Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-10-25

there have been times when this had to 60 on
day and night In Salt Lake City there Is
usually such abundance of water that it flows
down both sides of every street. lacing all the
squares with crystal borders. and this feature
it was which so charmed the early emigrants
to California and caused them to write those
glow..ss, letters about the city's beauty. But
there have been seasons when all those bitches
were dry, as all the water was absorbed in the
gardens Cnd orchards
When Salt Lake City was the only settle
ment between the Missouri and california
its crystal streams and fruitful gardens made
It seem paradise to those who had toiled
across |, 100 miles Of arid plains and noun
tains but now settlements are numerous al
most all the way, and Colorado has vastly
outdone Utah in irrigation works. 1t is es-
tinated that by their present system 5000.
900 acres in Colorado can be irrigated, but
not more than SOC, 900 acres are yet reclaimed,
while canals in course OF construction will
reach all the rest. The San Luis park canal
waters. or is capable of watering, 400, 900
acres; the State Land canal 10000 acres;
the Citizens canal, 1901 900 acres, and the Del
Norte and Saguache canal about 10000
acres; and three of these get their water from
the Rio Grande
In Colorado two irrigations in ordinary
seasons and three in dry are thought enough
for most crops, but roots of all kinds require
from three to ten times as much water as
things which grow above ground OF course
experience has taught the Colorado farmer
many points which might be of no value else
where--such as to soak his land before plow-
ing or not, as the indications may direct: to
seed at the proper time after soaking, and to
| Judge when and how much water is needed
by the growing grain. 1t is claimed that
| with their extensive system the cost does not
exceed So per acre, and is often as low as
! Txty cents per acre yearly. and that the crops
average twice as great as in a country where
rain is relied on. Forty bushels of wheat. 500
Of potatoes fifty of oats, two tons of wild
nay and four tons of alfalfa are spoken of as
common, but the official figures of the state
shrink these figures somewhat for the total
average. The hard wheat of Colorado is
noted, and Boulder -four already has a world
wide reputation.
A ditch ten feet wide and two or three
feet deep land it has proved best to have
them wide and shallow costs an average of
81 900 mile and the first water companies
in Colorado realized "A per cent on their in.
vestment supplying water to cultivators at
80 much per duty" The investments in
that line soon increased, and many bitches in
Wyoming were constructed by Colorado cap
italists, but it is evidently only question of
time when all main bitches will be owned by
the state 1t was not long, of course, till a
great many puzzling questions arose as to the
ownership of running water, and now the
courts and legislators are fast building up a
body of common law on the subject.
When the governor of Nebraska sent a
message to the governor of Colorado protest
ing against the taking of any more water
out of the South Platte in Colorado. because
it was drying up the Platte in Nebraska, it