Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1894-12-15
TRANSFORMING THE DESERT
Irrigation IN Kansas and Nebraska
The Change of Climate Which
the Process Brings About.
From the Chicago Tribune.

From the Chicago Tribune.
Now, irrigation is equivalent in evap-
Grafton to a rainfall of from Is to 20
inches for the season, or about the mean
average fall for the half year in eastern
Z Iowa or northern Illinois. And one of
the problems yet to be solved is the
effect such an added evaporation would
produce in the caurse of time upon the
climate of that zone of light rainfull.
The evaporation would certainly moisten
and cool the atmosphere and continually
increase the natural rainfall When the
Mormon people first opened bitches at
Salt Lake. City, the Hon. George @.
Cannon recalled in a recent address,
that it took the water two days to run
a half mile, SO deathly dry was the
ground. Rain then seldom fell there in
summer. Now rainfall continues up to
the middle of July. In 1891 there was
almost enough rain in northern Utah to
bring crops through without irrigation
until August. This is not unusual there
now. Larger areas can be irrigated
with the same volume of water as lime
goes on. When Salt Lake City was
founded certain water supply barely
sufdced for 900 acres, but now the same
volume readily irrigates over 5000
acres.
Near Greeley, Col, the duty of a
certain stream at first was but 20 acres,
but the farmer has gradually added to
its work until it supplies 80 to 100 acres.
Where dry depression once existed
samps or ponds have in places appear
ed. The King river near Fresno, CAL,
furnished but 500 cubic feet of water per
second Is years ago. The land was al
most treeless and CRASHES. Wells had
to be sunk 40 to 80 feet. In relating
what irrigation has done there Mr. H.
Emerson says "that for some time, even
after the canal to supply this colony had
been constructed, so rapidly did the
open ditch absorb the intake that it was
thought the water never would reach
the settlement at all. Week by week
the tread of water wound its way along
and at last it entered the fields, the flow
steadily strengthening, creeping farther
and farther on, feeding an ever-widen-
ing district, until there are 10 canals
drawing their water from this river, ir-
rigating 55, 900 acres which form a set
Element all around the Central Califor-
mia colony and extending 16 miles be-
yond it. Water can now be struck any
where across the whole plain at 10 feet.
Irrigation by flooding is being abandon
ed, for the once arid region has become
lately the contention for water was
keen and ceaseless, one hears now of
suits against the canals on account of
the damage done by too much water.
The largest vineyard in the district has
not been watered for two years"
It took Is years to produce rev olu-
ton at Fresno. 1t will not take as long
in Kansas and Nebraska for several
reasons. The value of irrigation is
MANIFOLD better understood now than
when the California experiment begun.
The great plains are nearer to market
and the public lands are nearly exhaust
ed.
So in very few years in the semi-arid
regions near the Tooth meridian-''the
Great American Desert" Thousand of
bitches, wells, windmills, engines and
pumps will be pouring the life-living
water over that domain. Less will be
needed than in the actual desert, be-
cause there are seasons when the rain
fall is abundant. In tho average year
the ordinary rainfall will merely have
to be supplemented to make the crop
sure. The earth will ere long become
filled with water below the surface, and
the supply will every year more COM
pletely irrigate all the semi-arid region.
As the earth becomes well moistened
trees will grow quickly and vigorously
and evaporation will be constant and
comparatively even. The whole Ameri-
can desert will be an actual or latent
reservoir.
The wild grass sod of the plains turns
water like cement walk-or nearly so.
But, once broken, the soil beneath is
wonderfully mellow and loamy and
holds water to perfection without be-
coming too wet. So, when once subdued
and irrigated, there viii no longer be
vast area of parched earth beneath an
arid atmosphere, but the air will be
moist and cool, rains will be more fire.
quent and abundant, and the annual
light, hot winds in Kansas can doubtless
be either prevented or so tempered as to
prove no longer injurious. The only
menace will be the great torrid tides,
such as came this year, and they proba-
bly, can be driven to higher attitudes
and their power for damage SO reduced
by well-moistened and cooler atmos-
phere that they viii cease to produce
disaster.
These considera tions justify the belief
that in few years western Nebraska
and Kansas viii be safe, and what will
rescue those sections will more fully
protect the Dakotas. The year 1894, it
may be confidently hoped, is the crisis
in the misfortunes of semi-arid America,
and from this time forth the conditions
there will gradually become better and
better until the discouragements of the
present viii be but a "Reminiscences.
WASHINGTON T.ETmEP