company whose only object 

is to make as large a profit as it can upon the capital it 

expends. 

In our anxiety a few years ago to introduce capital and 

to hasten the completion of certain works of acknowledged 

utility, we overlooked the difficulties which we were warned 

would arise out of the conjoint action of the government and 

the company in dealing with questions relating to assessment 

of land, I think our experience now is sufficient to justify 

a statement on our part that the system upon which we have 

dealt with the company is not likely to be to our advantage, 

and that we decline altogether to extend it beyond the 

projects which have already been undertaken and commenced, 

viz, that of the Madras Irrigation Company under a partial 

guarantee and the Orissa project; and I should propose to 

word this communication to the company in such a manner as 

to exclude any proposed extension of their undertakings 

under existing contracts. 

There are two modes in which this or similar companies 

should be dealt with. They may act either as contractors for 

the execution of the works, in which case they would not be 

responsible for the plans; or, they may agree to carry out a 

given work for the supply of water to a given district, such 

water to be delivered at points determined by the 

government, and to be paid at a fixed price per 100 cubic 

yards, or for any selected amount of measurement; it will 

then be for the government to determine the quantity it can 

profitably employ at each issue from the canal, and to statx 

the maximum it will pay for under any circumstances, and the 

minimum which the company must be bound to deliver. The 

company should have nothing to do with the profits of the 

application of the water. 

Public works.--Dispatch from the secretary of state to the 

government of India, dated 8th August. (No. 39,) 1864. 

* * * * * * * * 

117 
118 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

2. The plan of intrusting the execution of irrigationworks to the agency of private companies was, as you are 

aware, introduced in 1858 as an experiment. The arguments 

for and against the system were fully considered; and it was 

during the period of financial difficulties, when doubts 

were entertained of the government being able to raise funds 

for the execution, on a grand scale, of works of this character, that it was determined by the home government to avail 

itself of the offer of a private company as an experimental 

measure. 

3. It is now for consideration whether, 

ent state of financial affairs, the system 

should be continued, or whether works of 

as a general rule, in future be carried out 

control of the government. 

under a differthen introduced 

irrigation should, 

under the direct 

4. The experience that has already been had of the 

working of irrigation companies tends to show the 

correctness of the objections to the employment of this 

agency which those opposed to the system entertained, and 

which have been now so forcibly put forward, as well by the 

late governor-general, Lord Elgin, and by Sir William 

Denison, when temporarily acting as governor-general, as by 

Mr. Maine, in his minute of the 30th September last; and it 

appears that however desirable it may be for the government 

to avail itself of the agency of companies in carrying on 

railways and other similar works of public utility, the 

close connection between the interests of the government 

which receives and those of the rigot (farmer) who pays the 

rent of the land, and the intimate relations which are 

thereby created between them, render it very undesirable 

that works of irrigation, and the arrangements connected 

with the return from them, by which those interests and 

relations may be so materially affected, should be in other 

hands than those of the govern.ment. 

* * * * * * 

7. After carefully considering this important subject in 

all its bearings, and the able minutes recorded by the several 

members of your government, I have to signify to you my concurrence in the conclusions at which you have arrived: that the 

state should undertake directly all the irrigation-works that 

it can practically manage in preference to intrusting them to 

private companies; and that when the surplus revenues and 

available balances prove insufficient to supply the requirements of the country, funds, by means of loans, should be 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 

raised; and I shall be prepared to give favorable attention to 

the practical steps you may propose to adopt to give to these 

conclusions. 

8. In the mean time it would seem to be premature to 

inquire what concessions it might in certain contingencies be 

proper to make to private irrigation-companies. 

Undoubtedly, it would be better that such companies 

should be encouraged than that important irrigation-works 

should either not be undertaken at all or should be indefinitely postponed. 

But since it has been determined that your government 

shall at once make arrangements for prosecuting such works to 

the extent of its means, it will be advisable to wait to see 

whether those means may not suffice of themselves before considering on what terms extraneous aid might be obtained. The 

objections to irrigation-companies in India may not be insuperable, but they are sufficiently strong to make it desirable 

that resort should not be had to such companies. 

IRRIGATION IN ITALY. 

119 

Rain-fall and temperature--Mean and maximum temperature--Comparison with 

California--Historical sketch --Canals in Lorn bard y--Ta hula tions--Canals 

in Piedmont--Tabulations--Area irrigated in Piedmont; in Lombardy; 

cost--The Cavour Canal; · agreement; history; details of canal --Ownership of canals--Administration--Associations--Marcite meadows--Measurement of water. 

If California possessed a rain-fall equal in amount, and distributed 

in the same way as it is in Italy, she would not require artificial means 

of water-supply, at least for the staples she now produces. 

The mean annual rain-fall of Lombardy and Piedmont differ little, and 

may be taken at 37 to 38 inches. 

In Piedmont 28 1/2 inches fall in the irrigating-months, from March to 

September inclusive, giving an average of seventy-one rainy days. 

The meteorological facts are contained in the following table, viz: 
120 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

Table showing temperature, rain-fall, and weather during 

the season of irrigation in Piedmont. 

Mean temperature, Rain-fall, Clear Cloudy Rainy 

Fahrenheit, degrees. in inches. days. days. days. 

March 45 2.84 13 10 8 

April 52 4.14 9 IO 11 

May 61.5 6.33 8 9 14 

June 74.8 3.7I 9 II IO 

July 74.6 3.37 I2 IO 9 

August 71.5 4.80 I1 10 10 

September 63 3.37 I2 9 9 

For Lombardy we have the following table, viz: 

Statement of the rain-fall and weather in the irrigated region 

of Lombardy during the season of irrigation. 

Rain-fall, in Clear Cloudy Rainy 

inches. days. days. days. 

March 2.3 I7.5 IO.l 3.4 

April 3.I I5.9 7.8 6.3 

May 3.8 14.I IS.I 1.8 

June 3.I I9.4 8.8 0.9 

July 2.8 21.7 7.5 0.9 

August 3.2 21.3 8.2 1.5 

September 3.4 I7.8 9.3 2.9 

Winter 8 42.2 31.5 I3.3 

Spring 9.3 47.5 34.7 9.8 

Summer 9.2 62.4 26.3 3.3 

Autumn .!1.& 46.8 ..1ll II.7 

38.3 198.9 I28 38.1 

Including the statistics for other parts of Lombardy, we have about 22 

inches of rain-fall in the irrigating-season and about eighteen rainy 

days. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 

Table of temperature in Milan from March to September. 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September 

Winter 

Spring 

Summer 

Autumn 

Mean 

44.6 

54.8 

64 

70.5 

71.4 

71.4 

66.4 

36.1 

55 

72.8 

56.3 

Maximum 

62.4 

67.6 

78.1 

84 

86.5 

86.5 

80 

53.8 

78.1 

88.5 

82.6 

Minimum 

33.2 

40.3 

49.6 

56.5 

59.5 

59.5 

53.4 

18.3 

33.1 

56.1 

32.5 

121 

The mean temperature in the irrigated region of Lombardy from May to 

August ranges from 70° to 75°, and the maximum from 85° to 90°. 

If Italy, with a meteorology like this, requires irrigation, what 

shall we say of the necessities of California? 

We are without data from complete tables of our own meteorology, but 

something like the following will not be an inexact statement for a large 

section of our principal valley: Mean annual rain-fall, 10 inches or less; 

minimum annual rain-fall, 5 inches; number of clear days in the year, 275; 

maximum summer-temperature in shade, l10° to l15°, with periods of 

several weeks in which the thermometer every day passes 100° and sometimes 200 days in succession in which no rain falls. 

It is not so much the amount of rain-fall as its distribution which 

affects the prosperity of agriculture. 

In Orissa, (India,) with a rain-fall of 60 inches, there was a terrible famine. In California, with 15 inches well distributed, we often have 

fine crops. 

There are traditions of irrigation in Italy in earlier ages, but the 

first authentic instance of a canal for this purpose is one taken from the 

Vettabbia River by the Cistercian monks of Chiaravalle in the twelfth 

century. 

In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the Naviglio Grande, from the 

Ticino, was built; and in 1220 the large canal Muzza was commenced. In the 

fourteenth century no work of importance was executed. In the fifteenth 

century the canal Martesana, one of the earliest provided with locks, was 

built. In the interval, from the end of the sixteenth century to the nineteenth century, very few canals were constructed. The canal of Pavia belongs to the nineteenth century. It was first opened in the fourteenth 

century, but, falling into disuse, it was ordered to be rebuilt by Napoleon I in 1805, and was completed in 1819. 
122 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

The above enumeration relates to Lombardy. 

In Piedmont the canal-system dates from a later age, the first works 

having been executed in the fourteenth century. In the fifteenth century 

there was considerable activity in this kind of enterprise, while in the 

sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries there was but little 

extension of irrigation. In the nineteenth century we have the canal of 

Charles Albert and the Cavour Canal from the Po, the last the greatest and 

perhaps the most unfortunate of all. 

The following tables, taken from Col. Baird Smith's work on Italian 

irrigation, places before us in condensed form the principal facts which 

we are now concerned to know. 

CANALS IN LOMBARDY. 

Data in regard to the canals from the Ticino River. 

Navoglio Grande Berequrdo Pavia 

Date of construction. 1178 1460 1359 

1847 

Length, in miles. 30.5 11.5 20 

Discharge per second, 

in cubic feet. 1,851 156 213 

Area in acres irrigated. 93,440 10,400 9,550 

Price of water per foot 

per second. $35 to $65 $35 to $65 $35 to $65 

Annual expenditure. $8,500 $6,960 

Income. $8,980 $9,375 

Area irrigated per cubic foot. 61.8 66.6 69.2 

Annual indirect returns. $300,000 $ 31,200 $ 28,650 

From other small streams, viz, the Lamb-ro,--Blena;-~&c;;~-canals -contain.;--

ing 240 cubic feet irrigate 20,181 acres, giving 84 acres per foot, and 

furnishing indirect returns of $60,540. 

Data in regard to the canals from the Adda River. 

Date of construction. 

Length, in miles. 

Volume per second, in 

cubic feet. 

Area in acres irrigated 

in summer. 

Canal Muzza 

1220 

43.5 

2,652 

182,500 

Canal Martesanae 

Naviglio Interno 

of Milan. 

1457, 1440 

27.5 

981 

58,900 

Three 

small 

canals 

414 

38,000 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 

Data in regard to the canals from the Adda River, cont. 

Price of water per foot 

per second. 

Annual expenditure. 

Annual income. 

Irrigation in acres 

per foot per second. 

Indirect returns. 

$ 4.12 

$3,970 

$7,380 

83.9 

$522,500 

$55 to $65 

6,000 

7,000 

67.2 

176,700 

123 

Canals from Brembo, five in number, which carry 298 cubic feet per 

second, and irrigate 27,425 acres. 

Canals from Serito, fourteen in number, carry 501 cubic feet, and 

irrigate 44,200 acres. 

Canals from the right bank of the Oglio, carry 1,372 cubic feet, and 

irrigate 142,500 acres. 

Canals from the left bank of the Oglio, ten in number, carry 1,522 

cubic feet, and irrigate 136,432 acres. 

Canals from the Mella, six in number, carry 429 cubic feet, and irrigate 36,300 acres. 

Canals from the Clisio, four in number, carry 828 cubic feet, and 

irrigate 74,500 acres. 

A canal carrying an average of 510 cubic feet per second is taken from 

the Mincio, which irrigates 20,500 acres, principally of rice. In addition, this river supplies five small canals, which irrigate a few thousand 

acres. 

CANALS IN THE PIEDMONT. 

Canals from the Dora Stura and Orco Rivers. 

-Seven- canal-s-- are taken from these streams. They were built at various~ 

periods between 1556 and 1790. Their aggregate length is fifty miles. They 

carry 770 cubic feet of water per second, and irrigate 19,855 acres. The 

price per acre irrigated is from 62 to 75 cents. The net income is $6,855. 

Statistics of canals from the Dora Baltea. 

Date of construction. 

Length in miles. 

main line 

branches 

Canal of 

Ivrea 

1468 

44 

55 

Cigliano Canal 

1725 

20 

10 

Canal del 

Rolto 

1450 

8 

40.5 
124 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

Statistics of canals from the Dora Baltea, cont. 

Discharge in cubic 

feet per second. 

Price per foot. 

Net income. 

Indirect returns. 

Date of construction. 

Length of channel, 

in miles. 

Discharge per second, 

in cubic feet. 

Area irrigated, 

in acres. 

Price per cubic foot 

per second. 

Net income. 

Indirect returns. 

700 

$80 to $105 

$22,100 

$90,000 

650 

$80 to $105 

$ 26,025 

$100,000 

Statistics of canals from the Sesia, &c. 

Gattinara Gattinara Mora 

1320 1482 1481 

23 3/4 2 1/2 32 1/2 

100 22.5 130 

4,500 1,250 7,000 

$40-$50 40-50 157.5 

$ 6,000 1,250 5,000 

$13,500 3,750 21,000 

600 

$80 to $105 

$21,875 

$75,000 

Busca Rizzo 

Biraga 

1380 1488 

39 1/4 88 1/4 

65 90 

6,915 9,059 

140 140 

20,145 27,175 

Statistics of canals from the Sesia, &c., cont. 

Date of 

construction. 

Length of channel, 

in miles. 

Discharge per second, 

in cubic feet. 

Area irrigated, 

in acres. 

Price per cubic foot 

per second. 

Net income. 

Indirect returns. 

Sartirana Sundry canals 

from Agogna 

1380 various 

60 1/2 78 

220 222 

13,860 20,112 

$ 210 175 

$17,500 

$41,580 60,335 

Sundry canals Sundry canals 

from Arbugmr-rrom!erooptfie~:. ~··~· 

various various 

13 1/4 35 

18 136 

906 7,488 

175 175 

2,720 23,465 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 

Statistics of canals from the Ticino, &c. 

Canals 

from 

Langosco Sforzesca Molinara Castellana Magna springs 

Discharge/second, 249 216 25.4 114 25 788 

in cubic feet. 

Area irrigated, 

in acres. 19,142 14,878 2,483 9,125 2,040 52,500 

Price of water/ 

foot/second. $210 159 113 98 98 

Net income. $7,500 

Indirect returns. $56,925 44,635 7,450 27,375 6,120 157,500 

The Cavour Canal taken from the Po at Chivasso is intended to carry 

3,885 feet per second. 

This completes the enumeration of the principal works in Lombardy and 

Piedmont. 

To gather the main facts in a summary form, it may be stated, first, 

for Piedmont, that the total quantity of water applied to irrigation is 

8,290 cubic feet per second, not counting the supply of the Cavour Canal. 

The total area of irrigable land commanded by these canals is stated 

to be 1,335,680 acres. If we deduct one-third for roads, villages, 

marshes, &c., the net irrigable land will be about 900,000 acres, of which 

306,600 are actually irrigated. 

If we add the scattered irrigation in the upper valleys of Piedmont 

not before included, amounting to 180,000 acres, the total area irrigated 

is 486,600 acres. 

In particular districts the area actually irrigated is about half of 

the irrigable area. 

-111. - Lorfioaray t"'lfe"=~a:rea-actiililly irrigated at the date of Cot Bair(f 

Smith's report, 1851, was 1,074,129 acres, which is about one-fifth of the 

productive area. 

Between the rivers Ticino and Adda nearly nine-tenths of the surface, 

between the Adda and the Oglio two-tenths, and between the Oglio and the 

Adige one-seventh of the plain are irrigated. It is estimated that the 

aggregate length of the canals and their principal branches in Lombardy 

exceeds 4,500 miles. 

To sum up, we may state that Italy employs for irrigation more than 

24,000 cubic feet of water per second, supplying 1,600,000 acres of land. 

It is estimated that there have been expended for the irrigation of 

1,000,000 acres in Lombardy not less than $200,000,000. This expenditure 

has been spread over seven hundred years, and has made Lombardy a garden. 

This estimate, however, is made from very incomplete and uncertain data, 

and is supposed to cover outlay made for every purpose connected with 

irrigation, not only the construction of the channels, large and small, 
126 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

the aqueducts and siphons, but also the adaptation of the ground for the 

special irrigation required. This expenditure, therefore, includes not 

only that made by the owners of the canals, but also that incurred by the 

cultivators. The returns from this large investment of capital are to be 

sought in the indirect revenues accruing to the government from the mcreased production and the general prosperity of the country. 

The canals are chiefly owned by the government; some, however, are in 

private hands. The same lesson is to be learned here as in India; as a 

financial investment for private parties, irrigation-works have not generally been favorable. 

So far as the government is concerned, it is to be said that on the 

old canals the many private grants of water, made ages ago for services 

rendered to the state or from caprice, detract largely from the revenue, 

and they should be considered in estimating the financial character of 

this kind of enterprise. 

The Cavour Canal, before mentioned, is the most important work of the 

kind in Italy; and, inasmuch as it is a recent construction, and as it was 

made by a joint-stock company, it will be of interest to inquire what 

conditions were considered necessary by the government in the light of its 

extended experience of the working and requirements of irrigation. It was 

the intention of the government to construct this canal; but on account of 

its financial difficulties, arising from the wars with Austria and Russia, 

it was prevented from carrying out the project, and was induced to intrust 

it to a corporation. 

The principal points of the contract between the government and the 

English company, made in 1862, are as follows, viz: 

The company were to construct and work a canal from the river Po, to 

contain 3,885 cubic feet per second, to irrigate the Novarese and Lorvellino districts, and to combine with this the waters of the Dora Baltea, to 

be used also in the Vercellese. The company was to commence the work in 

six months, and to complete it within four years, in spite of all circumstances of every kind. 

The government granted a reduction of 50 per cent. of the customsduties on all material introduced for the construction and maintenance, a 

complete remission of duties on all instruments and -tcrols, and a partia-l- -

remission of registration-duties on all deeds and contracts. 

The government sold to the company the royal canals from the Dora 

Baltea, with every appurtenance of factories, mills, &c., for the sum of 

$4,060,000, to be paid in installments. 

The company is to have the use of the irrigation for fifty consecutive 

irrigating-years, after which time it shall revert to the state, without 

any compensation whatever to be made to the company. 

The company is to raise a capital of $16,000,000, of which $10,680,000 

is to be devoted to the construction of the new works, and the remainder 

to be applied to the purchase of the crown canals above mentioned, and 

other canals or volumes of water. 

The government guarantees interest to the amount of 6 per cent. annually on the capital of $16,000,000. 

The company is authorized to issue 6 per cent. bonds to the extent of 

$11,000,000, the shares to be issued for $5,000,000. The sum raised by 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 127 

bonds is to be deposited in the public treasury, to be issued to the company as required. The government must approve of the works to be constructed; and it has the right to superintend their execution, and to inspect 

the management of the canal. 

The amount of the water-rate and the price of water-power "shall be 

fixed by the government in consultation with the society, and approximation to the average of current prices being agreed on, and the society 

shall not vary the prices without the approval of the government." 

The company is obliged to lease the water carried beyond the Sesia to 

an association of proprietors at a price to be fixed in the way just stated. 

The obligation of the government to pay the 6 per cent. interest is 

conditional, and shall only apply when the net income of the canals shall 

be insufficient to meet the expense. 

The canal-rates shall be collected by the proper officer of the government in the same way that public taxes are collected. 

The company shall deposit in the treasury, as security, $200,000 in 

Italian bonds at their nominal value, to be refunded when the company 

shall have expended $2,000,000. 

The state shall have the right to purchase the works after twenty 

years' occupation, paying the capital corresponding to the mean annual net 

income for the preceding three years at 5 per cent., deducting the sum 

previously paid by the government on account of its guarantee. 

These are the important points of the agreement, and it must be confessed that the government made a good bargain. 

The history of the enterprise is melancholy. In the first place, the 

Po, instead of carrying 4,000 feet a second in its lowest stage, falls to 

1,500 feet. It is simply impossible to understand how such an error could 

have been committed in Italy. 

The Dora Baltea has, however, water in sufficient excess of its requirements, and it is possible to remedy the error by a comparatively 

small expenditure. 

Then there was extravagance and bad management on the part of the 

company, and the government declined to pay interest on the capital because the works were not ahscHutety co~mpleted within the specified time; 

By decision of the courts, however, the government was required to pay 

the interest. Under all these disadvantages, the company failed, and the 

enterprise passed into the hands of its creditors. 

The character of the works on this canal may perhaps be in some degree 

realized by an enumeration of its principal features. 

The canal is 55 miles long, and at its head it is 131 feet wide on the 

bottom, and 6 feet in depth. The general slope of the bed is I in 4,000; 

in places it is as much as I in 2,800. The side-slopes are one upon one; 

but on the curves and on the embanked portions, the slopes are revetted 

with masonry. These dimensions give a velocity varying from 4 1/2 to 5 

feet a second. The soil, however, is gravelly. 

The canal crosses five streams of torrential character by aqueducts 

and siphons of considerable length; the aqueducts being approached by long 

embankments. 
128 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

There are 345 bridges, or passages, for water over and under the canal, being more than six for each mile. These constructions are of the 

most substantial character. 

The cost of the work, however, is largely due to the fact that the 

canal is carried across the drainage of the country. Its alignment would 

have its counterpart in California in a canal skirting the base of the 

foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada, and crossing, by aqueducts or by siphons, 

the successive parallel streams which discharge into the Sacramento or 

into the San Joaquin River. Indeed, the resemblance between the topography 

of the southern flank of the Alps and the eastern side of the valley of 

California is complete. The Sierra corresponds to the Alps, the Po to the 

San Joaquin, and the feature of parallel drainage-lines is common to both. 

The canals are quite generally owned by the state. They are under the 

control of the finance department of the government, which has a staff of 

engineers to superintend the repairs and to see that the works are kept in 

efficient order. 

The usual practice is for the government to farm out the canals to 

contractors for a period of nine years. The contractors arrange with the 

cultivators for the distribution and measurement of the water, and fix the 

rate of payment under some restrictions. 

Disputes between the contractors and cultivators are decided by the 

civil tribunals. 

Each canal forms a district for administration; it may, however, include more than one district. 

In each district, under regulations prescribed by the government, the 

irrigators form associations, which administer the affairs connected with 

the distribution and use of the water. 

We need make no further reference here to the description of these 

associations, for the reason that we attach to this report, as an appendix, a full account of one established by Count Cavour about twenty years 

ago, for the irrigation of the Vercellese district. This association may 

be regarded as the most recent result of Italian experience. It embodies 

the principles which are believed in Italy to be most conducive to the 

interests of all concerned in irrigation. 

This description is taken from a book by Lieut. G. C. S. -Moncrieff~ 

Royal Engineers, entitled "Irrigation "in Southern Europe." 

We should infer, from the meteorological details already given, that 

cereals and most other products scarcely need irrigation in Italy. Indian 

corn and flax are irrigated to some extent, but irrigation is mainly confined to rice-cultivation in the summer, and to meadows in the winter. 

These meadows are devoted to the cultivation of a grass called marcite. 

This crop requires that a thin film of water shall pass continuously or 

almost without intermission, except at the periods of cutting, over the 

grass. This is secured by shaping the land in planes about 30 feet wide, 

with a slope of I in 12 or 15. On the crest of the planes there is an 

irrigating-channel, from which the water is spread over the land; the 

surplus being carried off by drainage-channels. 

The accompanying section of the land will convey an idea of the arrangement for the distribution of the water. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 

E E 

H 

E, minor irrigating channels, generally 12 inches wide and 6 or 7 deep. 

H, minor drainage channels, about half the above dimensions. 

129 

E 

The amount of water necessary for these meadows exceeds, beyond comparison, that required for any other cultivation. A cubic foot per second, if 

economized, may irrigate as much as three acres. The production is very 

great. The meadows near Milan are cut seven times a year. An ordinary 

result is 50 tons a year, with exceptional yields of 75 tons, per acre. 

These meadows are, however, fertilized by the sewerage of Milan, which is 

distributed over the land directly by the irrigating-channels. In 

less-favored localities, the yield falls as low as 24 tons per acre. This 

production cannot, however, be sustained unless the land is richly 

manured. 

On the crown-canals, water is measured as it leaves the principal 

channels by an apparatus known as the module. There are various examples 

in different provinces but the best known and most reliable is that used 

in the Milanese. 

It seems scarcely necessary here to give a description of the arrangements made for this purpose, inasmuch as the information is readily accessible. We may, however, mention that the principle of the measurement is 

that the head of water is kept constant, whatever may be the changes in 

the level of the canal. After the water leaves the main channels, there 

does not seem to be a uniform practice of measuring it on its distribution 

into the secondary ditches. There are so many usages in this country, 

sanctioned by long periods of time, that it has hitherto been impracticable to introduce complete and thorough measurement. 

There ate always some persons who. profit by tJie absence of regulations 

on this point, and their influence exerted against change has proved sufficient to defeat the purpose of the government. 

IRRIGATION IN SPAIN. 

Rain-fall and temperature--Comparison with California--Value of irrigated 

land in various parts of Spain--Irrigation introduced by the Moors--

Water annexed to land in Valencia--Variety in ownership of water--

Value of water in different provinces--Spanish law--Method of 

obtaining a grant of water--Privileges to irrigation-enterprises--

Exemption from taxation--Minority compelled to pay their part for 

canals--Subsidies; how given--Position of government of Spain--

Irrigating-associations--Subsidies to canals--Area of irrigation--
180 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

Huerta of Valencia--Administration of irrigation--General assembly--Syndic 

--Kinds of cultivation--Drought--Tribunal for deciding disputes--Its composition and modes of procedure--The canal of Mencade. 

In some parts of Spain we seem to be near home. There is something 

familiar in a rain-fall of 7 inches and a temperature of lll 0 . 

The mean annual rain-fall for different parts of Spain for 

jour years, from 1858 to 1861. 

Granada 

Seville 

Valadolid 

Saragossa 

Valencia 

Alicante 

Madrid 

Inches. 

33.4 

22.5 

20.9 

17.0 

15.9 

13.6 

12.0 

In 1859, at Alicante 

there were only 7.1 

inches of rain. 

Table of rain-fall and temperature for the irrigatingmonths, from March to September. 

Madrid 

Alicante 

Valadolid 

Seville 

Mean rainfall, in 

inches. 

5.31-

7.66 

8.98 

5.45 

Mean temperature, 

in degrees, 

Fahrenheit. 

64.69 

69.41 

62.51 

77.98 

Maximum temperature, 

in degrees, 

Fahrenheit. 

98 

94 

90 

111 

A comparison of the meteorology of these parts of Spain and of the 

irrigated portions of Italy, will show for Spain both a higher temperature 

and a smaller rain-fall. 

The climate in our interior valleys differs from that of Spain, in the 

fact that the latter country has a summer rain-fall ranging from 5 to 9 

inches, whereas in California we often have no rain worth measuring from 

April to December; and generally from the beginning of May to the end of 

October not a rain-cloud obscures the sun. 

Spain, by common consent, needs irrigation, and perhaps of all the 

countries in the world it best repays irrigating. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 131 

We might establish the remunerative character of this mode of cultivation in other ways, but it is probable that no way can be more satisfactory than to give the values of land as established by sales, both of irrigated and of unirrigated land. 

Near the city of Valencia,38 

running from $700 to $900 per acre, 

$400 to $500 per acre, while land 

sold at $80 or less per acre. 

irrigated land is sold at prices 

and at a distance from the city from 

of the same quality not irrigated is 

Don Juan Ribera, a Spanish engineer, states that land near 

Madrid39 is increased in value by irrigation from four to ten fold, 

land of the lowest price being most appreciated in value. 

From sales made at Castellon40 in 1859, it appears that the 

average price of irrigated land was $700 per acre, while unirrigated land 

in the same neighborhood was sold for $50 per acre. 

Parts of the huerta of Murcia have been sold at $2,500 per acre, 

dry land close by being worth $150. 

At San Fernando, near Madrid, the rental of irrigated land is $25 per 

acre, which is the price in fee of dry land in the vicinity. 

In the valley of the Esla River irrigated land is worth $600 per acre, 

and dry land $50. 

In the valley of the Tagus it is said the produce from irrigated land 

is twelve times that from unirrigated land. In parts of France where 

irrigation is not nearly so much needed, irrigated land is only appreciated 50 per cent. by irrigating. 

Spain may be described as a country where the water is more valuable 

than the land in a ratio of from 5 to 20, and we feel assured that the 

same proposition is equally true of large parts of California. 

Spain is, from the value attached to water, an interesting study. It 

is interesting to know what steps have in recent years been taken to extend the use of water, and what systems have been adopted. 

The Spaniards have an experience of a thousand years behind them, and 

they ought to be convinced of the value of this mode of cultivation. 

There is probably no part of the world where water is more carefully 

applied, and there certainly is no country where the legislation is more 

clear and precise: · ·· 

Irrigation in Spain is a legacy left by the Moors. All or nearly all 

of the old systems were the work of this wonderful people. Not only the 

works but the customs of the Moors remain in some provinces almost untouched since their departure. These customs may be said to be imbedded in 

the hearts and minds of the people of certain provinces, and we must 

regard it as a tribute to the intelligence of the conquered race that 

their regulations, adopted by their enemies, have been able to exercise a 

sway so complete that the efforts of rulers and the progress of events 

have alike failed to change them in their essential features. 

We find in Spain every variety in administrative systems for using 

water. In Valencia, in the lands irrigated from the Jucar River, and in 

Murviedro, the water and the land are, so to speak, married, without a 

possibility of divorce. When the land is sold, the water that irrigates it 

goes with it; neither can be sold separately. The irrigator cannot even 
132 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

dispose of his turn or privilege of water. The same is true in the province 

of Murcia, and at Almansa. 

As Elche, on the other hand, the water belongs to parties who do not own 

the land. The land has no rights. When the farmer needs water. he buys it as 

he buys any other article. There is a daily water exchange, where one may buy 

the use of water in an irrigating channel for twenty-four hours, beginning at 

six in the evening. The prices that are stated to have been paid in times of 

scarcity, tax our credulity very much. 

In 1861 it is said that water was sold at more than $11,000 per cubic 

foot a second. 

At Lorca there is an auction of water held daily. 

These are all old works, where the customs of past ages prevail. The new 

canals are generally built and owned by capitalists, under conditions which 

will hereafter be explained. On the Heuares Canal, just built, it appears 

that the company owning the works made agreements with the farmers before 

building as to the price to be paid for irrigation. The government fixed the 

value of water on this canal to be $1,875 for one cubic foot a second for one 

year. 

It will be remembered that in Italy the annual value of the same quantity 

is about $75 to $80. 

The different meteorologies of the two countries make the basis of this 

difference of value. 

On the Heuares Canal to cover an acre with twelve inches of water costs 

$2.88; on the Esla Canal, $1. 70. 

At Alicante the price of 16,000 cubic feet of water, which is about 4 1/4 

inches over an acre, has varied, according to scarcity, from 50 cents to $13. 

At Larca the average price of 17,500 cubic feet of water, nearly 5 inches 

over an acre, is $6.25. 

The canal Llobregat charges on an average $2.75 per acre, and as high as 

$4.25. 

The canal of Urgel charges $4.75 per acre. In Malaga the price is about 

the same. 

On the old Moorish works, which are now the property of the irrigators, 

the price is only what is necessary to pay the expenses of the works and keep 

them in repair. · · 

The farmers have agreed to take water from a new canal in Navarra, and to 

pay $3 per acre for four irrigations in a season. An irrigation in Spain is 

generally from 2 1/2 to 3 inches in depth. 

SPANISH LAW IN REGARD TO CANALS, AND CONDITIONS OF 

AGREEMENTS MADE WITH PRIVATE COMPANIES. 

The latest enactment, which seems to be most complete and detailed, and 

which contains three hundred paragraphs, is dated August 3, 1866. Although 

all the provisions would doubtless be of interest to those called upon to 

legislate upon the subject of water, we cannot do more than refer to those 

points which bear immediately upon our subject. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 133 

Article 236 states that all grants of water made to owners of land for 

its irrigation shall be in perpetuity. All grants made to parties to irrigate the lands of others shall be for a period not exceeding ninety-nine 

years, which period expired, the works shall become the property of the 

irrigators. An application for a grant of water shall be accompanied by 

proof that the applicant owns the land he proposes to irrigate; or if not, 

the rates of payment proposed to be paid by the parties who own the land 

or who are to buy the water; or if a particular district is to be irrigated by the owners thereof, that the agreement made by the majority of the 

owners reckoned by the area owned. The project is then to be advertised, 

and objections may be made for a month. The project is referred to various 

authorities, to ascertain whether it is desirable, whether it interferes 

with any vested rights, whether it promises to endanger the public health, 

or whether the constructions proposed are suitable. Any grant of water is 

subject to rights of other parties previously established. 

Certain privileges are granted to undertakings of this class, as follow, viz: 

1st. To quarry on the public land. _ Sites for the necessary works, shops, 

kilns, &c., on the public lands are given free. 

2d. Exemption from certain charges required in transfer of property. 

3d. The capital invested is exempted from tax of every kind; and all 

foreign capital invested in these enterprises will be under the protection of the government, and it shall never be confiscated in time 

of war. 

4th. Employes have certain local privileges. If the company allows the 

works to fall into bad repair, and does not restore them within the 

period assigned by the government, or if the new works shall not be 

finished in the stipulated time, they may be sold at public auction 

to the highest bidder. 

All the land included in any project which is called for by the majority of the proprietors shall pay the approved rate, whether the owners wish 

to take water or not; and those who refuse to pay are obliged to sell 

their lands to the company at a price equal to the assesse<f value of Jhe 

land, for -taxation, increased by 50 per cent. If the company· declines to 

purchase the lands at this price, the proprietor shall be exempt from any 

payment. 

The law of April 22, 1849, provides, that for ten years after the 

works are completed all products of irrigation shall be free from taxation. 

All land brought under irrigation is taxed as unirrigated land for ten 

years. 

The law of July 11, 1865, appropriated $5,000,000 to be given as subsidy or as loans, without interest, to irrigating enterprises, in sums not 

to exceed $100,000 for each enterprise. The special authority of the Cortes is necessary to permit a larger grant. This subsidy is generally given 

to the amount of 15 per cent. of the estimated cost, as certified by the 

government engineers, and it is paid in three installments: 
1S4 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

1st. When the earth-work is finished. 

2d. When the bridges and culverts are finished. 

3d. When the work is completed and the irrigating is begun. 

The attitude of the government toward the administration of these 

enterprises is commended by M. Aymard in the following terms: 

We may inquire, What is the nature of the action of the 

government in regard to enterprises of irrigation? What is the 

character of its intervention or supervision? Does it lead or 

does it follow the people? 

The government is in advance of the people, but it does not 

exercise an injudicious pressure. Where customs sanctioned by 

antiquity prevail, it does not seek to overthrow them merely 

for the purpose of securing unity of administration. 

It is in advance of the people in this sense, namely; that 

it lays down with clearness and precision in the laws the 

modern principles of the administration, so that the moment 

that the necessity for a reform is felt, the people are at 

once informed in what direction that reform is to be sought. 

In regard to the terms on which new concessions are granted, the same 

author says: 

In the activity which has recently prevailed in the extension of enterprises of irrigation, the problem was to guard 

the rights and interests of future generations, while making 

such concessions to the commercial spirit of the present as 

would induce the extension of these necessary works. In its 

decrees the government lays down with great wisdom the general terms of all concessions of water-franchises, and defines 

the respective rights of the proprietors, and of the users; 

so that enterprises of this character may be undertaken 

without hesitation or embarrassment. The outline of every 

possible enterprise is defined 'ih' thcf · Statute's, and--in 'ea'ch 

particular case it is only necessary to fill in the details. 

One clause in these statutes provides that in every irrigating-district or community there ought to be established a syndicate or association, and a system of regulations fixing the details in every respect 

concerning the use of the water; which regulations must be approved by the 

government or by the provincial authorities, as the case may be. 

The general principle which forms the base of the syndicate is this, 

namely, that the administration of the water-supply and use shall be in 

the hands and under the control of the irrigators. 

We see that the Spanish systems of a thousand years' duration lead to 

the same general conclusion that the experience in Italy has established 

and exemplified in the association for the irrigation of the Vercellese, 

an account of which is given elsewhere. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 135 

This conclusion may be stated in these terms: that where the irrigators do not own the irrigating-works, they ought nevertheless to have the 

control of the distribution of the water, and of the details of irrigation. 

A conclusion which is fortified by the experience of hundreds of years 

in Italy and Spain, where the people cannot be supposed to be more familiar with the principles of self -government than are our own people, which 

is supported by the wisdom of a man like Cavour, which promises relief 

from the difficulties attending the administration of water by capitalists 

having no direct interest in the land, but looking for the best return for 

their money invested, and which, moreover, is congenial to the habits and 

feelings of people like our own, must, perhaps, with modifications, prove 

the solution of our own vexed problem. 

It is worthy of remark, and it is confirmatory of the general conclusions derived from the experience elsewhere, that in a country where irrigation is so desirable, and where its effect is to increase in so striking 

a manner the value of the lands, the government feels obliged to aid works 

of this kind by subsidy and by exemption from taxes. 

According to the official reports, the area of irrigated land in Spain 

if four thousand four hundred and thirty-nine square miles. 

The principal canals, however, irrigate only 500,000 acres. There are 

many small canals and a few tanks or reservoirs, which increase this area 

considerably. If we accept the official reports, the greater part of the 

land must be irrigated by wheels or norias. These wheels have buckets 

or jars attached to the circumferences, by means of which the water is 

raised. The motive power may be the current of the river, or it may be 

animal power. 

We close this review of Spanish irrigation by a brief description of 

the agriculture and system of administration in the highly-cultivated 

huerta of Valencia. 

This district extends for eight or nine miles along the river Guadalaviar, from which the canals which irrigate it are derived. 

It has been under this kind of cultivation for perhaps a thousand 

years. The Moors introduced irrigation, and the executive and judicial 

system -- established by them retains to this day its essenHaJ characteristics. 

The water in this district is, as has already been stated, annexed to 

the land, and when land is sold the right to water goes with it. A person 

cannot even give to another the water to which he has a right; if he does 

not use it, it reverts to the common benefit. 

The plain of Valencia is irrigated by eight small canals, four of 

which are on each side of the river. Each canal is entitled to an aliquot 

part of the river-supply, and the proportions are established by the levels of the sills of the head-works, which are of masonry, and which have 

remained unchanged since the days of the Moors. It is, however, only in 

the low stages of the river that it becomes essential to observe the prescribed division of water, for at other periods there is an abundance for 

all. 
136 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

The aggregate length of these canals is but forty-two miles. The longest is but twelve miles in length. The dams are of masonry. 

The administration of these canals is at least curious, and it will be 

interesting to recount it briefly. 

Each canal forms a district, the irrigators of which meet once in two 

years to elect a permanent committee of administration, to assess the 

expenses or taxes, and to elect the officers of the district. The principal officer is called the syndic; we should probably call him the superintendent. He must be an actual cultivator; not a proprietor merely, but one 

who actually holds the plow. He must have a good character and be owner of 

a certain quantity of land in his own zone or district. He is elected by a 

majority of votes, and he may be re-elected. His term of office varies 

between two and four years. He is chief administrator; he expends the 

funds, and in time of drought he is an absolute dictator in regard to the 

distribution of the water. The other employes are appointed by the syndic, 

or by the permanent committee, or sometimes they are elected by the general assembly. 

Usually the taxes are assessed by the general assembly. Generally each 

irrigator pays according to the land under cultivation, but not always so. 

In some cases he pays in a measure proportionately to the quantity of 

water used. The taxes are collected in a summary manner. If any one 

fail[s] to pay his taxes, he is deprived of the use of the water, and if 

he take[s] it he is liable to a severe fine; or if any official shall 

allow him to take water, the latter is exposed to the same fine. 

There is no regulating machinery for the distribution of water. The 

arrangements are at the discretion of the officials, who keep themselves 

informed as to the condition of the crops, and who supply water to those 

which seem to need it most. No cultivator can claim a definite quantity of 

water. 

The cultivation is various; hemp, corn, wheat, beans, pears, melons, 

artichokes, and peppers are among the products of the soil. Hemp is regarded as the most valuable crop. It is cut in July, before the water gets 

very low, and therefore it seldom suffers from scarcity of water. 

In times of drought the syndic gives water to the crop that needs it 

most; keeping in view, however, the value of the crop._Hemp being the most 

valuable crop, receives attention first if it needs it, which is seldom 

the case; next come artichokes, the order being established by long custom. If all of a given crop cannot be saved, the water is applied to half 

of each field, the other half being allowed to suffer. The decision is in 

the hands of the officials, none of the cultivators being permitted to 

take water without permission. 

This is certainly a very rigorous kind of administration. It is democratic so far as its deliberations and constitution are concerned, but in 

its action it is essentially autocratic. Doubtless the long line of customs descending from a thousand years serves in practice as a guide for 

the action of the syndic, and divests it, in a measure, of its arbitrary 

appearance. The responsibility is, however, not divided. In times of 

drought some responsibility must be taken, and one man can take it better 

than a number. The working of the system must be favorable, or it would 

long since have fallen under the opposition of its enemies. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 137 

These canals have a curious tribunal, which has come down from the 

Moors, and which is as simple and untechnical in its constitution and in 

its modes of procedure as can be desired. Its proceedings are not recorded, unless at the request of one or both of the parties concerned. It 

enforces its decrees in a summary manner, and there is no appeal from its 

decisions. 

This tribunal of the canals is composed of the syndics of the canals 

of the plains. It meets every Thursday at II o'clock in the public square 

in front of the Cathedral in Valencia. The judges are seated, while the 

parties concerned and the spectators stand respectfully a few paces distant. The syndic in whose district the grievance or offense was committed 

brings the case before the court. He questions the witnesses and presents 

the case, but he does not vote. When the case is heard, the judges discuss 

in a low tone for a few minutes, and announce their decision. No expense 

is incurred by the parties to the case, if the fines or damages assessed 

are paid at once. If they are not so paid, the tribunal has power to enforce its decisions by processes which entail expense upon the recusant 

party. The fines attached to particular offenses are stated in a code of 

laws. The jurisdiction of the court is absolute in matters of fact and 

police over those who appear before it. Any person may decline to appear 

before the tribunal. If, having been twice summoned, any person shall fail 

to appear, the matter is turned over to the ordinary courts, where its 

adjudication is attended with considerable expense. It is said that cultivators rarely fail to appear before this tribunal when summoned. 

It may well be supposed that this institution has often been assailed. 

A court of peasant judges, whose proceedings are not recorded and whose 

decisions admit of no appeal, could not fail to attract criticism and 

invite intervention. The government has more than once attempted to make 

changes in harmony with the usual course of procedure, but the steadfast 

attachment of the people interested in the tribunal has sufficed to maintain it substantially as it descended from the Moors. Whatever may be its 

defects, we cannot doubt that it has dispensed even-handed justice; otherwise it could not have existed so long. 

The canal of Moncade, which is ~!lJso taken from the Guadalaviar River, 

has .. some· differences in administration which indicate . the . character·· .. o-r- ihe ·- changes which the government has wished to make in the case just described. This association has a code of regulations which prescribes fines 

for the various offenses. The superintendent or syndic of the canal is 

invested with authority to impose fines in accordance with the code. The 

parties concerned have the right of appeal to a court elected by the 

irrigators, which resembles in many respects the tribunal of the canals, 

and there is a further right of appeal to one of the ordinary civil 

courts. On this canal each irrigator has a right to water on fixed days 

for a certain number of hours. 

IRRIGATION IN FRANCE. 

Government owns canals--How canals are built and how managed. 

Irrigation is quite extensively practiced in France, and several new 

canals have been built in the past few years. 
138 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

There is nothing so specially distinctive in French irrigation as to 

require detailed description. The principle of management of works by the 

irrigators applies here as well as in Spain and Italy. There is, however, 

more interference by the government. 

The government owns no canals. They are generally built by the 

land-owners. The government encourages the construction of canals. 

In the charter of the Carpentras Canal, built in 1854, the irrigators were guaranteed that no increase of the land-assessment should be 

made for twenty-five years after completion of the works. 

There is no provision in the French law corresponding to the Spanish 

statute which permits a majority of proprietors to carry on an irrigation 

enterprise and compels the minority to bear their share of the expense. 

When a charter for a canal is given it states the quantity of water 

which is granted. The plans for the works must be approved by the government. In some cases the canals are built under direction of engineers of 

the Corps of Ponts et Chausees. In all cases the works are periodically 

inspected by engineers of this corps. 

CHAPTER V. 

1. Cost of irrigation--Quantity of water required--Secondary and tertiary 

ditches to be made by cultivators--Canals and primary ditches will 

cost about $10 per acre irrigated. 

2. Conclusions--Large bodies of land in "the great Valley of California" 

require irrigation; abundance of water; irrigation much needed--Cost--

Ignorance of the subject--A comprehensive system cannot be devised by 

the farmers--Duty of government--Proper laws depend on reconnaissance 

and surveys--Irrigation will be the work of time--Land and water 

should be joined together--State and counties benefitted--Private 

capital--Relation of the United States to irrigation--Supervision. 

COST OF IRRIGATION. 

Before making an estimate of the cost of canals, it is necessary to 

inquire how much water is required to irrigate an acre of land. It will 

readily be understood that the quantity will depend upon a number of 

considerations. In the first place, it will depend upon the character of 

the soil, whether sandy or clayey; upon the character of the substratum, 

whether pervious or impervious, and upon the depth and inclination of an 

impervious stratum. It will depend upon the character of the cultivation. 

Rice and sugar fields, vegetable-gardens, orchards, and meadows require 

more water than cereals. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 139 

The present staples of this country are cereals. There is some 

cotton-cultivation, which will probably be extended; and, with abundance 

of water, we shall doubtless have a good deal of Alfalfa or Lucerne grass. 

Every farmer will have a little orchard, and will raise the vegetables 

required for home consumption. 

The evaporation is high in the interior valleys of the State, quite 

equal to that in Madrid, where it is about 13 inches in July. 

The amount of water lost by absorption in the bed and banks of the 

canal, is an unknown and variable quantity, depending on the dimensions of 

the canals and on the character of the soil. In the absence of exact data 

upon these points, we may for the present adopt the rule laid down by 

engineers for other countries of similar climate, and estimate the loss of 

water from these causes at 15 per cent. 

The rivers of California generally run full for about seven months. 

The rains of the winter increase their discharge, and the melting of the 

snows keeps it up, so that we may say that the streams from the Sierra 

Nevadas are well supplied with water from December to August. The streams 

from the coast range have no snow reservoirs of much extent, and they are 

generally dry in summer. 

Let us assume that the streams on the east side of the valley are well 

supplied with water for two hundred days in the year, and, to make up for 

any overestimate on this point, let us neglect their flow for the remainder of the year. 

How much land ought a cubic foot of water, supplied every second for 

two hundred days, to irrigate? 

We will make a further supposition that the water is used for fourteen 

hours out of the twenty-four. Irrigation at night is practiced in other 

counties, and we may be assured that in seasons of scarcity it will be 

practiced here if it shall prove to be necessary to save the crops. 

In fourteen hours there are fifty thousand four hundred seconds, and 

hence one day's supply, at one cubic foot per second, will give us the 

same number of feet. Deducting 15 per cent. for loss by absorption and 

evaporation, we shall have remammg 42,840 cubic feet, which number, 

although a little less, we may take to be the same as the number of square 

feet in an acre. Hence, one daY's supply will put 12 inches of water over .... ;..~ ,._ 

an acre, or 2 inches of water over six acres, and in two hundred days a 

supply of a cubic foot per second will cover two hundred acres with 12 

inches of water. 

Wheat planted in October or November on summer-fallowed land, well 

watered when the rivers are high, will probably make a good crop without 

further watering, except what it gets from the winter rains, even when 

they prove scanty. 

Wheat planted in January or February will probably need one or two 

irrigations of 3 inches each to make a crop. Wheat or barley planted later, and with irrigating facilities, (there seems to be no reason why, in 

these hot valleys, the sowing-time may not be extended to April,) will 

probably ripen with 12 inches of water judiciously applied. We know that 

good crops of wheat are raised without irrigation when there is a 

rain-fall of 12 inches, or even less, which comes at the required times. 
140 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

On the Tule or reclaimed lands, barley sowed after wheat-harvest has 

been gathered comes to maturity. 

The water required for cotton will probably not exceed that necessary 

for wheat. Rice-cultivation is so unhealthful that its introduction into 

California will hardly be looked upon with favor. 

Alfalfa, if cut fives times for hay, will require 12 inches of water 

or more, depending on the nature of the soil; this in addition to the 

usual rain-fall. 

There is another point to be considered. The whole of the land commanded by the canal will not be irrigated; some of it will be waste or unsuitable for cultivation; some will be fallow, and if we add the areas taken 

up by . the roads, fences, buildings, farm-yards, &c., we ought, according 

to experience elsewhere, to deduct one-fourth, at least, from the irrigable lands. This deduction of one-fourth, we assume, will make up for any 

kind of cultivation, such as gardens, orchards, &c., requiring larger 

supplies of water. 

Our opinion is, therefore, that a reasonable allowance for the land 

commanded by the canals is one cubic foot a second for each two hundred 

acres. 

In seasons when there is a great surplus of water there can be no 

objection to a more liberal use of it, but it seems to us indispensable 

that the State should lay down a general rule. There ought to be an established allotment, which may vary in different districts. The cultivators 

who come first ought not to be allowed to appropriate more water than they 

require, because, if they do, those who come after will not be able to 

procure a fair supply. 

There are probably exceptional places where the lower average of 

rain-fall and porosity of the soil may combine to require a larger allotment of water than we have assigned. Such places are about Tulare Lake, on 

the west side of the valley. There is no cultivation in these portions, 

and before the occasion may arise to irrigate them further information 

will probably be available to enable a proper conclusion to be reached. 

As the population of the irrigated districts increases there will be 

an increased demand for water, and it will probably result that the allowance. ~hich. is sufficient in this generation,· m:ay. prove entirely inadequate 

fifty years in the future. 

When the state makes the survey elsewhere recommended in this report, 

we will learn both how much water and how much land there is, and will be 

enabled to proportion the supply to be granted. 

It may then be a question, in seasons of scarcity, whether a smaller 

supply of water will be given to the whole land or a larger supply to a 

portion of it. 

There is so much variety on this point, in the circumstances of climate, soil, and cultivation, and so much difference in the statements of 

different authorities. that we cannot derive, from the experience of other 

countries, any definite conclusions applicable to our own; but as a matter 

of interest it will not be amiss to mention the duty of water in other 

irrigating districts. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 141 

In North India a cubic foot of water per second irrigates five acres 

per day. 

Taking the interval of irrigation at forty days, we have the duty of 

two hundred acres for one foot a second for cereals. 

In Granada a canal from the Genii irrigates, of wheat, barley, and 

vines, two hundred and forty acres per cubic foot. 

In Valencia, where it is very hot, wheat is watered four or five 

times, giving about two hundred acres per foot. 

In Elche, where water is very scarce, a cubic foot goes as far as to 

irrigate one thousand acres. Wheat here in some years scarcely requires 

artificial watering. 

Rice-fields in different parts of the world vary from thirty to sixty, 

and even eighty acres, to the cubic foot. 

In the heavy monsoons of India ninety acres per foot are irrigated. 

In some of the huertas or gardens in Valencia, only from thirteen 

to twenty acres per foot are irrigated. Here, however, there are at least 

two crops a year, and a part is devoted to rice. 

The grants for six recent canals in Spain run from seventy acres per 

foot to two hundred and sixty acres per foot. 

Assuming, then, that a cubic foot per second will water two hundred 

acres of land, we proceed to give some considerations in regard to the 

probable cost of construction of the canals and their primary ditches. 

The second and tertiary ditches will, it is supposed, be made by the 

cultivators. They can be made by the farmer in seasons of leisure, and in 

the general case their cost will hardly be felt. The case will be somewhat 

different with the cultivator who farms on a large scale, and who is 

obliged to hire laborers. 

It is plain, on the slightest consideration, that the cost of a canal 

will be so dependent on local and special circumstances that it is impossible to deduce a perfectly satisfactory conclusion from a given or hypothetical case. 

The dam, the character of the soil, the quantity of land to be irrigated, the manner in which it is disposed, the relative remoteness, and the 

resources and population along the line, are all elements which vary from 

case to case, and either of- which may affect the cost by a very consider.~"' 

able percentage. 

Still it seems essential to know within some limits the probable cost. 

If a canal is to cost $100 per acre irrigated, the subject may be 

dismissed without any further consideration. 

It is plain that we cannot afford to pay that price. If, on the other 

hand, canals may be built for five or twice five dollars per acre, it is 

equally plain that now or before many years we shall be able to afford 

them, and shall have a fair prospect of return from such investment. 

The value of the estimate which we proceed to give, will be understood 

from what precedes. 

Let us take the most favorable case that can happen, namely, when the 

excavation equals the embankment. 

We assume a canal to carry 315 cubic feet of water per second, having 

the dimensions given in the figure. Deducting from this 15 per cent. for 

loss, the water available for irrigation is 268 cubic feet, which will 

irrigate 53,600 acres. 
142 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

If we suppose the irrigable land to lie on one side of the canal in a 

strip five miles wide, and that the ground permits straight parallel primary ditches spaced one mile apart, it follows that for each mile of canal 

there must be five miles of primary ditches, and that the quantity of 

irrigable land for each mile of canal will be 3,200 acres. Deducting 

one-fourth for land not actually watered, we shall have 2,400 acres of 

irrigated land for each mile of canal. 

Let us take a primary ditch of capacity to carry 50 feet of water per 

second. Allowing for loss, this size will be rather more than sufficient 

to cover the 2,400 acres with 3 inches of water in seven days and seven 

nights. 

The canal can fill at the same time six of the primary ditches, so 

that in seven days 14,400 acres can be covered with 3 inches of water, 

only six of the primary being full at a time. And in twenty-six days 3 

inches of water may be put over the whole amount of the land, namely, 

53,600 acres. 

If the water 

necessary to go 

forty-five days. 

is used only for fourteen hours for each day, the time 

over all the land with 3 inches of water will be 

Under our hypothesis, in order to irrigate 2,400 acres, we must build 

one mile of main canal and five miles of -primary ditches. 

Placing the excavation at 30 cents per cubic yard, we find the cost 

per acre to be about $5. 

The section of the main canal will diminish toward its lower end, but 

to be on the safe side, so far as cost is concerned, we keep it of uniform 

size. The price of excavation may be somewhat in excess of its actual cost 

in some places; but inasmuch as in it are included all incidental and 

contingent expenses, we believe it is not far from correct. 

We have omitted from this calculation all estimates for inequality of 

the ground, by reason of which the amount of excavation may be considerably increased; all expense due to the fact that generally one or several 

miles of canal have to be made at its head before the water is high enough 

relatively to the adjoining land to irrigate it, and we do not include the 

cost of a dam, which generally will be indispensable. Neither do we include the cost of head-works or of the bridges and sluices which will be 

required, or of the measures that may be necessary to pass the drainage of 

the country into, over, or under the canal. We do not estimate for these 

points, for the reason that no estimate can be made, the circumstances in 

no two cases being the same. 

Speaking generally, we are of the opinion that the omitted points will 

cost as much as the excavation, and hence that the rate per acre just 

given should be double. 

This brings us to the conclusion that it will cost about $10 per acre 

to irrigate these valleys. 

It is, however, to be remarked, that large portions of the eastern 

side of the San Joaquin Valley are underlaid 2 or 3 feet from the surface 

by a hard stratum, which it will be necessary to blast, or, if not blasted, the canals must be very shallow. This fact leads us to believe that 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 143 

the cost per acre in these sections will be increased 25 to 33 per cent. 

above the estimate already given. 

The irrigation of the foot-hills will of course cost more. Here the 

problem will be more similar to that presented in other countries. So far 

as we are able to judge from descriptions given by writers, we are inclined to believe that the physical conditions in these valleys are exceptionally favorable for irrigation. This fact accounts in a great measure 

for the smallness of our estimates as compared with the actual cost of 

canals in Spain; for instance, where the price of labor is so much cheaper 

than it is in California. 

A further reason for this difference lies in the character of the 

constructions. The dams, head-works, and sluices of foreign works are made 

of masonry, and in the most thorough manner. In California all of these 

constructions will for many years be of wood. It is cheaper, with the 

present rates of interest, to build of wood, and to rebuild when the works 

decay, than to construct once for all of masonry. 

The cheapest canal that we find in Spain is that from the Esla, which 

cost $15 per acre. The other modern canals in Spain have cost more than 

twice as much. There are no longer in these old countries any lands which 

admit of easy irrigation, and on all these lines there is a great deal of 

heavy work in excavation, tunneling, aqueducts, and in revetment-walls, 

which the valley works in California will not require. 

CONCLUSIONS. 

1st. That there are large bodies of fertile land in the great valley 

of California--extensive plains, in fact--that require irrigation to make 

them productive, and that the natural features of these plains are favorable to artificial irrigation. 

2d. That there is an abundance of water for the irrigation of all land 

on the eastern side of the valley by canals from the rivers. 

3d. While there is a scarcity of water on the western side of the 

valley, at the necessary elevation, particularly on the western side of 

the San Joaquin and Tulare Valleys, yet therels-- suffiCient water -attainable there, and at a sufficient elevation, to irrigate large areas of land 

on that side. 

4th. That irrigation is much needed, particularly in the San Joaquin 

and Tulare Valleys. The productions of these valleys could be increased 

many fold by a comprehensive system of irrigation. The value of the irrigable land and of the revenue derived from it, both by the State and by the 

people, will be increased in the same ratio. 

5th. The cost of a comprehensive system of irrigation for these valleys will be great, but as the different portions are not equally in want 

of irrigation, the complete system may be the work of time. 

6th. Irrigation is but little understood in this country, either by 

our engineers, who must design, plan, lay out, and execute the works for 

that purpose, or by the farmers who are to use the water when it is 

brought alongside their farms. 
144 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

7th. That the experience of other countries appears to prove that no 

extensive system of irrigation can ever be devised or executed by the 

farmers themselves, in consequence of the impossibility of forming proper 

combinations or associations for that purpose. That while small enterprises may be undertaken by the farmers in particular cases, it would not 

be in accordance with the experience of the world to expect of them the 

means or inclination to that co-operation which would be necessary to 

construct irrigating-works involving large expenditures. That enterprises 

of this character, if built at all, must be built by the State or by 

private capital. 

8th. That it is the duty of government, both State and national, to 

encourage irrigation, and the first step in that direction ought to be to 

make a complete instrumental reconnaissance of the country to be irrigated, embracing the sources from whence the irrigating-canals ought to commence, gauging the flow of the rivers and streams, and defining the boundanes of the natural districts of irrigation into which the country is 

divided. 

9th. Then, when it is proposed to irrigate any particular district, an 

accurate topographical survey of that district should be made, so that the 

canal and other necessary works for its irrigation may be designed on an 

intelligent and comprehensive system, and in harmony with the neighboring 

canals, and these works executed in the most economical manner. In this 

way every farmer will be informed, before he will be called upon to contribute to the works of irrigation, whether or not his land is irrigable; 

and if it is, of the quantity of water he will obtain; the exact place or 

places where it will be delivered to him, and of its probable cost. 

lOth. While these surveys are being made, we think it would be a step 

in the right direction if the Government of the United States, as well as 

of the State of California, would inaugurate measures for obtaining from 

foreign countries all possible information relating to the more modern 

systems of irrigation in these countries, and for disseminating this information throughout this country. 

11th. After the necessary reconnaissance shall have been made, and a 

knowledge of the most improved systems of irrigation in other countries 

has been obtained, the general system of irrigation can be properly 

planned and the outline of the principal works determined, the laws under 

which a proper system of irrigation for the great valley can then be decided upon intelligently, the country divided into those natural districts 

which its topographical features require, and all, or nearly all, the 

land-owners will then know what benefits they are to derive from irrigation. Light will be thrown on a subject which is now in comparative 

darkness; unnecessary clashing of private interests can be a voided or 

harmonized. The rights of water which have given so much trouble in other 

countries where the laws regulating these rights have grown up with their 

systems of irrigation, and, as history teaches us, have often been made 

for the benefit of private parties or particular districts of country, can 

be established beforehand, if not for all time, at least on the principle 

of "the greatest good for the greatest number." 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 145 

12th. That while the irrigation of these plains would probably be 

effected in the cheapest and most thorough manner by a comprehensive system of canals, such as we have sketched, we by no means recommend that all 

irrigation should await the development of such a system. We are taught by 

the experience of other countries to expect. such development to be the 

work of many years. In the mean time, ten or twenty or fifty farmers, 

having lands so situated as to be irrigable from a neighboring stream, may 

desire to construct the works necessary for that purpose, to be operated 

for their benefit, or they may desire to enter into an agreement with 

other parties, who shall build the required works. In either case, if the 

proposed works do not conflict with the general system of irrigation, we 

believe that such an enterprise should be permitted and encouraged by the 

State. 

13th. As a matter of public policy, it is desirable that the land and 

water should be joined together, never to be cut asunder; that the farmers 

should enjoy in perpetuity the use of the water necessary for the irrigation of their respective lands; that when the land is sold the right to 

water shall also be sold with it, and that neither should be sold separately. 

14th. That the parties chiefly benefited by irrigation are the farmers 

or land-owners. That there is every reason to believe that the value of 

land in the driest districts will be appreciated many fold; that it results from this that the lands should, as far as possible, pay for the 

construction of the necessary works. 

15th. That the State and counties will be directly benefited by the 

appreciation of land and by the increase of wealth in their revenues from 

taxation. That, consequently, it may be good policy for them to aid such 

enterprises. 

16th. That there is this difficulty in the way of the proposition that 

the lands shall pay for the canals, namely, that in many places the lands 

at present are not worth more than $5 per acre, if so much, and that the 

irrigation-works may cost $10 per acre. 

17th. That whatever aid is given by the State or county should be 

extended in a cautious way. That in many parts of the country where irrigation will ultimately best repay expenditure there are now· no people; that 

the population must be imported, the houses, barns, and equipments of the 

farms must be created before returns can follow the investment. That for 

these reasons we must look for a comparatively slow development of the 

country. 

18th. That while we believe, as we have already stated, that the best 

policy is for farmers to build and own the canals, we also believe that 

where the farmers are unable to build, and where the State is unable or 

unwilling to build, it may be, and it probably will be, the best policy to 

invite the aid of private enterprise. We refer to numerous instances in 

Spain and Italy, where this system is now in successful operation, in 

support of our opinion. 

19th. That private companies undertaking such enterprises should be 

subjected to certain conditions, some of which are as follows: 
146 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

That after a stated period the franchise shall lapse in favor of the 

State or of the irrigators; or that, after a certain period, the State 

shall have the right to purchase on certain previously-defined conditions. 

That the price of water shall be fixed by agreement, each party in interest being represented by arbiters. That the State shall have the right to 

charter an association of irrigators to administer the works, the company 

merely selling the water, and having nothing to do with it after it leaves 

their channels, the association making all arrangements for its distribution and for the collection of the water-rates. This latter provision has 

several advantages: It relieves the company from the odious duty of discriminating in times of scarcity, and from the endless disputes which 

attend the distribution of water, and puts the responsibility where it 

belongs, on- the irrigators. It favors each irrigator; for he becomes a 

member of a company, which is strong enough to stand up for its rights in 

any contest with the capitalists. 

For a successful system of this kind, we refer to the "Association for 

Irrigation in the Vercelles, Italy," given elsewhere in this report. That 

we see no reason why the rights of farmers and the rights of capitalists 

may not be adjusted by some such plan, on the basis of justice and of 

mutual interest. 

We observe that the conditions just referred to place a company of 

capitalists in the light of temporary owners, and that they contemplate a 

period when the works shall be owned by the State or by the farmers. 

20th. That there is no reason to suppose that for a long time capital 

will look upon this kind of investment with favor. The financial history 

of most irrigating enterprises in other countries is not favorable, so far 

as the interests of shareholders are concerned. It may be a question for 

the State to consider whether it is good policy to offer any special inducements in aid of such enterprises. 

21st. That the relation of the United States to 'the irrigation of 

California is for the most part indirect, but that--in the southern end of 

the valley, between Visalia and Bakersfield, and south of this town--it is 

believed that the United States own many thousand acres of land which are 

capable of irrigation; that most of this land cannot be cultivated under 

existing circumstances; that it has ··no value, except for pasturage, during 

part of the year; that, if irrigated, its value would be increased many 

fold; that under these circumstances it may be a question whether the 

United States ought not in some way to encourage the irrigation of these 

lands. 

22d. That when any canals are built, the State should establish a 

system of inspection by which a proper construction shall be assured; that 

the quantity of water to be taken from a river at its mean stage, for the 

irrigation of a definite quantity of land, should be fixed by a reasonable 

rule, so that those who come later shall not find all the water taken up, 

and so that proper drainage shall be secured. 

23d. That such supervision will probably be distasteful to the parties 

concerned; that, nevertheless, we believe it is essential to future prosperity, and that its neglect now will bring a fruitful crop of contentions 

in the future, will delay the development of the country, and that by 

making irrigation unhealthful it may make it odious. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 147 

24th. That the water-rights of the streams now taken up for miningpurposes in the mountains do not conflict with the irrigation of the 

plains, the water being returned to the natural channels above the points 

where it will be taken out for irrigation, at least for many years to 

come. 

Respectfully submitted. 

B. S. ALEXANDER, 

Lieut. Col. of Engineers, U. S. A., Pres't Board of Commissioners. 

SAN FRANCISCO, CAL., 

February 20, 1874. 

APPENDIX 1. 

GEORGE DAVIDSON, 

Assistant U. S. Coast Survey. 

G. H. MENDELL, 

Major of Engineers. 

A large portion of the water in the Cavour Canal is sold to a species 

of co-operative society at Vercelli, known as the "General Association of 

Irrigation west of Sesia." 

This society was founded by government under an act of 3d of July, 

1853, and owes it[s) origin to Count Cavour. It had for its object, at 

starting, to lease, administer, and employ in general, according to an 

economical and matured system of irrigated cultivation, the waters of the 

Crown Canals derived from the Dora Baltea, in terms of the grant made with 

the state finance for the irrigation of the respective properties of the 

shareholders, with the power of extending successively the benefits of the 

association, even to the mutual assurance against losses by hail, fire, 

and such like, and to other social objects of mutual profit. 

By the terms of the agreement made between the society and government, 

the society were thereby granted a thirty years' lease of all the waters 

of the Crown Canals of the Dora Baltea, with certain exceptions in favor 

of the owners of old hereditary rights, entitling them to a free use of a 

portion of their waters . 

. The volume thus reserved amounts to no less than 793 cubic feet per 

second. 

When the Cavour Canal Company was formed it was obliged to abide by 

this agreement with the irrigation society, and in 1867 there was supplied 

to the latter from the waters of the Po 900 cubic feet, and from those of 

the Dora Baltea Canals, after the deduction above alluded to, 537 cubic 

feet per second, while this year (1868) they have sent in an application 
148 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

for 971 cubic feet of the former and for 659 cubic feet per second of the 

latter waters. 

The regulations and statutes of this Irrigation Society are too long 

to give in detail, for they consist of 379 articles, in 76 pages octavo; 

but the system possesses sufficient interest to be described minutely. 

In each commune or parish irrigated by these canals, there is a 

society termed a consorzio agrario, composed of all the proprietors 

within the parish who take water for their lands; or, in certain cases, a 

consorzio may be composed of proprietors of adjoining small parishes. 

Each consorzio elects by universal suffrage one or two deputies, according as it uses a discharge of less or more than 30 module (61.4 cubic 

feet per second) on its irrigation. These deputies form an assembly for 

the general administration of affairs. They must be themselves members of 

the society, over twenty-five years of age, "sufficiently acquainted with 

agriculture," and men of good character. They receive no salary as deputies, nor are they allowed to hold any paid office under the society. They 

are elected for three years, and may be re-elected. They meet regularly 

twice a year, on the 15th of March and the 15th of November, and half 

their number form a quorum. They elect from among themselves a president 

and vice-president, whose functions last for three years, and each year 

they choose also an honorary secretary and two assistants. They pass the 

accounts of the year, settle how much is to be paid by each consorzio, 

what salaries their employes are to have, listen to suggestions for the 

benefit of the society, and, in short, generally direct and control the 

whole of its business. The rules passed by the assembly are binding on all 

the members of the society. To help them in forming decisions, they have a 

legal and an engineering adviser. 

From among themselves the assembly elect three committees: the 

direction-general, the committee of surveillance, and the council of arbitration. 

The first is the committee of management of the affairs of the society. It consists of a director-general, three members, a secretary, and an 

assistant secretary. If the director-general likes, he may appoint a colleague, with the approval of the assembly, to take his place in case of 

illness or absence; 

The director-general may call on the assembly to dismiss any of the 

members of his committee, or he himself may suspend them for not doing 

their duty. He has in every way to watch over the interests of the society, to see to the conduct of its servants, and to give them rules for 

their guidance, to direct any works, to disburse expenses, to arrange with 

the government (or with the canal company) for the amount of water required at each point, to see generally to the distribution of the water 

over the irrigated district, to carry on all communications with the 

government--in short, to be general manager. The director-general receives 

an allowance of $1,800 a year, from which he is expected to pay a number 

of small charges, and each member of his committee receives a certain 

salary. This committee has its headquarters at Vercelli, and renders an 

account of its proceedings at each meeting of the general assembly. 

The committee of surveillance is "the eye of the assembly over the 

direction-general," and has to see that it carries out faithfully its 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 149 

duties toward the society. It consists of three members, of whom the oldest presides. They meet once a week, and each time receive a ticket which 

entitles them to a small allowance, as fixed at each general assembly; in 

1866 the whole amount being only $152. Should they think necessary, they 

may call an extraordinary meeting of the assembly, and at each ordinary 

meeting they make a report of their proceedings. 

The council of arbitration has for its object, "1st, to settle all 

disputes regarding affairs of the society which may arise between the 

members and the society, or between the society and its servants; 2d, to 

decide cases of breaches of the rules and discipline of the society; 3d, 

to assist the society in actions before the courts; 4th, to give their 

advice on whatever may be referred to them by the director-general; 5th, 

to fix and settle, in case of dispute, the compensation for the passageoutlet, or any other obligation or damage occasioned by the flowing distribution, employment, recovery in drains, and escape of the waters of the 

society, whether affecting the interests of the society with its members 

or among the consorzios or members with each other." 

This council is composed of three members of the assembly, who must be 

resident in Vercelli, and are elected annually. They receive no regular 

pay, but get certificates of attendance at meetings like the committee of 

surveillance, and these certificates entitle them to a small remuneration, 

of which the whole amount in 1866 was $223. Their decisions are settled by 

the opinion of the majority. There is always the power of appeal from them 

to the ordinary courts of justice; and, to admit of this appeal, the execution of their sentences is deferred for fifteen days after being promulgated, unless in cases where, for the sake of the crops, it must be carried 

out at once. After fifteen days, if no appeal has been made, the decisions 

of the council are looked on as final. When necessary, the council summons 

a lawyer or engineer to their assistance. All charges of this council are 

paid by whoever loses the case. The director-general is not allowed to 

carry on any lawsuit on the part of the society without the previous sanction of the council of arbitration. 

The money transactions of the society are under a cashier, who has to 

give a security for $4,000, and. who is responsible for _all connected with 

their cash. His chest has thre·e keys, of which he , keeps one, the 

director-general another, and the third is held by the largest shareholder 

of the society, who is a member of the general assembly, and happens to 

live in Vercelli. Money is issued on the checks of the director-general, 

and once a month he and the member who keeps the third key of the cash-box 

count the cash and audit the cashier's books. 

To effect the distribution of the water, the area irrigated is divided 

into a certain number of districts, (at first only four, but increased 

since.) in each of which there is an overseer in charge of the irrigation, 

termed the delegato, who receives his orders from the 

direction-general, and several guards or water-bailiffs, termed 

acquainolo. These officers patrol the water-courses, see that the 

modules are discharging their proper amount, that the water that passes 

off the fields is not running to waste, but is caught in catch-water 

drains, from which at a lower level it can be again utilized, (a point 

attended to with admirable care in the Piedmontese irrigation,) and do all 
150 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

the other ordinary duties connected with their position. Neglect of duty 

or disobedience of orders subjects them to fines, reduction of salary, or 

dismissal. 

It may be seen by the agreement between the society and government 

that, while the latter became responsible for the entire maintenance of 

the main canals, the irrigation society has to pay for all current repairs, &c., of the minor canals, which repairs the government (or now the 

Italian Canal Company) executes for them, and that all further operations 

of distributing water, &c., are entirely carried out by the irrigation 

society's agents, and at their cost. This society, then, has in its employ 

no engineers, but a number of irrigators. Their executive operations are 

divided into those of interest to all, and those affecting merely single 

consorzii. To the former belong the general maintenance of the branch 

canals, the formation of new ones, the catch-water drains, &c., which are 

paid for from the funds of the society at large. To the latter belong the 

maintenance of small water-courses and minor works, which are charged to 

those consorzii alone who are benefited by them. 

The cost of executing such works is paid for at the time by the society and recovered from the consorzii afterward, who tax each individual according to the extent and species of his irrigated crops, which is 

supposed to give a fair approximation to the proportionate share of water 

which he has consumed. 

This is a point to be noted. Previously to visiting these canals, I 

understood that water was universally issued by module, and that the administration of the canal had no monetary interest in the question of whether 

a cultivator made an economical use or not of the discharge allotted to 

him. I believe this is nearly the case in Lombardy, but by no means in 

Piedmont. 

The Piedmontese module of 2.047 cubic feet per second is too large a 

unit to apply to small properties, and in most cases the cultivator may be 

said to pay, according to the area he waters, just as much as with us in 

India. 

Article 16 of the statutes of the irrigation society runs as follows: 

"All payments for irrigation are to be made in money at the rate of so 

much per ·hectare." The society, it is true, buys its water from the canal 

company by module. It distributes it by module among its districts, and 

the irrigation overseers supply it by module to the various consorzii. 

But there the measure ceases. 

In November of each year each consorzio makes out an indent of the 

number of acres of each description of crop that is desired to be irrigated within its limits during the summer of the year following, and each 

December this ought to be sent in to the director-general; and on these 

indents are settled how many modules are to be issued to each. 

At the end of the season each consorzio is called on to pay for a 

certain discharge of water received by it, as well as for the maintenance, 

repairs, &c., of the works particularly connected with it, and for its 

share in the general expenses of the whole society. The proper system, 

then, is to make out a calculation for each irrigator, which is done in 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 151 

each consorzio, allowing at the rate of one cubic foot a second for 43 

3/4 acres of rice, one cubic foot a second for 100 acres of meadow, and 

one cubic foot a second for 304 acres of Indian corn. 

Supposing, then, that an irrigator had watered 10 hectares of rice, 20 

of meadow and 20 of maize, he would be charged for 60 modules, or 1.23 

cubic feet per second; and if the whole consumption of the consorzio 

had been 24 modules, and the whole cost $6,000, he would have to pay 

one-fortieth, or $150, for the irrigation of his 50 hectares, or 123.5 

acres. But the next year he might find he would have to pay considerably 

more or less, according as the working-expenses of the year had increased 

or diminished. 

Should any cultivator have used great economy of water, and irrigated 

fields which he had not entered in the annual indent, he would be charged 

for all this irrigation, although by so doing he might help to cheapen the 

water issued to the consorzio; that is, the consorzio as a whole 

would pay for its 24 modules; and if, by any means, some of its members 

make these 24 go as far as 30 modules that had been calculated for, the 

effect would be to reduce the rate on every hectare within the 

consorzio. This, however, is not a case that is likely to occur. The 

certainty of getting a fixed supply and having to pay a fixed rate for it, 

irrigating year after year precisely the same lands, is preferred to the 

chances connected with any system by which a man's endeavors to economize 

water might be rewarded by having to pay less for it. Nor do I believe 

there is much waste, so carefully is the water collected in drains round 

the fields and passed off to other distribution-channels. 

In North India the case is totally different. There a man's irrigable 

area, as a rule, far exceeds that for which in any one year he will have 

sufficient water. Here the whole irrigable area may be watered; and if it 

is not, it is because in the rotation of crops irrigation is not required 

for it all, not because there is any lack of water. 

While, then, the Italian irrigator is enabled every year to get the 

fields watered which he wishes, and is contented to pay a fixed moderate 

sum for it, the more intelligent and industrious of the North Indian peasantry consider the more water they can get the more the area they will 

irrigate. The system of supplying water by module to them, which has been 

so highly extolled, and which as yet has never succeeded, would doubtless 

be an inducement for the more indolent classes to use the precious element 

with economy; but I think my brother canal-officers who have most experience in the matter will agree with me that among the villages inhabited by 

the hard-working castes (I instance especially the Jats in the districts 

of Delhi, Meerut, and Kurnal, with whom I am personally best acquainted) 

there will be very little saving of water effected by introducing the 

module system. Its other advantages in restricting the canal establishment 

to their own works and removing the interference with the villages caused 

by the yearly measuring parties, with their concomitant amount of rascality and bribery, I think are undeniable. 

The system above described has been called the proper system, for it 

is the one which the society has laid down in its statutes. In the case of 

the water-rate for rice, however, the old system is still in vogue, to 

some extent, of paying in kind. 
152 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

Before the cultivator is allowed to reap his rice-crops he is obliged 

to give due notice to the acquainolo, in order that one of the society's agents may inspect the field. When the rice is cut it must be conveyed to a thrashing-floor provided in each consorzio by the society, 

and there its agent takes as payment for the irrigation one-sixth of the 

crop, which is thereupon conveyed at the expense of the irrigator to the 

great central granary which the society possesses at Salasco. 

Why this system should be still allowed to exist seems strange. In 

Col. B. Smith's time he found it unpopular, and the society in their statutes provide for doing away with it and receiving payment in money for 

rice as for the other crops; but still it goes on, although only to a 

small extent. 

The rice irrigation is generally continuous, any one taking just what 

he requires, and when he requires it. The other irrigation is conducted by 

a rotation, or ruota, as it is termed, of fifteen days, beginning each 

year on the first of April. 

The marcite fields or meadows, arranged in succession of ridges and 

furrows, receive their waters in summer in the same way as the regular 

crops by a regular rotation; but in winter the system is quite different. 

This is the only species of irrigation that goes on at all during these 

months, and the waters of the jontanili (springs) having a higher 

temperature in winter than that of the canals, is generally preferred for 

this kind of irrigation, which must go on continuously, or the frost sets 

in about the grass and checks its growth. 

The irrigation society has the lease of all the jontanili belonging to the crown and of many others within the limits of its irrigation, 

and these are put up to auction, for periods not exceeding nine years, to 

be used for marcite irrigation from the middle of September to the 

middle of March. For the rest of the year these jontanili are used for 

general irrigation, and do not belong to the winter tenants. 

For the local management of the consorzii, the members in each 

elect, along with their deputy who represents them at the general assembly, six others, (or, if there be over 200 electors, nine others,) and 

these, with the deputy as president, form an administrative committee. 

They have the whole management of the! irrigation with their own 

consorzio. They correspond with the direction-general, arrange what 

works require repair, and in fact are the mouth-piece and representative 

of their parish. 

The society undertakes, when it has enough of water, to supply lands 

with irrigation which do not properly come within its area, as, for instance, when they only require an occasional watering, and are so situated 

as not to be able to receive it continuously. These lands are charged at 

the same rate as those belonging to the society. 

The water-power is let to millers, the rates being fixed by the number 

of stones driven, rather than by the head of water disposable. 

Article 244 of the statutes lays down that "every member of the society is obligated to place, without any return of identification, at the 

full disposal of the society all the trenches, channels of jontanili, 

ditches, and water-courses, with the buildings pertaining to and connected 

with them, and all the works of all kinds without exception, which exist 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 153 

on his property, in order that the same may be made use of for the passage, distribution, and employment of fresh waters, as well as for those 

recovered by the drains, and for the transit of drains." 

The proprietor, too, is obliged to keep these channels in workingorder at his own expense, or, if he neglects to do it, the directiongeneral will do it for him, and charge him with the amount. All the water 

that passes off the irrigated fields into the society's drains becomes 

again the property of the society, so that the irrigator has only a right 

to the use of the water while it passes over his lands, and he must not 

prevent its escape into the drains provided for it. 

If any member of the society possesses a jontanile, or has a hereditary right to a certain discharge of water beforehand, he may make this 

over to the society at a valuation, which they will give him for it by way 

of yearly rental. 

The statutes provide a number of fines for breach of canal laws. Any 

one interfering with the channels or water-courses may be fined from $4 to 

$12. Any one tampering with the canal-buildings or altering the sluices 

may be fined from $6 to $18. There is a fine of $3 for hindering the water 

from going into the drains, and one . of from $20 to $60 for wasting the 

society's water. Any member caught selling the water is fined double the 

sum he is believed to have got for it. 

Whoever tries to cheat in paying his rice contribution is fined double 

the amount he tried to escape paying, and whoever conceals fields he has 

irrigated is charged $10 for every hectare he has concealed. The amount of 

fines goes one-half to the funds of the society and the other half to the 

charitable support of old acquainoli who are unfit for work. The half 

that accrued to the society's fund in 1866 was only; $68 double of that, 

$136, represents the whole fines of the year. They are certainly very low. 

There remains to describe not the least important part of the society's administration, namely, the financial. By its agreement with government, the irrigation society was bound to raise and maintain a reserve 

fund of $60,000, as a security for its proper management. It was permitted, however, to borrow from this fund capital to carry on its expenses 

the first year, and in any other year when there should be extraordinary 

charges to meet. It was fl!rther allowed to raise this capital by a loan to 

be paid off in four installments, so as not to press too heavily the first 

year on the society. Each irrigator then, from the government canals, was 

called on to become a member of the society, and to send in a statement of 

the area and description of crops which he was in the habit of watering 

and wished to continue to water. The same calculation was then gone 

through as given, allowing per hectare .028 module for rice, .012 module 

for meadow irrigation, and .004 module for Indian corn, and, according to 

the number of modules thus required by any irrigator, he became a 

shareholder in the society. 

Supposing his whole area required .60 module, and that all the original shareholders together require 300 modules, he would be considered as 

the owner of one five-hundredth of the concern, and would have to pay that 

fraction of the fund of $60,000, or $120. The original shares thus formed 

are liable, like any others, to rise or sink in value, and may be divided, 

sold, and bought, &c., along with the lands to the irrigation of which 
164 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

they refer. Any irrigating proprietor not entering the society when he 

might have done so, and wishing to do so afterward, is bound to pay for 

the shares according to their market-value at the time, and, in addition, 

an entrance subscription equal to half the original value of his shares. 

Those, however, joining afterward, on account of the society having 

brought them irrigation they had not before, (the new irrigators, for 

instance, on the Cavour Canal,) are not obliged to pay this entrance subscription, but merely to buy their shares at their value at the time. 

I have before me the detailed accounts for the year 1866, from which I 

have made the following abstract: 

ASSOCIATION-GENERAL OF IRRIGATION WEST OF THE SESIA. 

Abstract of expenditures and receipts for the year 1866. 

Expenditure, (neglecting the decimals:) 

Salaries for establishment for the year 

Price of water purchased, Italian Canal Company 

Price of water purchased from various private 

sources 

Maintenance and supervision of secondary channels 

Maintenance and supervision of water-courses, &c., 

from fountains 

Hire of buildings 

Compensation for land occupied 

General expenses of office and direction 

Expenses of society's rice-granary at Salasco 

Allowance to members of committee of surveillance 

for their sittings 

Allowance to members of council of arbitration 

Legal expenses 

Interest at 5 per cent. of the capital of society 

House of refuge for old servants 

Advances to consorzii for carrying on works 

Sundry ordinary charges 

Construction of various new works 

Various extraordinary charges--purchase of land, &c. 

Balance of receipts paid as bonus to shareholders 

Grand total 

Receipts: 

For 1,559 cubic feet per second of water sold for 

irrigation 

Price agreed on for watering about 4,750 acres of 

rice in various places 

Value of 1,043 sacks of rice of sorts, paid in 

kind as water-rent 

For sundry other detached portions of irrigation 

Rent of rice and corn mills, with water-power 

$12,350 

135,505 

7,200 

8,355 

7,360 

315 

400 

5,290 

1,125 

150 

225 

1,480 

5,380 

760 

38,775 

1,355 

7,325 

2,940 

11.770 

248,060 

$152,480 

20,955 

5,745 

8,970 

7,270 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 

Receipts, cont.: 

Advances, for carrying on works, to various 

consorzii, recovered 

Interest received from capital of the society 

Fines for breach of rules 

Commission paid to council of arbitration 

for cases ref erred to them 

Rent of houses and lands belonging to the society 

Various sundry ordinary receipts 

Sundry ordinary receipts, recovery of advances, &c 

Refunded by Italian Canal Company for work done 

for them 

Capital of society increased by purchase of shares 

Grand total 

38,775 

8,160 

70 

195 

465 

965 

2,370 

1,305 

335 

248,060 

166 

The chief item of expenditure of course is for the water brought from 

the Italian Canal Company. Of this, 714.4 cubic feet per second was water 

brought by the Cavour Canal from the river Po, and bought at $200 per module, or $87.39 per cubic foot per second; and 674 cubic feet per second was 

water of the Dora Baltea, bought at $160 per module, or $69.91 per cubic 

foot per second. These were the prices stipulated in the agreement with the 

government, the extra value of the Po being due to the fact of its alluvial 

silt being considered highly fertilizing, while that of the Dora Baltea is 

rather the reverse. The expenses for repairs, establishment, &c., appears 

very moderate. Five thousand three hundred and eighty dollars was paid as 

interest, at 5 per cent., to shareholders, on the capital of the society, 

which appears to have amounted altogether to $107,140 at the end of the 

year. Thirty-eight thousand seven hundred and seventy-five was advanced 

throughout the year to various consorzii, to help them to carry on 

works, and recovered again, as shown among the receipts, 5 per cent. being 

charged for it while lent. 

On the other side, of course, the principal receipt is for water sold to 

the different consorzii, that of the Po being charged for generally $220 

per. module, or $96.11 per cubic foot per second; and that of the Dora Baltea 

at $175.50 per module, or $76.89 per cubic foot per second, an increase in 

price of 10 per cent. above what was paid for it; $5,745 worth appears to 

have been received as payment for irrigation, and the society must have 

invested their capital to good advantage, getting $8,160 of interest for it, 

or about 7 1/2 per cent. 

The result leaves a balance of $11,770 to be paid as a bonus to the 

shareholders, altogether a satisfactory conclusion, considering that they 

have received 5 per cent. on the value of their shares, as well as uninterrupted and well-organized irrigation at a reasonable price throughout the 

year. 

As to the important question of what the area actually watered by this 

society is, and how far they make a cubic foot of water go, I could gain no 

exact statistics. On the latter point I was told that at V ercelles they were 

supposed to get more duty out of water than anywhere else, and that it was 

as high as 84 acres per cubic foot per second. This is, of course, very 
156 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

small indeed, compared with our results in India, but the reasons are 

perfectly satisfactory, showing that we can take no credit to ourselves 

there for being better irrigators than the Italians. 

While in India there are few weeks in the year when the whole amount of 

water is not being fully used and in high demand, the irrigation season 

proper in Italy only lasts for the six or seven months beginning with April, 

and during the remammg months all the water is given to the marcite 

fields, which require an immense quantity, and which probably would not be 

of nearly so great an extent if it were not that there is plenty of water to 

give them. Another important difference, both here and in Spain, from our 

irrigation in India is, that in the former countries rice is grown, and 

therefore irrigated during the months in the year when the whole rain-fall 

does not exceed 5 inches in Spain and 22 inches in Piedmont, while in 

Northern India advantage is always taken of the monsoon for this 

cultivation, and the irrigation is assisted by heavy rains. 

Altogether I believe we may take the whole area watered by the irrigation society at about 138,000 acres. I have thought it worth while to 

describe at some length the system adopted by it, both because it was 

originated by one of the ablest statesmen, Count Cavour, a man much interested in agriculture, and so it is likely to be worth describing, and also 

because it has practically shown by its working for the last fourteen years 

that irrigation may be successfully administered by an agency perfectly 

distinct from that which has the control of the canals supplying it. 
_ ...... ~---·--··-

IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 157 

Counties. 

Kern 

Tulare 

Fresno 

Merced 

Stanislaus 

San Joaquin 

Total 

Counties. 

Kern 

Tulare 

Fresno 

Merced 

Stanislaus 

San Joaquin 

Total 

APPENDIX 2. 

Statistics of the San Joaquin and Tulare Valleys, California, 

for the year 187 2. 

From United States Census, 1870. From report of State surveyor-general. 

5,440 

5,746 

8,881 

1,919 

1,519 

1,892 

24,847 

2,197 

4,418 

8,264 

2,585 

6,198 

19,422 

88,079 

585 

4 

2,685 

86 

8,260 

~ :a 

0 

148 

99 

427 

186 

806 

1,628 

2,789 

670,782 

889,527 

1,894,129 

924,869 

675,087 

885,797 

4,889,691 

From report of State surveyor-general. 

• .!. c-0 ... t-. 

'3 00 

.... u 

f ..,; 

tl 

Wheat. Barley. u ~ < > 

Bushels. Acres. Bushels. 

500 8,275 800 18,000 

60,542 11,528 122,429 82,822 

84,119 5,415 45,809 20,000 

750,000 50,000 100,000 800,000 

900,000 60,000 225,000 400,000 

640,000 20,000 225,000 225,000 

2,885,161 150,218 119,088 995,882 

... -

<II 

tl 

..d 

jlr; 

c-0 f t-. 

00 u .... < 

5,000 

11,559 

10,540 

200,000 

840,000 

186,125 

18,249 

49,282 

80,428 

250,000 

80,000 

275,000 

752,954 

>: 

tl 

-.:: 

<II 

..0 

.. 

f 

u 

< 

c-0 

t-. 

00 

.... 

4,000 

17,848 

9,786 

75,000 

50,000 

29,875 

758,224 185,959 

18,595 

22,895 

28,716 

200,000 

850,000 

120,000 

729,706 

Wheat. 

Acres. 

2,409 

5,286 

6,848 

150,000 

290,000 

80,000 

584,588 

From records of 

the State board 

of equali11ation. 

tl .. ::s ... 'i = > 8 'i Gi 'i Gi '1:1 f ~ tl tl f ~ 

= e 'S ... = ... tl .. .. ~ tl 

~ 0 tl 

- $1,069,102 $286,892 

1,118,565 897,241 

8,218,278 879,287 

4,918,248 422,860 

4,281,504 601,878 

11,174,592 4,017,885 

25,725,279 6,056,088 
158 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

APPENDIX 3. 

AN ACT to authorize the incorporation of canal companies and the 

construction of canals, approved May 14, 1862. 

SECTION 1. Corporations may be formed under the provisions of an act 

entitled "An act to provide for the formation of corporations for certain 

purposes," passed April fourteenth, eighteen hundred and fifty-three, and 

the several acts amendatory thereof and supplementary thereto, for the 

following purposes: The construction of canals for the transportation of 

passengers and freights, or for the purpose of irrigation or water-power, 

or for the conveyance of water for mining or manufacturing purposes, or 

for all of such purposes. 

SEC. 2. The right is hereby granted to any company organized under the 

authority of this act to construct all works necessary to the objects of 

the company, to make all surveys necessary to the selection of the best 

site for the works and of the lands required therefor, and to acquire all 

lands, waters not previously appropriated, and other property necessary to 

the proper construction, use, supply, maintenance, repairs, and improvements of the works, in the manner, and by the mode of proceedings prescribed in an act entitled "An act to provide for the incorporation of 

railroad companies and the management of the affairs thereof, and other 

matters relating thereto," passed May twentieth, eighteen hundred and 

sixty-one. 

SEC. 3. Every company organized as aforesaid shall have power, and the 

same is hereby granted, to make rules and regulations for the management 

and preservation of their works not inconsistent with the laws of this 

State, and for the use and distribution of the waters and the navigation 

of the canals, and to establish, collect, and receive rates, water-rents, 

or tolls, which shall be subject to regulation by the board of supervisors 

of the county or counties in which the work is situated, but which shall 

not be reduced by the supervisors so low as to yield to the stockholders 

less than one and one-half per cent. per month upon the capital actually 

invested. 

SEC.-4. Every company organized under the authority of this act--shalf 

construct and keep in good repair at all times, for public use across 

their canal, all of the bridges that the board of supervisors of the county or counties in which such canal is situated shall require, said bridges 

being on the lines of public highways, and necessary for public use in 

connection with such highways. 

SEC. 5. The provisions of this act shall not apply to the counties of 

Nevada, Placer, Amador, Sierra, Klamath, Del Norte, Trinity, Butte, Plumas, Calaveras, and Tuolumne. 

SEC: 6. This act shall take effect from and after its passage. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 159 

ACT OF CONGRESS APPROVED JULY 26, 1866 . 

• • • • • • • 

SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That whenever, by priority of 

possession, rights to the use of water for mmmg, agricultural, manufacturing, or other purposes have vested and accrued, and the same are 

recognized and acknowledged by the local customs, laws, and the decisions 

of the courts, the possessors and owners of such vested rights shall be 

maintained and protected in the same, and the right of way for the construction of ditches and canals for the purposes aforesaid is hereby acknowledged and confirmed. 

ACT OF THE LEGISLATURE OF CALIFORNIA, APRIL 2, 1870. 

AN ACT to authorize the incorporation of canal companies, and to provide 

for the construction of canals and ditches. 

SECTION 1. Corporations may be formed under the provisions of the act 

of April fourteenth, eighteen hundred and fifty-three, entitled "An act to 

provide for the formation of corporations for certain purposes, and of the 

several acts amendatory thereof and supplementary thereto, for the following purposes, namely, the construction of canals for the transportation of 

passengers and freights, for the supplying water for irrigation, for procuring water-power, for conveying water for mining or manufacturing purposes, or for all such purposes combined. 

SEC. 2. The right is hereby granted to any company organized under 

this act, or which may have been organized under preceding acts, to con-

-struct all reservoirs, dams, embankments, canals, ditcbes, and _<>ther works 

necessary to the objects of such company; to make the surveys necessary to 

the selection of the sites and routes of such works, and to acquire all 

lands, waters not previously appropriated, and other property required for 

the proper construction, use, supply, maintenance, repairs, and improvements of the same, in the manner hereinafter provided. 

SEC. 3. Any company organized in pursuance of this act, or any company 

organized under any pre-existing acts for similar purposes, shall have the 

power to locate or fix up on the line or route of its proposed ditch or 

canal, and select the site or sites of its proposed dams, embankments, and 

reservoirs in conformity with the designation of its engineers or business 

manager. 

SEC. 4. In case the route so fixed upon, or any part therefor, or the 

site so selected, be upon land owned by individuals, or upon public land 

possessed and occupied by individuals, and the right to such route or site 

over or upon such land has not been acquired by agreement with such owners 
160 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

or occupant, then it shall be lawful for such company to present to the 

county judge of the county wherein such land is situated a petition, verified by an officer or agent of the company, showing that such route or 

site is necessary to such company, that it passes over or is upon such 

land, and that a right to the same has not been acquired by agreement with 

the owner or occupant (naming him) of the land. It shall conclude with a 

prayer for the appointment of commissioners to assess the damages resulting to such owner or occupant, because of the selection and appropriation 

of such route or site. 

* * * * * * * 

SEC. 12. Every company organized in pursuance of this act shall construct and keep in good repair, at all times, for public use, the various 

bridges across any canal or ditch owned by it, required by the board of 

supervisors of the county wherein such crossing is situated, such bridge 

being on the line or crossing a public highway or county road, and necessary for public use. 
Notes 

1. Watson's Ferry is located a few miles above the town of Tranquillity 

on Fresno Slough, while Banta's was a depot of the Southern Pacific 

Railroad located west of the San Joaquin River. 

2. Considered the most important irrigating enterprise in California in 

the 1870s, the San Joaquin and King's River Canal stretched a distance 

of 67 miles from the junction of Fresno Slough and the San Joaquin 

River to its terminus at Orestimba Creek in Stanislaus County. 

3. Pillarcitos Dam on Pillarcitos Creek, holds the run-off of the 

northern Santa Cruz Mountains which would otherwise empty into the 

Pacific Ocean at Half Moon Bay, San Mateo County. 

4. San Emedio Creek, an intermittent stream flowing through San Emedio 

[Emegdio] Canyon originates in the Tehachapi Mountains and flows into 

Buena Vista Lake. 

5. Established July 1, 1857, on the Fall River, a tributary of the Pit, 

Fort Crook served as a garrison to settlers in Fall Valley, Shasta 

County. 

6. Named after Major Pierson B. Reading, the fort was established in May 

1852 on Cow Creek, six miles northeast of Anderson, Shasta County. 

7. Coover's Ferry once crossed the upper San Joaquin River near 

Millerton. Today Friant Dam and Lake Millerton have inundated this 

location. 

8. Fort Tejon provided a resting spot for travelers crossing the 

Tehachapi Mountains. Tejon Pass connects the southern Tulare Valley 

with the Los Angeles Basin. 

9. The community of Knight's Landing was established in 1843 on the 

Sacramento River approximately 20 miles northwest of Sacramento and 

has served as an important shipping point for the northern Central 

Valley. 

10. These lakes are now almost completely dry lake beds or farm land, as 

ditches and canals diverted the supplying flows of the rivers to 

irrigate farmers' fields. 

11. Firebaugh's Ferry is located on the west bank of the San Joaquin River 

in Fresno County. Hill's Ferry was established on the San Joaquin 

River during the Gold Rush, ten miles south of Modesto in Stanislaus 

County. 
162 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

12. Corral Hollow Creek is located in western Fresno County near Patterson 

Pass, southwest of the city of Tracy. 

13. Alkalai, a soluable mineral salt, causes alkaline soils which are 

damaging to crops. 

14. The clay present in 

suitable for growing 

irrigation practices. 

adobe soils renders them impermeable, thus uncertain crops and liable to damage by poor 

15. South of Stockton in San Joaquin County, Moore's Landing is on the 

left bank of the San Joaquin River. 

16. Summit Lake was once located southeast of Fresno, west of Visalia and 

directly north of Tulare Lake in Fresno County. 

17. Situated at the confluence of the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers in 

the San Joaquin Delta, Antioch. serves as a port town for Contra Costa 

County. 

18. R. Baird Smith, F.G.S., (Captain of Engineers, Bengal Presidency) 

wrote Italian Irrigation: A Report on the Agricultural Canals of 

Piedmont and Lombardy in 1855 addressed to the "Honourable Court of 

Directors of the East India Company." 

19. The waters of the Ticino River flow out of Lake Maggiore in the 

Italian Alps, in the northwestern corner of Lombardy, bordering on the 

Piedmont region to the west and Switzerland to the north. The Ticino 

is a major tributary of the Po River. 

20. At Tornavento, west of Milan, the "Naviglio Grande," a canal, carries 

water diverted from the Ticino River to supply irrigation water to 

Lombardy. Canals of the Adda River, the second largest in Lombardy, 

utilized over 50 percent of its 6,540 cfs. flow (in 1855) for 

irrigation purposes. The Oglio River, also a tributary of the Po, 

originates in the mountains north of the Po Valley and east of the 

Ticino and Adda rivers. A canal at Torre Pallavicina took water from 

the Oglio to irrigate the valley. 

21. Beginning in the northwestern provinces and running east into the Bay 

of Bengal, the Ganges (modern Ganga) River constitutes one of the 

great rivers of India. The upper and lower Ganges Canal system 

includes 8,299 miles of distributing canals providing irrigation water 

for the Ganges flood plain. The project was completed in 1854. 

22. The Jumna (Yamuna) River, a tributary 

river to the southeast, then gradually 

Ganges flood plain and joins the Ganges 

holy city Varanas. 

of the Ganges, parallels the 

turns northeast through the 

at Allahabad, near the Hindu 
NOTES 163 

23. Saharunpur is located along the Jumna River north of Dehli, at the 

base of the Himalayan Mountains. The Ganges River and Jumna originate 

in the southern flanks of the Himalya. 

24. The Siwalic Hills parallel the Himalayas from Kashmir to Eastern 

Nepal. Mountain streams, which form the tributaries of the Jumna and 

Ganges, flow southwesterly from the Siwalic Hills. 

25. On the west side of the Sacramento River in Tehama County, Red Bluff 

sits between the junctions of Dibble and Pine creeks, tributaries of 

the Sacramento River. 

26. The Princeton ferry crosses the Sacramento River in northeastern 

Colusa County. 

27. Colusa, the county seat of Colusa County, sits on the right bank of 

the Sacramento River about 50 miles upriver from Sacramento. 

28. In the late 1840s General John Bidwell bought a Mexican rancho near 

the present site of the town of Chico, founded by Bidwell in 1860. 

Later he donated land from his rancho to establish the Northern Branch 

State Normal School, now California State University, Chico. Bidwell 

was a pioneer agriculturist and as state senator helped shape the 

early agricultural development of the state. 

29. The Madras presidency covered the eastern coast 

Comorin in the south to the province of Orissa 

Orissa in Bengal, the Ganges River flows into 

through what is now Bangladesh. 

of India from Cape 

in the north. Above 

the Bay of Bengal 

30. The Eastern Jumna Canal, which was adapted from a canal built during 

the Mogul dynasty, first irrigated the United Provinces in 1830. The 

British modified the 14th century imperial canals near Delhi to form 

the Western "Jumna Can11t. The Bari Doab Canal made use of a system 

built in 1633 on the Ravi River, a tributary of the Indus, by Shah 

Jahan, and was used to water the royal gardens at Lahore. 

31. A tributary of the Indus River, the Saone begins in the Himalaya and 

flows in a southwestern direction through the northern portion of the 

Punjab before merging with the Indus. 

32. Completed in 1884, the Sirhind Canal irrigates a tract of land south 

of the Sutlej River, a tributary of the Indus, northwest of Delhi in 

the Punjab. 

33. The Orissa Canals formed a system of navigation and irrigation canals 

from the Mahanadi River at Cuttack down the delta of the Hooghly River 

which flows into the Bay of Bengal below Calcutta. 
164 ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

34. See Map 2, "Map of the Delta of the River Cauvery" for details. 

35. The Rohilcund Canals consist of four systems in the Tarai region of the 

United Provinces in northern India. 

36. The Agra Irrigation Works were part of 755 miles of canals, laterals, 

distribution ditches, and drains serving the area south west of Agra in 

India's North West Provinces. The main canal at Agra allowed for 

navigation as well as provided irrigation water. 

37. The Cauvery Delta is located on the eastern coast of India, on the Bay of 

Bengal, about 250 miles north of Cape Camorin. The mouths of the Kistna 

(Krishna) and Godavery rivers are within 50 miles of one another, 

emptying into the Bay of Bengal, about 600 miles north of the cape. 

38. The mouth of the Guadalaviar River is at Valencia, along the southeastern 

coast of Spain. 

39. Madrid, the capital of Spain, is located on the Manzanares River in the 

center of the country. 

40. The Mediterranean port city of Castellon de Ia Plana is at the mouth of 

the Mijares River, approximately 50 miles north of Valencia on the 

southeastern coast. 
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NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS 

Alta California (San Francisco) 

Fresno QJill.v. Republican 

Fresno Expositor 

Kern County Weekly Courier (Bakersfield) 

Marysville Appeal 

Pacific R.Y..rn! ~(San Francisco) 

Sacramento }!tt 

Sacramento Union 

SAn. Francisco ~ 

San Francisco Chronicle 

San Joaquin Valley Ar.&.Y.1 

Stanislaus County News 

Stockton Independent 

Tulare Times 

Weekly Colusa Sun 

UNPUBLISHED MATERIAL 

Carothers, Alice L. "The History of the Southern Pacific Railroad in the 

San Joaquin Valley." Master's thesis, University of Southern 

California, 1934. 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 173 

Eigenheer, Richard Allen. "Early Perceptions of Agricultural Resources in 

the Central Valley of California." Ph.D. dissertation, University of 

California, Davis, 1976. 

Jewell, Marion N. "Agricultural Development in Tulare County 1870-1900." 

Master's thesis, U ni versi ty of Southern California, 19 50. 

Malone, Thomas E. "The California Irrigation Crisis of 1886: Origins of 

the Wright Act." Ph.D. dissertation, Stanford University, 1965. 

Miller, M Catherine. "Law and Entrepreneurship in California: Miller and 

Lux and California Water Law, 1879-1928." Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, San Diego, 1982. 

ARCHlY AL MATERIAL 

Bensley, John. MS. Papers. Bancroft Library, University of California, 

Berkeley. 

Davidson, George. Papers. Bancroft Library, University of California, 

Berkeley. 

Hyatt, Edward. "National Broadcast on California Agricultural Programs, 

Under the Auspices of the State Grange, NBC Studios, San Francisco, 

November 10, 1939," Edward Hyatt Papers 2, Water Resources Center 

Archives, University of California, Berkeley. 

Ralston, William Chapman. Collection. Bancroft Library, University of 

California, Berkeley. 

Records of the California State Legislature. Assembly Bills, 1873-1874. 

California State Archives. 

Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers. Record Group 71, "Records 

Relating to Various Functions." 1790-1945. National Archives. 

Executive Branch. 

"Records of Engineer Boards and Commissions." 1824-1954. 

National Archives. Executive Branch. 

"Report of General Barton Stone Alexander on the Reclamation of the Rancho 

Pescadero, San Joaquin County." 1877. Bancroft Library Pamphlets. 

Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. 

State of California. Office of the State Engineer. Reports of the State 

Engineer to the Governor, 1880. California State Archives, Sacramento. 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Office of History. Biographical Files. Fort 

Belvoir, Virginia. 
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 

MAPS 

National Archives. Record Group 77, Civil Works Map File. Washington, D.C. 

Board of Commissioners on Irrigation. Map of the San Joaquin, 

Sacramento, and Tulare Valleys, State of California, 1873. (W170-9) 

Commissioners on Irrigation. Diagram Showing the System of 

Irrigation as Practiced on the San Joaquin and Kings River Canal. 

(W170-4). 

__ _.. Map of the Delta of the River Cauvery Showing the Development 

of the System of Irrigation in the Districts of Tanjore, Trichinopoly, 

and part of South Arcot, Madras Presidency. (W170-5) 

U.S. Coast Survey. Rain Chart of the United States. August 

1868. Engineering Department, 1874. (W170-3) 
Alexander, Lt. Col. Barton S., 

career of, 19-21, in California, 

20-21, Civil War, 19-20, Mexican 

War, 19; consultant to city of 

San Francisco Special Committee 

on Water Supply, 21; death, 34; 

forwards monthly reports, 26; 

order to serve on commission, 19; 

role in preparation of final 

report, 28; state engineer, role 

in establishing office of, 34-35; 

surveys for Stockton Ship Canal 

Company, 20-21 

American River, 25-26, 31, 56, 75 

Antioch, 11, 12, 14, 33, 82 

Auburn, 62 

Bache, Alexander D., 22 

Bakersfield, 6-7, 24-25, 7 4; 

irrigation near, 56 

Bank of California, 13; role in 

financing irrigation works, 10, 

32-33 

Banta Station, 10, 24-25, 74 

Bear River, 31, 75, 81 

Benicia, 64 

Bensley, John, 9; organizes 

California Steam Navigation Co., 

9; organizes San Francisco Water 

Works Company, 9; organizes San 

Joaquin and Kings River Canal 

Company, 9-10 

Berryessa Valley, 27 

Bidwell, John, 4, 5 

Board of Irrigation Commissioners, 

6-7, 14; appointments to, 18-19; 

bill to organize, 14, I 7, 18; 

composition, 18-19; evaluation of 

efforts of, 36; 

final report, preparation of, 

26-29, release of, 29, 31, 

submission of, 28; 

foreign irrigation projects, 

26-27, 28-29; acquisition of 

works on, 27, 28-29; study of, 

26-27, 28-29; 

Index 

public interest in the work of, 

24, 25; in the Sacramento Valley, 

27; in the San Joaquin Valley, 

26, 27; in the Tulare Valley, 26 

Booth, Newton, 

opposition to government 

subsidies, 12-13, 14; views on 

Brereton, 12-13; opposition to 

canal company, 12-13, 32 

Brereton, Robert Maitland, 

arrival in San Francisco, 10; 

career in India, 10; death, 36; 

San Joaquin and Kings River Canal 

and Irrigation Company, involvement with, 10-14, discussions in 

Washington, D.C., 13-14, failure 

of company, 32-33, seeks 

financing in London and Europe, 

13, 32-33, plans for canals, 

11-12; promotion in Washington, 

D.C., of a government irrigation 

survey, 13-14; service after 

commission, 32-33, 36; service to 

commission as advisor, 23-24 

Brewer, William, 23 • 

Browne, J. Ross, on irrigation, 4-5 

Buena Vista Lake, 5, 11, 14, 16, 

74, 82 

Butte Creek, 88 

Cache Creek, 5, 26, 56, 64, 73, 76, 

83 

Cache Slough, 83 

Calaveras River, 25-26 

California, 

canal companies, acts to 

incorporate, 158-160, variable 

nature of, 59-61; orographical 

conditions, 59, 61, 62; potential 

benefits of irrigation, 143-144; 

temperatures of selected 

toea tions, 69-71 

California Geological Survey, 

24-25, 72 
176 

California State Agricultural 

Society, 4 

California State Board of 

Agriculture, 5 

California Steam Navigation 

Company, 9 

Capay Valley, 83 

Casserly, Eugene, 16-18 

Centerville, 11, 24-25, 56 

Central Pacific Railroad Company, 8 

Central Valley see Great 

Valley. 

Central Valley Project (CVP), 7, 

36 

Chapman, William S., 10, 12-13, 

14-15 

Cherokee, 26 

Chico, 88 

Chico Creek, 88 

Chowchilla River, 75 

Clear Lake, 9, 26, 56, 64, 66, 76, 

83 

Clear Lake Water-Works Company, 

proposed canal of, 83 

CoaH Range, 5,14,62 

Cole, Cornelius, 14, 16, 18 

Colusa, 72, 81, 87 

Cosumnes River, 25-26, 56, 81, 86 

Davidson, George, 

order to serve on commission, 19, 

22-23; attitude toward commission, 24, 25-26; career with 

Coast and Geodetic Survey, 22-23, __ ,_ ____ , in.Alaska, 22~23, California, 

22-23, New England, 22, Panama, 

22, Washington, D.C., 22; consultant to City of San Francisco 

regarding water supplies, 21; 

continuing interest in irrigation, 32; death, 36; education, 

22-23; preparation of final report, role in, 28; triangulation 

of the Coast Range and Sierra 

Nevada, 22-23; work after commission, 32, 36 

ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

Denison, Sir William, 

comments on irrigation in India, 

116-119 

Drought, in California, 9, 10, 33 

Dwinnelle, John W., 20 

Feather River, 26, 31, 56, 72, 75, 

88 

Firebaugh's Ferry, 9, 74 

Fish Slough, 11 

Flooding, 

in Central Valley, 34-35; 

introduction of control works, 35 

Fort Crook, 64 

Fort Reading, 64, 65 

Fort Tejon, 64, 65 

Fresno, 10, 81 

Fresno Canal Company, 27-28 

Fresno Slough, 11, 24-25, 86 

Friedlander, Isaac, 10, 12, 14-15 

Goshen, 24-25 

Grange, 17, 28 

opposition to San Joaquin and 

Kings River Canal and Irrigation 

Company subsidy bill, 17 

Grayson, T., 13 

Great Valley, adaptability for 

irrigation, 5, 59, 143-44; canals, 

existing and hypothetical, 57; 

climate, 5, 59, 63; defined, 5; 

extent of, 56; farming methods in, 

5-6, 59, 63; land ownership patterns, 6, 12; opened for settlement, 3-4; rainfall in, 59;_s.tudies 

of irrigation in, 6-7, 143-44; 

temperatures, 59 

Haggin, James Ben Ali, 33 

Haight, Henry H., 13 

Hall, William Hammond, 34-35, 36 

Haymond, Creed, 34 

Hilgard, J.E., 25 

Hill's Ferry, 12, 24-25 
INDEX 

Houghton, Sherman 0., 14-15, 17-18 

Humphreys, Brig. Gen. Andrew A., 

career, 19; support of bill to 

create Board of Irrigation 

Commissioners, 19; urged to 

appoint Clarence King to the 

commission, 23; view of 

commission report, 54-55 

Hyatt, Edward, 7 

lrriga tion, 

in California, 72-74, 77, 88, 

138-147, foothills, 143; general 

considerations of, 143-144; 

necessity for, 58, 140; 

potential costs of canals, · -· ........ ·-· .... ·M+"i-4·4;· role of government in, 

140, 144, 146; role of private 

enterprise, 146; value of crops, 

144; 

in China, 6; 

Imperial Canal, 100 

cost of, 138-143; 

defined, 88; 

drainage, general description of, 

I44; 

in foreign countries, 97, 98, 

140-I41; 

in Egypt, 97, 98; 

in France, 13 7 -138; 

in Great Valley, possible 

systems, 146; 

in India, 28-29, 97, 98, 99-119, 

141; 

canals, statistics of, I07; 

in Madras Provinces, channel 

irrigation in deltas of rivers, 

111-114, Cauvery delta, 111, 

God a very delta, Ill, Kistna 

delta, Ill; 

in Northwest Provinces, 109-110, 

Dhoon Canals, 109; Eastern 

Jumna Canal, 100, 109; Ganges 

Canal, I 00, I 08, II 0; general 

remarks on, IOO, 111-112; 

private canals in, 114-116; East 

India Irrigation Company, 115; 

Madras Irrigation Company, 

115-116; 

177 

in Punjab, 107-108; Bari Doab 

Canal, 107, 11 0; Delhi and 

Garagaon Works, 108; Indus 

Inundation Canals, 108, 110; 

Lower Sutlej and Chenab 

Inundation Canals, 108, 110; 

Upper Sutlej Canals, 108, 110; 

Western Jumna Canal, 107; 

general remarks on, 99-100, 141 

in Italy, 97, 98, 119-129; 

Association-General of 

Irrigation West of the Sesia, 

127, 154-156; canals, in 

Lombardy, 122-123; in th_e 

Piedmont, 123-129; Cavour Caifal,--·-... -

122, 147, 154-155; government 

financing for, 126-127, 147, 

154-155; 

climate, 120-121; 

general remarks, 119-122 

navigation of rivers, influence 

on, 83, 84-86; in India, 85; in 

Italy, 84; 

rivers in California, potential 

effects, 84-88, 137-138; 

in Spain, 129-137; climate, 130; 

in Elche, 141; in Granada, 141; 

irrigated land, value of, 131; 

laws and customs, 132, 136-137, 

as regards canals, 136; Moorish 

traditions and legacy, 131-132; 

toward private companies, 

134-135; in Valencia, 135, 141 

Irwin, William, 32-33 

Jones' Ferry, 12 

Kaweah River, 5, 56, 75 

Kern County, 11 

Kern Lake, 5, 16, 24-25, 72, 74, 

77, 82 

Kern River, 5, 11, 14, 16, 24-25, 

26, 56 

King, Clarence, 23-24 

Kings River, 5, 11, 16, 24-25, 26, 

56,. 75 

Knight's Ferry, 25-26 
178 

La Grange, 25 

LeConte, John, 20 

LeConte, Joseph, 20 

Los Banos, 11 

Los Banos Creek, 82 

Luning, Nicholas, 10 

Lux, Charles, 3-4, 10, 12, 32-33 

Marsh, George Perkins, 31 

Marshall, Col. Robert Bradford, 36; 

Marshall Plan 1919-1920, 36 

Martinez, 12 

Mendell, Maj. George H., career in 

California, 21; death, 36; 

militarv career, 21; order to _, --" -- ~. -· . -.-•• ~::;:..,t! . . .,.._ .. -,.,....,""",..'"" .,.-.. -·-·--·~~- ...... ·~~~ .. - .. 

serve on commtssion, 19; -

Merced County farm club, 24 

Merced River, 12, 20-21, 24, 26, 

56, 75 

Mexican land grants, 8 

Miller, Henry, 3-4, 10, 12, 24-25, 

32 

Millerton, 12, 64, 65, 78 

Mining, replaced by agriculture, 4, 

94, 96; debris in rivers, 26, 31, 

34-35, 96 . 

Modesto, 25-26, 66 

Mokelumne River, 25-26, 56, 75, 86 

Monterey, 66 

Moore's Landing, 82 

Moss, J. Mora, 10 

Oakland, 14 

Orland, 36 

Oroville, 26 

Paige, Timothy, 12 

Peoples' Independent Party, 12-13 

Pillarcitos Dam, 62 

Powell, John Wesley, 33 

Princeton, 87 

Puta (or Putah) Creek, 26, 56, 73 

Rainfall, in California see 

Great Valley, climate in. 

Ralston, William, 10, 12-14, 16, 

23, 32-33 

ENGINEERS AND IRRIGATION 

Red Bluff, 26, 56 

Redding, 26, 72 

Reed, Charles F., 5 

Rocklin, 62 

Sacramento River, 5, 26, 27, 31, 

36, 56, 64-65, 72 

Sacramento Valley, 5, 27, 33, 56 

San Francisco Bay, 5 

San Joaquin & Kings River Canal 

and Irrigation Company, 6-7, 

23-24,75,77,82, 90;canab 

built by, 82-83, 90; canals 

proposed by, 9, 10-12; efforts to 

obtain government subsidies for, 

13-17; land ownership, 12-13; · 

opposition to subsidies for, 

13-17, 26, 28; see also 

Brereton, M; techniques used for 

spreading water, 85-87; use of 

canal for navigation, 86-87 

San Joaquin Farmers' Club, 25 

San Joaquin River, 5, 11, 12, 14, 

16, 20-21, 24-25, 26; Chapman 

Canal on, 43 

San Joaquin Valley, 3-4, 5, 

land ownership patterns in, 8 

San Pablo Bay, 72 

Sargent, A.A., 28 

Shasta, 26, 56, 66 

Sierra Nevada, 5, 26, 62 

Smartsville, 26 

Smith, Col. Baird, 101, 111, 112, 

122 

Southern Pacific Railroad Company, 

6-7, 8 

Spring Valley Water Company, 9, 62 

State Agricultural Society, 4 

State Board of Agriculture, 5 

Stanislaus River, 20-21, 26, 56 

Stewart, William M., 16,17-18,35 

Stockton, 20-21 

Stony Creek, 5, 27, 56, 73, 87 

Suisun Bay, 5, 72 

Summit Lake, 11, 82 

Sycamore Bend, 24-25 
INDEX 

Table Mountain, 12 

Tehama, 56 

Tejon Pass, 11, 72 

Tevis, Lloyd, 10 

Tipton, 24-25 

Topographical Engineers, 21, 22 

Tulare Lake, 5, 11, 14, 16, 33 

Tulare Valley, 5, 26, 56 

Tule River, 75 

Tuolumne River, 20-21, 25-26, 56 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 33 

U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, 

22-23, 24 

U.S. Geological Survey, 33 

.Visalia, rainfall at, "TC-24~-25~-

56, 63; irrigation from Kaweah 

River, 56, 63; problems with 

irrigating ditches, 64, 66 

Ward, Samuel, 13-14 

Watson's Ferry, 56, 78, 82 

West Side Canal, 33 

Wheat, 8, 9, 139-140 

Whitney, Josiah D., 

asked to join commission, 55; 

declines invitation to serve on 

commission, 23-24; meets with 

members of commission, 25-26, 27; 

state geologist, 23 

Wright Act, 35-36 

Yuba River, 26, 56, 75 

179 
US Army Corps 

of Engineers 

EP 870·1· 39 

AUGUST 1990