The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1889-02-02

Q depth OF tnree Ioet OF WaterS Nlnos afouhe
the foothills Of the beautiful Moxee val
ley and supplies all those thousands o
broad acres with q sufiieiency Of water iol
irrigation. and domestic and stock pur
poses. The Mckee Company use d por
ton Of this supply on some 1000 acres o
their own. Here may be seen broad acre.
Of alfalfa, from which four crops 9 YEA
are cut, large fields Of grain, hop yard
with their long. straight poles, empowered
by the clinging vines, standing up liks
soldiers on dress parade, row after row o.
fruit trees, bending under their loads o.
ripe fruit in the season, long stretches o.
vineyard conceallng under their shelter
ing leaves punches Of the luscious grapes
Of a size and quality calculated to delight
the heart Of q viticulturist, and several
fields Of tobacco, the growth Of which Mr.
Ker, highly encouraged BY the prices OBJ
tanned, intends TO make specially.
Mr.. KeF, after that careful test and ex'
pertinent which characteriEes all Of his
work, has adopted the Aowage system o.
irrigation, has his fields laid OF checks, u
and by this means il able to get the wa.
ter on and of the land more quickly and
without the waste and work consequent
upon the use Of the more common and
sxtravagant trickling system. On the
west and around North Yakima, the
Union, Hubbard, Schanno, city and DIFF
ierent Ahtanum bitches, all small affairs,
supply the farmers and city with an
Of water for all agricultural
purposes. The trickling system IL the one
In vogue, that Is, the husbandman from
he main ditch through his field, ct every
Twelve or fourteen feet, runs OF . light
iuErow in which thread Of water trickles
down through his crop. Experiment has
shown that these little Fivulets moisten
The land about six feet on either side.
When we reflect on the loss from evapo-
nation, the constant vigilance needed to
keep these little streams open, II Is Ger
ain that ere long our farmers will adopt
he economical and surer "check" method
of the Mckee Company.
Il Is predicted that before long these
little bitches about the city Of North Yak
ma will be bought out and consolidated
Ind the 10000 scres Of arabic land about
he city brought under one large canal,
IN end to be hoped for and Q consumma-
ion which will richly repay the invest
NJ. Just opposite the site Of Old Yaki.
ma, Is the initial point Of the ITO be"
anal Of the Sunnyside Ditch Company.
This company proposes next spring tax
ng out the waters Of the Yakima ct this
'oint, and conducting Il In canal to the
ich plains Immediately back Of Prosssr.
I done, $1,000 acres Of good farming
ountTy will thus be thrown open. The
leans brothers, Of Tacoma, and some st.
PAUL capitalists are backing this scheme.
rhus far nothing has been done other
han the preliminary surveys, which have
demonstrated thefeasibility. Stillon down
he Yakima, We come to the Homework
anal, which affords the settlers along its
line chance to show what this country
will do under the influence Of irrigation,
n field after field Of alfalfa and orchard
after orchard amply attest, Q small local
ditch, which must give place to the mag
nifcent canal Of the Sunnyside Company,
which we hope, next New Year, not TO be
On paper only. Just above Kiona, still
lower down the Yakima, the Yakima I'M
provement and Irrigation Company are
going right ahead, constructing . canal
Tor irrigation and commercial purposes.
This canal is intended to cover some 49,
900 acres Of the company's own lands and
twice as much more, open 10 the pre-emp-
tor and homesteadeF. The location sur
veys have been made and the company
are going right on with construction. The
lands, like all others In Yakima, are ilne,
rich soils, and from their peculiarly favor.
able situation especially adapted for fruit
raising, which we understand the com.
pany propose to make q specially. Thls
canal Is to be constructed Of sufficient sizs
and depth-six feet In depth-ior canal
boats to transfer freight to and from thu
chipping point ct Kiona, on the N. p. r.
R., and when completed, which will b
In the next eighteen months, will b .
large addition to the constantly Increasing
resources Of Yakima county. This cruds
account Of "ITigation In Yakima" induce,
the reflection Of the great need Of watel