Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1900-01-25
The Irrigation Census.

The Irrigation Census.
The preliminary work Of the census
Office in collecting data relative to
the arid and sub.humid regions shows
that during the past ten years vast
areas have been reclaimed by irriga-
ton, both by ditching from running
streams and drilling for subterranean
waters.
Where only 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; hun
dreds 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 exceeding abundance.
Irrigation is intensive farming.
Where the water supply is ample, it
is sure farming. There are no fail
ures, and crops are enormous. The
experienced irrigator is like the
trained 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
two centuries. In many sections
fields may be seen which have yield
ed successive crops of wheat for forty
years and show no diminution Of pro-
ductive 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 manage.
ment and made possible many 81
gantic enterprises Of land reclama.
ton 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
food.waters Of the streams so that
the thirsty land below shall not suf-
fer during the long rainless summer.
As the successful solution Of the
problem Of conservation Of flood
waters means the reclamation Of mil
lions Of acres Of public land, the peo-
pie naturally ask the government to
promote measures having this end in
view. To this demand the govern
ment 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 legislate with
intelligence up this important sub
ject.
Ia aid Of this work the twelfth GEN.
sus will endeavor comprehensively to
show the present condition and
values Of agriculture in the arid and
sub.humid regions; the length. irri-
gable extent and cost Of the various
canals, wells and bitches; the charac.
ter, volume and constancy Of water
supply; systems employed in distrib- |