New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-02-19
A NEW SOURCE OF WEALTH;
IRRIGATION IN THE WEST.
GENERAL sRIssIN DESCRIBES HOW TIE a

up IN our country almost unobserved but colossal
in It's nature and extent / mean the owning NJ
wafer In the streams and rivers. Formerly ONLY
Tho land was considered valuable, but now in
many parts Of the country the ownership OF land
without water is Of little account. II one man
owns the and and another the water the man
who owns the water has the best OF IL and bas
the other fellow at his mercy. The great system
OF irrgating lands in dry sections for crops is AZ
YET In Its infancy, but wherever tried It has
done well and irrigating bitches have yielded A
large return to the investors In them
Most of the largest bitches are in Colorado
where 5000, 900 acres OF land are subject To jrr
CATION. OF this vast body less than 500 900 acres
have been irrigated leaving 2.5OO 900 TO be
watered yet. The canals in course Of construction
Will water about 200, 900 OF the 25OO 600 acres
This is enormous when we consider that the yvbola
system OF irrigation has grown up almost within
the past five years. The San Louis Park Canal.
watering 100000 acres; State Land Canal
5000 acres Citizens Canal 10000 acresI
and Del Norte and Suguache Canal $50, 900 acres
may be mentioned as among the most successful
! Colorado bitches. These three canals cover
| 900 acres Of Government land, 200, 900 acres
of patented land and 80, 900 acres OF State land
| They will furnish homes for between 1000 and
1000 farmers. The water for the canals is taken
from the Rio Grande River near the town Of
| Del N'rte: The largest canal is 20 feet wlds
at Its head aQd gradually narrows down 10 twelve
feet. Its depth varies from two TO SIX feet.
IL has when full capacity for watering 100000
acres of land.
How do they make irrigatng canals? Easy
enough and quite ra idly. First is the construc-
ton of the main canal. The water is taken
from river or creek, the supply being regulated
by headgate. The canal may be tn. twenty OF
fifty feet wide AMI one five ten feet deep. ac-
cording to the volume OF water dc = cd Generally
the canals wide and shallow like creek.
Indeed. they merely artificial creeks and when
grassgrown and planted with trees along their
banks are hard to toll from the natural streams.
favorable place for tapping the river or creek
having been found the canal is carried forward
to the high grounds. 1t is generally given abouo
half the ia Of the river or creek so IL soon
reaches an elevation far above the natural stream
and has the lands between it and the stream be-
low its waters. At intervals as needed, small
canals are taken out and carried TO the farms
Each lateral has hcadgate and measure for the
water. The lateras are built so as TO cover tho
greatest number of farms At certain distances
subIateras are taken ont from the main lateras
and these sublateras too have headgates and
water measures The subaterals used by in
dvdual farmers If before poughing time there
has been rain enOughs to soften the ground the
farmer does not resort to his ditch. but II the
season is dry he orens his headgate and saturates
the ground The seeding is then done. Ten acres
Is about the allowance Of land that can be irri-
gated In one day per man. Unless water is very
Plentiful farmers are limited to eighty acres each
to be irrigated IN season, but this does not
include grass lands.
After the crops come up they are irrigated
simply flooded. The quantity of water put on is
about eonal to what would fall IN three DAYS
steady rain When the crop is half grown IL is
irrigated again. Two irrigations are considered
enough for crop in season unless the weather
is very hot and dry, and then three irrgatiOns
may be put 1t will thus be seen that every
farmer holds in his own hands the means OF max
ing crop when he has irrigating bitches
Root crops can always be kept moist and re-
qure five or ten times as much water as cereals
The expense of irrigation when compared with the
benefits derived Is very slight Irrigation about
doubles crops, and the cost OF the water Is never
over So per acre and often as low as 60 cents per
acre per annum. Forty and fifty bushels OF
wheat per acre are often raised under irrigation;
Potatoes frequently grow to five pounds and yield
yield equally we'll, and barley will yield forty
bushels per acre and oats often fifty and sixty
bushels. L have seen .seventy-seven bushels q
oats cut on acre of irrigated land, and myself
measured 500 bushels of wheat cut from ten.
acre field in Colorado, near Boulder. Wild hay
when well irrigated will cut two tons per acre,
and alfalfa four to six tons All kinds Of berries
such as Strawberries raspberries, black
fruits, grow prolifcally under irrigation and
yield nearly double crop. From $500 10 $500
is often taken from an acre for small fruits.
DtchiDg machines have been made for digging
irrigating canals, but never saw that worked
satisfactorily. The best dtching machine Is IN
Irishman and wheelbarrOw or a plough and
seraper. A ditch, ten feet wide and two three
feet deem can ordinarily be made at cost Of
81 900 per mile. The income from tho water
III such ultcn IN Il good Locality IL ABOUT "a per
cent per annum on the cost Of making :, So it will
be seen dtfhng is prGtadbei had The te com,
In placing their stock but they throve amazingly
and soon men OF capital began TO look into the
matter. The Colorado Loan and Trust Company
was formed by Mr.. r. G. Henry for the purpose
of iTigating lands and soon large bitches
under way. This company now controls many
bitches and irrigatcs nearly 100000 acres Of
lard There are many other companies and
believe all are making money. From Colorado
the irrigation system spread into Wyoming and
there now more than one hundred irrigatins
bitches in this Territory. Many of them
owned by Colorado capitalists, which shows that
going to extend their bitches rapidly possible.
going 10 extend their bitches rapidly as possible
not only in their State but in the adjoining
States and Territories.
That curious message sent by the Gov
ernor Of Nebraska TO the Governor Of Colorado,
the SOUTH Platte Riv~r in Colorado because it was
drying up the Platte River in Nebraska 1t was the
first message of the kind, | think, ever sent IN
the West, hut il will not be the last one. IL shows
that the water in the great rivers will one day he
in contest and their distribution the lands along
lation The day will come when from irrigation
the volume of water In the great Missouri and
Mississippi will be materially decreased and when
one may certain OF the yea. over
dry shod at the mouth Of streams where steamers
now float as at the mouth of the Yellowstone
in Montana
Nor will the system Of irrigation be confined 10
the West, for it will spread eastward and before
many years be brought into general use. When
think OF my old fathers farm in Pennsylvania
and our dread OF drouth It makes me half angry
at our stupidity. Through tins farm ran a fine
stream of water and saw the crops die for
want Of water on It's very banks Had we had
sense enough 70 put dam in the creek at the
top of the farm we could have thrown out its
waters on the land and deted the drouth. But
no one thought of il. or rather we did not knoN
anything about rrig ition. Such thing could
not occur there again with me as the loss OF the
crop for want Of water, and | doubt II It VIII
be long until even the dullest Of our farmers com,
10 understand the advantages Of irrigation and
how to distribute water from adjacent stream
upou their lands JAMES =. BpIsBI\.
Fort McKinney. Wyoming Jan. rs, 1888.
MATTERS OF INTEREST TO MA PINERS
The Coast and Geodetic Survey Office has issued Crcu.