St. Paul daily globe., 1895-09-20

dipping into the future to imagine
the revolution that it would bring
about and the changes that it would
work in the life of the tillers of the
soil in those states.
The account of what has been
done speaks for itself The best
practical illustration is the result of
irrigation on large farm near Mel
lette, which is described by our cor
respondent in detail. An artesian
we'll was sunk, at a cost of s., 500.
To build reservoir for distribUSng
the water flow according to the need
Of the crops cost $500 additional.
The entire expense is repaid by the
profits of a single season; and that
portion of it which can be ascribed
properly to the use of irrigation is
determined by the fact that the
average yield on this farm was about
double that of the adjoining tracts,
which depended solely on natures
supply Of moisture. 1t is estimated
that this well supplies sufficient
water to irrigate fully 1000 acres or
more. All have heard of the ex-
traordinary flow of water that has
followed the sinking of such wells in
some of the towns Of South Dakota
as a means of getting a water sup
ply. If water can be obtained from
subterranean sources throughout
North and South Dakota, then all the
more serious problems in the ag-
ricultural development of those
states are in a fair way to salts
factory solution.
The wonderful success of irriga-
ton on the agricultural lands of
California and the states of the
Rocky mountain region is a matter
of common knowledge. 1t has been
pointed out that the great arid
region of the United States will be-
come it's most productive section
when once the question Of an ade-
quate water supply is met. The
soil possesses the elements that give
extraordinary fertility. All that it
lacks is moisture. Give that to it,
and it will outdo any other part of
the country in productiveness. Ev-
cry settler in the Northwest is al
ready familiar with the phenomenal
yields that can be obtained from
lands reclaimed by irrigation. And
the farmer who cultivates irrigated
land is at once relieved from the
greatest menace of agricultural in
duStry, the uncertainty of the sea-
sons. Now it is equally clear that if
this method can be applied in the Da-
kotas, it will make them as much
more valuable than California or
Colorado as these states are to be
preferred to the stony hillsides of
New England.
There are two reasons for this.
The first is in the fact of the universal
accessibility of a water supply with
out other cost than the digging of a
we'll. Where lands are irrigated
from flowing streams, as in the
commonwealths farther to the West,
the methods necessary are costly.
If farm is distant from a stream,
its case is hopeless. Then, even
where state legislation has protected
sources of water supply, which have
in many instances passed into the
control of corporations or specu-
lators, costly canals must be built
and maintained, and those who use
the water must pay an annual
charge for it. Where the owner of
the soil can sink an artesian we'll on
his own property, he need consult
no man and pay no royalty. a few
farmers can club together, raise the
necessary funds, sink their well, con-
struct small distributing reservoir,
and be independent Of the rest of
the world. The water below them is
as free of access as the air above,
and no monopoly can ever inter
fere with their privileges. This is
the greatest possible security and
advantage.
The second fact which lends en-
coura cement to the irrigation plan
in the Dakotas is the nature of the
soil. In the. country farther to the
west, the water sinks rapidly into
the open, sandy soil, and is quickly
dissipated. A multitude of small
channels to convey it to the fields,
and frequent applications at close
intervals are required for the needs
Of plant life. In the Northwest a
clay subsoN underlies the rich loan
| Of the surface. This will arrest and
retain the moisture, acting as a
| natural reservoir, from which vege-
tation may draw its supplies for
| days or weeks or months according
| to conditions. We are familiar with
the fact that heavy rains at the
opening of season often sustain g
crop through a succeeding drought
| without injury. The rootlets of the
growing grain draw up from beneath
the water supply which has accumu
lated there. On the same principle
one application of water from the
reservoir, under system of irriga
ton, may answer all the needs oi
agriculture for a long time to come
] One other consideration remains