Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1895-07-11
IRRIGATE.
Yroua she pasota Farmer.

". Noble. of C~entervilie sends the
following from the Office of irrigation
inquiry. Washington, ID. G. written
BY Chas- y. Irish
Very little is known of irrigation
work in either South or North Oak
ota; in fact an exceedingly small
amount Of work in that direction has
beer done. i an rust beginning
to procure details from a few indiyid-
: uals who have taken the trouble to
write them MP for me, and out of these
il is hoped hat in the future a better
development of sueh work will come.
send you by this mail part No. ?, of
= former report of this office. contain
ing maps and profles and statistical
statements of all the artesian wells
bored in your part. OF the country, and
in all the country ranging from South
Dakota to Southern Kansas in 1892. An
examination OF these maps, profles and
statements viii give you all the infor-
nation you probably desire regarding
the region of land which Won speak of
! am perfectly satisfied from my knOwl-
edge of your country, that a large
amount of surface irrigation car be
INDUCED in by farmers who viii take
the trouble TO prepare for it. at very
much less expense than that of boring
wells. All that is necessary is daming
up the natural channels which carry
off the water from the winter ard
spring storms, and carry the water
from these dams by canals and bitches
to the lands 20 be irrigated. ! think,
with the exception of the driest years
in the Dakotas. sufficient moisture
would be obtained in this way to insure
the ripening of all crops excepting
perhaps corn. The soil is very retent-
i've of moisture and in my campaign
over your country, / found in the buff
falo wallows and in the little pot
holes scattered over the surface. water
standing in the shallow ones as late as
July Of each year, and in the deeper
ones drought the summer season. n u
indicating that the absorption of water
nv the soil was not very great, the
principal loss being by way Of eyapora-
Lion. Then / recOllect that in the
driest year, 1879 being one Of tine exam
pies quite heavy storms occurred in
the month of July, between the FIRST
and the fifteenth which furnished an
immensely Of water. ! recollect pass
ing across the plain between the North
washington Hills and the Big Sioux
River in the month of July, 1879. and
over this great plain was TO be seen
water from one to three inches deep for
miles, the result of two rain storms.
The vegetation of the country had not
become green up TO hat time, the
spring being exceedingly dry. I'm
mediately succeeding these rains the
whole face of the country was covered
with green grass, and / recollect that
on passing over those plains going
westward about the first week OF
August. they were covered with the
purple blossoms of the wild onion in
ever direction hat we could see.
Now these dams arranged properly
to catch such flows as that. would run
the water cut over fields and iTTigatc
them for the fall season. A system of
fall blowing, which in my opinion
should be deep blowing. would gather
an immensely of the moisture which
comes down in the SHOWS of the winter
and store il in the plowed lands, thus
saving il for the seeding season the
following spring.
Again. the valley of the James River
furnishes an opportunity for an extent
sive system of irrigation, which feel
safe in saying would be originated even
by the Indians of New Mexico were
they living in this country to-day.
The channel of the stream at times
goes almost completely dry, that is to
say, the water stops running in the
channel, but the led and sides remain
saturated with water, and at h same
time widespread lakes in the course of
the stream contain large quantities of
water. These lakes are there as evi
dence TO tine intelligent farming com
munity who viii make d study of the
natural condition of their surround
ings, to show what may be done in the
way of storing the water which is
gathered by the widespread and
lengthy watershed of that stream.
In place of the few natural lakes or
reservoirs already established by the
hand of the Maker. hundreds of smaller
ones can be constructed very cheaply,
much cheaper than TO bore for water,
and the waters thus stored be saved to
the farming community all along that
stream. This is no idle dream. / nave
had large experience in irrigation mat
tiers, and rave based these statements
upon my observatsons of the country
of which / am writing n my knowl-
edge of irrigation matters. Such sys-
tenn of irrigation requires concerted
action on the part of all the agricult-
wrists residing in the valley Of the river,
and / am satisfied that properly carried
out would render an immensity of
lands highly valuable and productive
throughout both the Dakotas. And l
know of no region in the United States
where such irrigation scheme could be
SO cheaply applied as in these two
states. The conformation of the sur
face of the earth throughout the valley
of that river is highly favorable to such
work.
With hogs, in nearly all cases, It will
be best to select ont the animals in
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