The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1894-01-20

may not please OIL Still Mr.. Morton ls
Ia the office and will direct much OF tho
government work In matters pertaining
10 irrigation; and all the good friends ot
this great work will do we'll to cooper
aio with and help direct his efforts IN
the right channels rather than TO OBJ
struot and retard the coed work.
The speeches made IN and the resolu-
tions Of some OF the irrigation conven-
tions, and above all tho articles In some
Of our best journals, lead ne TO these re-
marks The Irrigation Market says;
"Tho trouble with Powell Is that ne has
becc M sllicted with omnisciencs be
knows Il ALL" II il doubtless true that
Mr. Powell knows a great deal about r.
rigation, as all know who have read his
reports and testimony before certain
committees
But IL Mr. Hinton. Of the Irrigation
Market, would show a dispost ion to aid
him in this great national work the re-
suits might be improved.
Similar remarks might be made OF
tie treatment Of Mr. Morton, secretary
Of agriculture, In the Irrigation Market.
Perhaps we never had a secretary OF ag-
rlculture who knew all about farming,
irrigation and me,e3rology; yet all OF
them have done good work; and the
more they have been aided by outside
cience and labor, the better thor work.
We never will have perfect men in Of
tee. and il is certain sarcastic and Ill
natured criticisms will not improve
them.
But our object was to ask the Irriga-
tion Market il there lie not some mistake
about the comparison Of the size OF the
reservoirs Of irrigation in Egypt and in
Ceylon? On page II is said: "The
island OF Ceylon still contains the re-
mains Of the largest reservoir and might
lest dam known to the world"
Now there are records OF but two very
large reservoirs in Ceylon. One, the
Mineriya, is twenty miles in circumfer-
ence and has a dam sixty feet wide at
ihs top. This is doubtless the largest;
for the other large one, the Colamewa,
has lost It's dam, and the bed Of tie old
reservoir is now occupied by several
small villages. But the largest reser
voir in Egypt is now called lake Moeris.
10 was built by Amenemhat III. in the
valley q the Fayoum. This reservoir
was triangular in form, a mountain
range on the east and an embankment
on the west and north, which NJ. Le
Bellf1nds says, was built OF masonry in
places forty feet high and 200 feet thick
and twenty seven miles long on the
north and west 1t now has an area OF
100000 square yards and a depth Of
300 feet. 1t was much larger in the
days OF Herodotus who says it was
$50 miles in circumference Diodorus
and Mela make it still larger.
Is not this the largest reservoir yet |
built for irrigating?
II the arid lands Of this country are
TO be irrigated by the present genera
ton, we who are specially interested |
must work together regardless of par
ties and private prejudces. If those d.
recting do not do what is best, helping |
hand will do more to aid the work than /
a world OF sarcasm and ridicue.
Mr.. Henry NJ. Wilson, in charge Of the
Montana division Of the irrigation sur
vey, appears TO have done good work for
this state. His system Of reservoirs and
litches for the Sun river valley Ger
-ainly is very good as exhibited in the
maps Of his work in the report on irri-
cation. II the work is dore as we'll in
ill the states and territories, we have
little reason TO find fault