, 1901-01-14

planned thai the deacon, who takes
great pride in his knowledge OF an
cient history, was talking to a party
of school teachers a short time ago on
which were said to have oc-
Cured at Rome along about Nero's
time. One Of the pretty school marms
(the deacon has q mania for such) at
tempted to prove her arguments by re-
ferring to a text book, and as she did
so ran across a date with B. C. after it.
Turning to the deacon she asked him
what that meant, and after m%editating
a moment he replied: why, you see,
many of the dates in ancient history
are uncertain, and when the authors
were not positive of the exact dates
they used b. c. which means bout
correct" And then the deacon looked
wise and thought he had won the
whole ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS World.
Irrigation and Forest Preservation
1t is very gratifying to western PEG
and all that industry promotes and
fosters. to see hat the prejudices of
the eastern people are beginning to
give way to a practical and common
sense view of that important industry.
For years congressman from the east
ern states nave fought the question of
arid land and it's reclamation by irri-
CATION with a blind and ~unreasoniug
opposition that presented an almost in
surmountable barrier to the progress
of the west.
At the present time, while the friends
of irrigation have not by any means
conquered all opposition, they have
which will eventually lead to the en-
acting of laws that will be ~far-reaching
and greatly beneficial to the reclama.
ton of the arid west.
AS Don as the people generally be-
gin to see the benefits and Importance
of irrigation the question of forest
preservation begins to take shape.
Without forests to hold the snow
and furnish water for irrigation. that
industry must fail, and with it's failure
a long train of disaster springs into ex.
%intence. Every industry must suffer
and decline. In this valley we are al
most entirely dependent upon irriga'
ton, for it furnishes hay, grain, Nege'
tables, beef, poultry, eggs, butter and
many other necessities of life. With
out irrigation the stock industry would
be practically wiped out. Without ir
rigation it would hardly be possible tC
work the valuable copper mines in the
adjacent mountains. on account of the
immense cost Of transporting the ne
cessities of life into the mining camps
At present the greater part of all the
supplies used in every mining camp in
either range is furnished by the ranch
men and farmers Of this valley.
Again, without an abundant supply
of water in our streams, there must be
tinction of the fish which now swarm
every water course flowing through
this valley. 1t would be a severe blow
indeed, II III people were suddenly de
prived of the food furnished by the
trout which fill our streams and which
have become such an important factor
in our lives.
If the broad and inviting prairies
which lie between the North Platte
river and the mountains on eithe,
side. are to be brought under cultiva
ton and made to furnish homes to thu
coming thousands: if these now bar
rem acres are to perform their part il
the great economy of life, it will BE-
necessary that our forests be preserv
ed and kept intact as natural reser
voirs of water in the future, just a:
they have been in the past.
The great and glowing future Of thi!
country depends largely on the protec
ton Of our forests from fire and depre
dations; it depends upon the construc
ton of reservoirs and the promotion il
every way of the irrigation question
and congress cannot toe soon begir
the active work of conserving our for
ests, appropriating money for the con
struction of reservoirs and in ever,
way fostering the life of the arid west
.I-Saratoga Sun.