Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1894-12-05
TEXAS IRRIGATION CONVENTION.
SOME TWO HUNDRED DELEGATES
AT SAN ANTONIO.
Addresses on Water supply, the Ar
tesian Basin and other Subjects
by Professor Dumbie, Gen. Clarke
of Fort worth and Prof. schulz.


delegates were in attendance when the
stale Irrigation convention was called
10 order By Gen. j. II. McLeary OF
this city.
After speech OF welcome Gen. F.
VI. Clarke OF Fort Worth was elected
temporary chairman and Edwin Cham
berlaln or San Antonio secretary.
Various committees were then APP
pointed. after which Prof. E. II. Dum-
bic, state geologist. delivered an ad-
dress on some sources of water sup
ply In Western Texas.
Prof. Dumble described the artesian
basin. the benefit of irrigation and
! tho feasibility OF dammlng flowing
streams FOR this purpose.
He said only small number Of acres
could be irrigated by artesian water.
Gen. Clark then addressed the con-
venti0n on irrigation, and urged the
! passage Of laws by the legislature FOR
/ retaining the arid region Of the state.
Gentlemen OF the Irrigation Conven-
/ ton:
The state is to be congratulated upon
the assembling OF this convention. 1t
IS tangible evidence that the people
! OF Texas are awake to the situation,
| and lmbucd with the nigh spirit Of
state pride and love for the old COM
I monwealth, are today gathered to lay
1 the solid foundation of an era Of pros
| perlty and greatness that shall en-
| dire so lsng as hills and plains shall
| exist.
| In addressing you upon the subject
] which forms the matter Of our dellber-
| atoms. there Is fortunately no need
| OF reviewing The historical portion OF
/ q. Interesting as would be a study OF
the ancient systems. tracing the sue
cessiNe steps OF development which re-
/ claimed the arid deserts and converted
| the sandy plains of the old continents
| Into fruitful fields, we do not require
/ such object lessons to convince US OF
] the value OF irrigation, The United
| States has made more reliable and more
| useful history regarding applied irri-
| CATION during the past fifteen or twenty
] years than can be learned from the
| most careful study OF all the long years
| eapslng from the time OF the FIRST gem
/ eral irrigation scheme Of the time Of
| Noah down to 1850.
Utah has been called the Cradle Of
! American Irrigation" When the little
! band of Mormon pioneers. fifty years
/ ago took out their first little irrigutlng
ditch. they bullded far better than
/ they knew. At that time Bridger a
/ learned agrlcuiturist. told the Mormon
| leader that he would pay SO gold
| piece for every ear of corn that could
| be raised In Salt Lake valley by irri-
| CATION. That was the beginning of
what subsequently led up to the pres
| cnt scientific methods Today It is
| fact. established beyond all dispute,
that with proper irrigation the success
/ OF crops IL absolutely assured. Lands
l In Utah, in California, in Colorado, in
I Wyoming, In the Dal<otas, and In fact
] In score OF the western states, which,
/ under the climatic conditions, depend
] ent upon the variable rainfall, would
/ not return to the farmer the seed he
] planted, have under the intelligent APP
! plication Of irrigation become the gar
| den spots OF the earth, producing phe-
nomenally bountiful harvests with
| regularity unbr0ken by single failure
! since the adoption OF the system.
] Until the last couple Of years every
body regarded Colorado as purely a
| mining state. To have classed her
/ among the agricultural states of the
/ union would have aroused an idea OF
the humorous. Her soil was dry and
barren one, Her rainfall amounted to
] only sixteen Inches per annum-much
too little for the requirements OF agri-
| culture. Some long-hpaded fellows
I huilded few small irrlgatlng bitches
I and raised some crops. Their success
[ stimulated others. More bitches were
| constructed, and OF greater capacity,
| with the result that the official stalls
| ming OF 1898, before the decentralization
/ OF silver that the value Of the agrl-
/ cultural products OF the state exceed
ed by several millions OF dollars the
| value OF the mineral product Colorado
| had passed out from the ranks of the
mineral states into the honorable ranks
OF the agricultural ones. Had the state
been dependent upon her mineral re-
sources the passage Of the silver muir
der bill would have crushed every par
ticle OF life from out the state, but with
. hor broad acres under cultivation.
made possible by irrigation. she * to-
day one of the greatest OF states. l
/ cite Colorado because II illustrates bot
ter, perhaps, the great value of lrrlga-
ton. For the past four years l have
been laborlng TO further the growth
OF our state, by directing the attention
of desirable immigrants to the Nttrac-
tons OF Texas. have found that the
dryness OF certain portions of the west
I ern half OF the state was n deterrent
factor While the sum OF all the rain
fall during the year was generally suf-
nclent for crop raising, yet II unfor-
tunntely happened that 1t did not fall
at the right time. and sometimes was
too scanty. Now we have In Texas
| abundant water for purposes OF irrlga-
ton ana sufficient to cultivate nearly
all OF our arid lands, " intelligently
| applied. We must understand what ir-
I
piled. before We hastily condemn the
I project OF irrigatng our plains.
The taking out OF a small ditch from
the level OF the surface OF the stream,
dependent for the necessary water
upon the visible stream, Is but the crud-
est form of irrigation work. Scientific
irrigation contemplates the construc-
tion OF large canals associated with a
system OF storage reservoirs which are
formed Of natural depresslons In the
country lying below the canal; the
whole system being comprehensive,
Thus, the water flowing during that
portion OF the year when It is not need
ed for crop purposes. Is stored and
| made available at the exact time az
need. much smaller amount cf water
is required. when applied at the right
I time, than was formerly supposed 10
be necessary. We must not attempt 10
pass upon the ability OF Western Texas
to practice irrigation until we thor
! oughly know the geological horizon.
the exact conditions OF the stream flow
and the lay OF the land. We know
less about the geologic conditions ~
our state than we do about electricitv
I This, however, Is not matter OF which
we may In any sense be ashamed 81
/ That other statos have had geologic
! surveys made Of their lands ~ ~. 49,