The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-01-22
IRRIGATION DATA.
Importance of Responding to Census
Bureau Requests.

Washington, Jan. 1S.-The prelimi
nary work of the census Uffice in col
lecting data relative to the arid and
sub humid regions shows that during
the past ten years vast areas have
been reclaimed by irrigation. both by
ditching from running streams and
drilling for Subterrdnean waters
u here only a few years ago the sage
brush struggled for existence in the
midst Of a waste Of alkali and sand,
today are fields of waving grain and
blossOming orange groves. Hundreds
of miles Of canals and bitches have
been constructed; hundreds Of wells
have 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 fer
tilted by the rich silt of the swift
mountain streams, once trackless
wastes and desOlate valleys in the arid
southwest, have become as fertile as
the famous valley Of the Nile, and send
forth crops of endless variety and eX-
ceeding abundance
Irrigation is intensive farming
Where the water supply is ample, 1t
is sure farming. There are 10 failures,
and crops are enormous. The expert
EDEEu 1iEtSdLBf IL AthE llt6 Il aAlAs-tA
engineer 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 sections 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
leesened the time, labor, and cost Of
construction and mana cement and
made possible many gigantic enter
priSss of land reclamation and water
utilization.
Mountains have been tunneled and
whole rivers have been lifted from
their beds and spread over the valleys
precisely as wanted High up in the
ranges and on 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 rainiess summer.
As the successful solution of the
problem of conservation of food waters
means the reclamation of millions of
acres of public land, the people natur-
ally ask the government to promote
measures having this end in view To
this demand the government responds.
Lands containing excellent reservoir
sites have been set aside and a
Thorough study Of the sources and
permanence of the water supply of
arid regions has been made TO enable
congress to Iegislate with intelligence
upon this important subject
In aid of this work the twelfth census
viii erdeavor comprehensively 10 show
the present condition 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
consistency of water supply; systems
employed in distribution; amount Daid
for water and the crops, acreage, and
yield Of irrigated farms.
This effort viii be successful if those
interested in irrigation shall heartily
cooperate with the census Office and
its agents.
Within a brief period the main
schedules for taking the census Of irri-
cation will be distributed, and Director
Merriam requests that all recipients
prepare properly to fiji them out and
to return them promptly.