The broad ax., 1900-01-27
CURRENT TOPICS
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.,
PROGRESS OF IRRIGATION.


The preliminary work of the census
ONCE in collecting data relative to the
arid and sub-humid regions shows that
ourlrS the past ten years vast areas
nave been reclaimed by irrigation.
Eoth by ditching from running streams
and drilling for subterranean waters.
Nhere only few years ago the sage
Drush struggled for existence in the
midst OF a waste of alkali and sand,
To-Day are fields of waving grain ana
poisoning orange groves. Hundreds
II miles OF canals and bitches have
been constructed; hundreds of wells
nave been sunk, and thousands of
acres Of land have been cultivated in
zones where once the desolation of
Sahara reigned. Moistened by fresh
waters and fertilized by the rich silt
OF the swift mountain streams, once
trackless wastes and desolate val
leys in the arid southwest have
become as fertile as the famous valley
Of the Nile, and send forth crops of
endless variety and exceeding abund-
ance.
Irrigation is intensive farming.
Where the water supply is ample, it is
sure farming. There are no failures,
and crops ara enormous. The expert
enced irrigator is like the trained en-
gineer with his hand on the lever. The
movements Of his hand regulate the
amount OF water supplied to his fields
as those of the engineer control his
engine. In most of the irrigable sec
tons of the west, fertilizers have never
been used, although the land has been
constantly cultivated for over two
centuries. In many sections fields may
be seen which have yielded successive
crops of wheat for forty years and show
no diminution Of productive strength.
Wonderful progress is shown in the
methods Of constructing canals, dams,
and pumping machinery, and in the
manner OF distributing water Modern
inventions in machinery have greatly
leSsened the time, labor and cost of
construction and management and
made possible many gigantic enter
prises of land reclamation and water
utilization. Mountains have been tun-
neled and whole rivers have been lifted
from their beds and spread over the
valleys precisely as wanted. High up
in the ranges and the elevated
plateaus immense storage reservoirs
have been constructed TO impound the
flood-waters of the streams so that the
thirsty land below shall not suffer dur
ing the long rainless summer. AS the
successful solution of the problem of
conservation of flood waters means
the reclamation of millions of acres of
public land, the people naturally ask
the government to promote measures
having this end in view. To this de-
mand the government responds. Lands
containing excellent reservoir sites
have been set aside and q thorough
study Of the sources and permanence
of the water supply OF arid regions has
been made to enable congress to leg
islate with intelligence upon this i'm
portant subject. In aid OF this work |
the twelfth census will endeavor COM |
prehensively to show the present con-
dition and values OF agriculture in the |
arid and sub-humid regions; the |
length, irrigable extent and cost Of
the various canals, wells and bitches; |
the character. volume and constancy
of water supply; systems employed in |
distribution; amount paid for water. |
and the crops, acreage and yield OF
irrigated farms. This effort will be |
successful il those interested in irri- |
CATION shall heartily cooperate with |
che census office and its agents. With
in a brief period the main schedules
TOR taking the census Of irrigation will |
be distributed, and Director Merriam |
requests that all recipients prepare
properly to fill them out and to re-