The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-01-15
IRRIGATION.
A Concise History-Its Possibilities fin
This state.

and perhaps there is nobody in the state
better qualified 70 speak on the subject
His paper follows:
Irrigation antegiates authentic history.
This Is proven BY the great ruins III Asa
and Africa Of reservoirs. canals and
auusc9cts. % the construction and use OF
which only the most indefinite and unsat-
.s1act0ry traditions exist. These great mon
Uments Of hydraulic engineering have ex-
cited the wonder and admiration OF all
Modern scientists. In fact. until within
q generation OF the present no practical ad-
vance had been made IN the science OF ir-
Tigatson for three thousand years Many
of the great irrigation works OF antiquity
were destroyed or abandoned az the results
Of vars or the commissions Of nature, and
the ancient local civilization disappeared.
the lands again became desert, and the
small remnants Of the nations sank into
savagery and barbarism.
The extent OF some OF these great irriga-
Lfon works can be cOnjectured from the
ruins remaining. Leake Maeris. in Egypt,
was constructed at least 200 years before
Christ. It's dimensions were sufficient 10
regulate the annual inundation of the Nile.
receiving the surplus waters when there
vas danger OF a Hood, and supplying the
needed deficiency when the river reached
a stage which would not irrigate the crops.
THIS, with other large reservoirs OF food
waters. enabled a population Of 2o.000 90
10 exist in the valley OF the Nile, while il
now supports hardly one-fourth of that
number
In ancient times the valleys OF the EiI-
pirates and Tigris. now almost desert.
were densely populated. -Four thousand
years ago the rulers of Assyr.a had con-
verted those sterile plains and valleys into
gardens Of extreme productiveness by the
construction Of immense artificial lakes for
the conservation Of the flood waters of the
~ ma Tt.s I'll Ing n4fz
irrigation. one OF these canals supplied
by the Tigris was over 400 miles long. aud
from 20 10 100 feet broad, with sufficient
depth for the navigation Of the vessels OF
that time. Throughout Judea the ancient
Jews constructed many pools. tanks and
wells for the irrigation of their fields The
Greeks Of that age also understood the
science of hydraulics. as is shown by the
remains Of great aqueducts. The PhOeni-
clans converted a portion of Northern AfTi-
ca into fields and gardens by extensive ir-
rigat.on works. The Romans thoroughly
mastered this science and drained the Pom
tine marshes. supplied Rome with the pur-
est water and developed the agricultural
resources OF Italy. In France. Spain and
Portugal they built aqueducts TO supply
the cities with water. and canals 10 irri-
gate the valleys In India tanks. reservoirs
ami ifrigadng canals were constructed
many centuries before the Christian era,
In the highest state of cultivation Some of
the tanks or artificial lakes covered many
square miles, and were often fifty feet in
depth. The English government in recent
years has reopened the ancient irrigatiug
canals. and has built thousands Of miles
OF new ones, 10 prevent the recurrence Of
the dreadful famines formerly experienced
In that densely populated country. About
s2n. O00 $50 has been expended on these
works, which pay a good interest on the
Investment through water rentals, besides
the enormously increased revenue from the
land taxes. In addition 10 the millions Of
acres reclaimed by the government works.
each village has its tank. built Of masonry
and concrete. for domestic and Irrigation
purposes The English also found extern
sive irrigation works IN Ceyl0n, which they
have greatly improved and amplified during
the last thirty years. thereby enormously
Increasing the population aud revenues.
Most Of the canals of China probably
antedate the Christian era. They intersect
the country IN every direction. and are
used for navigation. as wen as irrigation.
The water Is lifted from the canals by
primitive pumps. or wheels. worked by
men or oxen. There is no extensive storage
Of water. although the country is well
suited for II. While there are no ancient
works in Japan. the entire arabic lands.
even 10 the tops Of the hills. are most high
Is cultivated by small community irriga-
ton systems. which conserve all the water
from the numerous springs and streams
America Is not without ancient irrgatios
systems. as is proven by the ruins OF
lengthy canals and large reservoirs found
in Peru. Bolivia Chile and the Argentine
Republic Some of these have been re-
newed. and new works constructed, espe-
cially in the Argentine Republic Evidences
exist in New Mexico and Arizona that
race. now extinct, In prehistoric times hal
extensive irrigation works and cultivated
large areas Some Of the Indians in New
Mexico and the Moqui. Marieopa and Pima
tribes IN Arizona. have lived upon the same
lands FOR hundreds Of years by means Of
primitive systems OF Irrigation.
The importance OF this subject Is shown
by the fact that. more than half the human
race exist upon the products OF irrigated
lands To resident % the humid regions
this statement Is no doubt startling. but
even a cursory Investigation will convince
him Of its truth The rice eaters outnum-
her the wheat eaters more than two 20 one
and all rice Is grown by irrigation. The
hundreds OF millions in China. Japan and
India live almost entirely or rice.
1t IS only recently that irrigation has be
come an important factor In our political
economy As long as the surplus popula-
ton OF tho older states could obtain homes
on the public domain in the humid regions,
no thought of the reclamation OF the arid
lands was entertained. The Unsuitable
craving for 16o-acre farms even led 70 tha
settlement of the semi-ari1 regions Of
Western Kansas and Nebraska where the
rainfall RAs known TO be insufficient AMI
unreliable. The result has been years %
suffering and lost efforts. and even appeals
20 older communities for food Had the
mast history 90 tta world been rightly
studsod hv car political economists. these
hardy AMI Intelligent pioneers might have
ID