Omaha daily bee., 1891-01-18

covers 100, 900 acres, of which the company
owns $4,000. 1t has cost sl?O 900 and proml-
ses to be most profitable Investment
The Del Norte is the largest irrigating
canal in the United States. 1t is sixty-fve
feet wide on the bottom at the headgate, car
rying water five and a half feet deep, with
side slopes three to one, making the top width
at water line ninety eight feet. -Four miles
from the head it is bfurcated the larger
branch being forty-two feet wide at the bot
tom and the smaller branch thirty-eight feet
wide. There are about fifty miles Of main
channel. 1t carries something over
2,400 cubic feet of water per second and
is circulated to irrigate over 900 acres. 1t
is located in the San Luis valley in southern
California, takes its supply from the Rio
Grande river and covers the land in the
northern end of the valley. 1t cost 100000.
The peculiar feature in the construction of
this canal was the rapdity of its completion,
the entire work being accomplished within
period of four months.
The Citizens canal is in the same neighbor-
hood, taking its supply from the Rio Grande
river, eight miles below the Del Norte and
on the opposite side of the river. 1t is de-
signed to irrigate the lands in the southwest
ern part of the San Luis valley. 1t covers
100, 600 acres and cost 100000.
The Uncompahgre canal, in the west CEN
tral part of the state, covers about siXty-ive
| thousand acres Of the lands Of the Uncom-
pahre valley. The entire valley has consid-
| erable fall to the north, about sixty feet to
| the mile, which gives the canal the appear
| ance of having an ascending grade, and ne
| cessitates the frequent use of drops or over
falls. The entire cost Of this canal was S2l0,-
| 600.
The Grand river canal system, in the ex-
| treme western part of the state, is combi-
| nation of three canals, projected and largely
| built by the farmers of the Grand river val
ley, but purchased ard united by the present
owners. The combined appropriating capac-
ity is $50 cubic feet per second There are
about sixty.five miles of main channel COW
ering some forty thousand acres. striking
feature is numerous overfalls or "drops,"
ranging from four feet to thirty-six feet in
height.
The Fort Morgan canal in the northeast
ern part of the state, takes it supply from the
| Platte river, about ninety miles below Den
YER. 1t is twenty-eight miles long and thirty
feet wide at the bottom; carries water three
and one-haf feet deep and has a slope of one
| In 3, 300; capacity something over three hun
| drcd and forty cubic feet per second. 1t irri-
| gates %, 600 acres and cost about $4,000.
Besides these large enterprises many 9TH
ers are under way and irrigation is still in
the full tide of development.
Iv.--How THE STATE FOSTERS IRRIGATION.
It is neither possible or necessary within
! the limits of this article to describe more
| fully the progress of irrigation in Colorado
| The object is to show that our neighbors have
successfully overcome every difficulty which
| we are now facing, and thereby point the
| way to the speedy and complete reclamation
Of our arid lands. For this purpose, how
ever, it is very essential that the work done
| by the state should be understood.
| In his report to Governor Adams of Decem-
ber, 1885, j, S. Greene, state engineer OF ir-
| rigatiOn, used these words: But however
energetic her people may have been, how
| YER skilled in constru ctiOn or fruitful in
resources, it was in the legislative halls and
the court rooms that they fostered best Col
orados wonderful development in irrigation
| Enterprises In other words, there would
have been no capitalists, no grand un ndertak-
ings, If the executive and legislative officers
of the commonwealth, and all manner of pub
lie associations, had not united in en- effort
| to push the agricultural development of the
state That is the point which the people of
Nebraska must comprehend at this iuncture
In the first place, Colorado has given great
attention to her laws bearing on the subject
OF irrigation. She has constantly broadened
them to meet the growing demands OF the
subject and only recently has appointed a
commission to completely revise them. The
object has been to encourage capital, TO pro-
tect the water supply, TO guarantee equal op-
pQrtunities TO all parts Of the state, A very
important step in reaching these ends was
the appointment Of a competent state engi-