The times., 1899-04-24
RAILROAD BUYS A MOUNTAIN.
Great Irrir;stion scheme of the
Southern Pacific Company.


San Francisco, April 23.-The Pacific I'm
provement Company, which is only con-
venient name for one of the departments
of the Southern Pacific Company, is about
TO inaugurate novel and extensive irri-
eating scheme near Santa Barbara in con-
nection with its seaside Hope Rancho of
2000 acres. few miles westward of the
city. A 1900 foot tunnel is to be driven
into the neighboring mountain range to
draw off storage water at an elevation Of
100 feet. and with the force generated by
piping this water down two miles and u
half larger volumes piped from lower
Levels are to be raised by suction to a
height of fifty feet and allowed to pour
into FELTON, Lake, which is on Hope
Rancho, and has a storage capacity of $780,
600, 900 gallons. an area of about sixty acres
and an elevation at its bottom of l3S feet
above the level of the ocean.
The plan contemplates the irrigation not
only of the Hope Rancho. but Of 3,e00 acres
OF rich iowlands in the Goleta Valley,
owned by many different persons 1t is
believed that this district, when properly
watered, will produce great crops of su-
perior early vegetables for the Eastern
markets, which are already easer buyers
OF early California celery peas. carrots,
and similar vegetables adapted to long dis
for ordinary farming. will when parcelei
into small holdings for Chinese or Italian
truck gardeners, be worth ten times its
present value as a source of revenue 10 its
owners.
The company. by buying 1000 acres Of
rugged mountain. has executed bold
stroke. setting completely at defiance all
the claims of riparian owners along the
creek. the source OF which is to be prae-
tically undermined by the mountain tun-
mel. Supreme Court decisions and the
testimony of experts are quoted to show
that the company has the law on its side.
One OF the best known cases is that of
Sheffield VS. Gould, in Santa Barbara, in
which Gould was upheld in having bored
a tunnel into the mountain on his own
property and secured by natural percola-
tion water that formerly flowed into little
creek running through the Montecito Val
ley eastward of Santa Barbara.
Work will be started on the tunnel iu:-
mediateiy, and will be prosecuted with
Vigor. The water system will be compIet-
ed within year so that everything will
be In readiness for any further develop
ments incident to the inauguration in
May, 1900, of the coast railroad route
which runs through Hope Rancho.
1t will cost $4,000 to bore the tunnel,
which is expected TO yield a constant flow
Oh twenty miner inches OF water, tech
nical expression better understood, PER
haps, by the explanation that twelve
inches of water is equivalent to a con-
tinuous flow of stream one foot wide
and one inch deep
State Mineralogst A. S. Cooper. of his
city. and City Engineer J. K. Harrington.
of Santa Barbara. both recognized authori-
ties on mountain water tunnels, have been
at work here for week perfecting the
plans for the Pacific Improvement Com
pany, and just completed their labors yes
terday with the result that f. S. Douty,
secretary and treasurer of the company,
is now in possession of data on which he
may act promptly and decisively, as he
intends to do.