The morning call., 1891-07-17
IRRIGATION IN PRACTICE.

The Census Bulletin on Irrigation in Utah
contains Information which will be useful
to farmers in this State who propose to irr-
gate their lands. In the Territory of Utah
agriculture is practically impossible with
out irrigation, and being brought face to
face with imperative necessity the early set
tiers undertook 10 rrigate with such means
and such knowledge as they had. The con-
sequence has been that their systems of ir-
rigation, though often unscientifc, are very
general. Out of 1857 farms in the Terri
tory, 1924 are irrigated in whole or in part.
Latterly, companies have been formed.
with competent engineers in their employ,
to irrigate whole districts; but at first each
farmer dug his own often and brought the
water upon his land. These imperfectly
constructed bitches and the dams at their
head have constantly needed repair, which
has increased the first cost of the water
Hence we ind that while the first average cost
Of water in Arizona and New Mexico, where
the works were generally built by corpora
lions or syndicateS, was 81 OF aud So IS per
acre, respectively, the average cost in Utah
was SO 30 But from the fact that the Utah
farmers keep their bitches in order as part
Of their ordinary farm work, while in Ari-
IONA and New Mexico they are kept in order
by persons employed by the water compa-
MES, the average annual cosS of water per
acre in Utah is only 81 cents per acre as
against 81 % in Arizona and 81 81 in New
Mexico. It may be mentioned here that en- =
gineerS have reck oned that the cost of keep
ing open canal-head at Alg0dones and
dyking the new stream from that point TO
Saiton Lake would probably not exceed $40
per acre of the desert which would be re-
claimed.
In Utah irrigation has mora than quintu-
Piled the value Of the irrigated land. The
census official finds that the average cost OF
the agricultural lands under cultivation in
the Territory and the cost of preparing the
land for cultivation was SIC 10 per acre. Its
average market value now is SS4 25.
The crops raised on irrigated land in Utah
are cereals, forage crops, such as ordinary
hay, alfalfa and lucerne, potatoes and other
vegetables, and fruit which can only be
raised to advantage in few counties. The
average money value oil all the crops raised
in Utah is SIS 03 per acre-that is, Of course,
| on irrigated land.
As might be supposed, every available
water source in Utah Is taken up. There is
no water in the agricultural portion Of the
Territory which is not owned by somebody.
4HClo 10 GIedI uedl III 5OOu IaHu which
might be cultivated to advantage if water
could be had to irrigate it. In places where
the water supply from streams or lakes is
scanty resort has been had to artesian ellis,
of which there are 2524 in the Territory
The average depth of these wells is 145 feet,
their average cost SIT 60 per well, aud their
average discharge % gallons per minute.
This supply is so scanty that the average
area watered by each well is only 4.74 acres.
Some day successful plan for impouuding
water from the hills in the spring months
will be adopted. In this way the fluid from
melting SHOWS which now goes to waste NAV
perhaps be found to equal the ordinary sup
ply from springs and mountain watereourses
The controversy between riparian owners
and prior appropriations which has given so
much trouble in this State has been settled
in Utah in rough sort of way by general
understanding. The prior appropriation is
entitled to water enough to irrgate the tract
originally cultivated by him; but subse-
quent settlers can divide with him all the
water that is left over after this tract has
been supplied. As a general rule late COM
ers iare as badly in Utah as they are said to
have Jared in medieval dining-halls.
Ne have one difficulty in this State which
ought to be guarded against speedily. That
is all of the available watercourses should
not be permitted to pass into the hands Of
cOrpOrated companies and spectators.