Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-05-18

people if an official determination of the
rsinfall can be made and reservoirs for its
economical Storage can be located.
Oar readers will remember that recently
we published interesting facts showing the
relation of the rainfall to the grain yield.
General Greedy, Chief of the United States
Signal Service, has since that publication
sent to US his report of the annual rainfall
in the Pacific States and Territories as
shown by such volunteer and official OBJ
servauons as were accessible 10 him.
his charts show that more careful OBJ
servation of rainfall has greatly reduced the
limits OF that region reported in the census
as unit for agriculture on account of de-
hcient moisture. He enforces the import
ance of exact statistics in this matter by a
reference 10 the rain tables of a compact
agricultural district in South Australia.
showing the relations between rainfall and
wheat yield. He SAYS that these obserya-
tons show that twelve inches of rain in
the six winter months produces six BUSH
els OF wheat per acre, aud that for every in
crease OF an inch in the rainfall an increase
appears IN the wheat yield Experience in
that part OF Australia proves that an in
crease OF 90 per cent. in the average moist
ure adds S5O,0OO,O00 to the fee simple value
of the lands. This point applies directly TO
the climatic situation in California. Our
climate is such as to make an artificial in
crease IN the moisture applied to the land
an important factor in its increased pro-
duction, aud hence in its increased value.
This report OF General Greedy is respon-
sive TO the request of Congress. and is one
of the means made use of BY Senator
Stewart in his effort to interest the Federal
Government in irrigation. A chart which
accompanies 1t shows that California is lar
from arid, If its average coast and mount
ain precipitation be properly distributed to
the whole State. This distribution is pos
sible by proper storage, and the points at
which this may be best made should be in
Dictated by trustworthy survey.
The importance to the whole country of
this first comprehensive attempt to con-
slider the irrigation problem may be meas
ured by what we have repeated in refer
ence 10 South Australia An increase of
$50, 0GD000 in the fee simple value of lands
in small district caused by 80 per cent.
increase in the moisture, foreshows an in
crease of hundreds of millions in the
land values Of the region covered by Sem
ator Stewards scheme
1t is complained that people in the East
object to being taxed to carry on the eeded
surveys. They will not object, we assume,
when these surveys prove 10 have been the
means Of affording a profitable refuge for
their surplus population, which can 90
where It's labor will add immensely to the
common wealth.
The prairie States had to be surveyed and
their lands rectangle1 before they could be
settled. and yet we do not remember that
New England and the Middle States OBJ
jected to being taxed to meet the cost of
land surveys in Indiana, Illinois and Iowa.
Then why should any of them object to
paying their share of water surveys in
Utah, Colorado, Montana, Idaho, Nevada,
New Mexico, Arizona and California, when
those water surveys are for precisely the
same purpose as the land surveys of the
prairies-to prepare for population ?-S F.
A[tn