El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-07-20
THE VALUE OF IRRIGATION.
Col. NettletOn. Government Expert.
Talks of Its Benefits.

| in a late interciew on the subjecl o
! irri cation, said, it will be recalled tina
| the Uuited ) ates senate some year,
ago sent IL special committee, cOnsie t
| ing of Senators Stewart OF Nevada
Jones of Arkansas and X sagan of Tex
As to the great arid regions of the wes
| to investigate and report. 1t Will alst
| he recalled that later on the United
States government sent Col. NettletOr
as a special commissioner to Italy
Spain and other countries of the Ole
world to make d study of irrigation.
Col. NettletOn is Ow upward of f,
years of age. and while he is the pos
sessO" of d fortune, still his hobby Is
irrigation, and it is the knowledge OF
the results to accrue to the great west
from this that prompts his visit to
Texas b t this time
knowing the value of his OPP nion
upon this subject The News man ask
ed:
II understand you are here to talk
with the people on the subject of ir-
rigation. Do you think there is suffi-
Client need of irrigation here in the
Wichita valley to warrant spending a
million or so dollars in irrigation
works?r
Eyes: I am here for the purpose of
consulting and advising with the peO-
pie of this part of your state in rela-
ton to the practica bility and advisa-
bility of putting few hundred thou
80 nd acres of land in the vicinity of
Wichita Falls under a system of lrri-
gation, whereby agricultural opera
tiOns will be made more certain and
with larger yields and consequently
more profitable. 1t does not matter
how fertile the soil or how favorable
the clju ate if there is lack now and
then of seasOnable rainfall to propa-
gate and mature crops farming under
such conditions is precariOuS business
in proportion as these seasons occur.
Il understand in the fourteen years
since the first settlement of this part of
TrXas there have been seven years IN
which the crops were materially ShOrt
eued for lack of sufficient moisture.
and in some places there was an en-
tire failure during one or two OF these
years
Il am also Informed that he average
raj ufal here is about % rches. In my
j Judgment this amount is sufficient to
produce good crops on the soil | fad
here If il was properly tributed, but
| find large percentage OF the annual
ia MIA | finds Its way into the storm
water channels and runs to the sea,
dong no one any good, but oftentimes
helping t. damage the country below.
part OF the country needs q system of
lrri gation to tide over the times Of
almCst certain lack OF sufficient rain
fail each year to secure abundant
crops.
some years but little artificial mois-
turc will be required to raise what
would not now be called good crops in
this vicinity. but from 30 to 100 per cent
larger than any crops ever raisei III the
Wichita valley.
Judging from the past history OF
operate rs IN this part of the
country, | believe the money and
labor that is lost in season OF crop
failures and the money that can be
made Off of the same area in the same |
season by good system Of irrl CATION, |
f put together, would amount TO |
enough to build the proposed rrigation |
works.
.'This estimate IS made on the basis
hat 200 900 acres would be put under |
irrigation and cultivation. Water is |
lot only valua Die in making crop, but |
sXcee dinghy so in saving it. One can |
hardly estimate the value OF even Il
that stands HANDY by that
viii save a house by putting out IN IN
i pient fire"
What are some of the essential |
,hings In esta bliShiug an irrigation en-
In designing an irrigation plant or
there are number of mat |
.ers that have to be considered. The |
ir.t 10 importance is the capacity and |
of the water supply: sec
md, the cost per acre to the lana that
Will be irrigated, and the annual eX-
0ense of maintaining the works aod |
;u pervising the distribution OF the Wa
er.
''In case the ownership of the canal
: to be a corporation or an Individual |
With no interest ia the land to be lrrl-
sated, then comes the important ques-
,lon of revenue from the sale or rental
IF the water.
Under the district system organiza-
ion, such as is proposed in the case I'm
Ter consideration, where the first cost
If the enterprise involves an outlay be-
5ond the Individual ability of the peo
Die owing the land, the question which |
.he people should consider then Is, will |
he benefits to be derived warrant them
incum brancing their land at an eX-
0ense per acre that Will cover the cost |
IF building the works:
"Beside5 these important matters |
hat are to be considered before |
launching into large ana expensive |
irrigation Enterprise numerous other |
Jlings, such as the adaptab .llty of the |
soil and climate to growing such pro-
iucts as will make farming profitable. |
Jhe proximity to good aud ready |
markets and the time required to set |
tie up the country and put it in cultiva-
5ion.''
What do you think of the water
supply 10 this part of Texas, especially |
in the Wichita valley, and how much |
land can be irrigated from the Wichita
river:'
The water supply for irrigating a
considera BILE BODY OF land in this part
Of the country must be had from the |
storm waters that find their way into
the various drainage channels, such as |
the Red river and its branches, the |
Wichita, Trinity aud Brazos, all of |
these streams being intermittent in
character, their flowing must be inter
cepted Ly dams across their channels, |
and the water either taken out into |
canals and carried to some lavorab bic |
place for storage outside Of the RIVER
channels or it must be stored in the |
channel OF the river, and It's immedi- |
ate valley, as Will be the case in the |