The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-09-26
MR. JENNINGS TALKS.
Has q Few Things to Say About
Irrigation.

Weather Obesrevr T. b. Jennings is
ready to enter tn field OF combat
against those who try to decry irriga-
ton Mr.. Jennings is a believer in ir-
rigation and Mr.. Jennings goes after
Mr.. Dunn as follows:
The Washington Star Of September
z, 1901, contains a column article signed
by e. B. Dunn. and headed Mature
Revenge in which he undertakes to
show that the recent torrid spell was
due to irrigation. His theory is con-
demned BY the entire scientific staff Of
the weather bureau as being absurd,
says Mr.. Jennings. Il quote his text.
- Has not irrigation brought into ex-
istence the very evils which its adVo-
Gates claim that it has destroyed2 Is
not nature whose waste and arid places
have been watered by mans arti1ce,
scourging the land with fiery punish
m lent in revenge for that interference
with her planS?'
- The gist OF his argument viii be found
in the following quotation from his ar
ticle:
=" Many low pressure areas passing in
land from the North Pacific were
drawn out from their natural course
southwark into the states east of the
Rocky Mountains, as shown by charts
of storm tracks of the weather bureau
Some reason for this must exist. To all
appearances the reason was artificial
irrigation. Now let US see how the re-
cent terrible heat wave that has burn
ed up the corn and other crops in the
middle west came about In the irri-
cation region of southeast Montana
northern Wyoming and Nebraska an
area of low pressure was formed.
Storms or atmospheric depressions
move across any section where they are
nourlshed by moisture, but during the
warm months they may linger for
weeks over some section where they
j.
them motive energy. That is what
seems to have happened in this case. A
system of irrigation continued for years
in that part of the country has now ex-
tended over millions of acres, affording
enough evaporation to call the low
pressure into existence, but not enough
energy to set it in notion
1T is difficult to believe that Mr.
Dunn (whO has an extended acquaint-
ance with the work of the weather
bureau) credits his own conclusions
The ground upon which Topeka stands
was here long before the first cabin was
erected in Kansas. 1T was not the
building Of a city here that brought the
ground. And SO with the passage Of
low areas across the states in question
Back in the '70s the writer was request
ed by the chief signal officer to try to
trace the roots of high pressure areas
across the continent. At that time 1t
was taught that storms coming from
the Pacific coast failed to cross the
THE writer not only traced the areas
of high pressure across the continent
but successfully traced the paths of
low areas across as we'll and it was
found at that early day, before the es-
Enlistment of any irrigation system
there. that the same conditions COM
planned Of by Mr. Dunn were in opera
ton. 1t is a. fact that some storms COM
ing in from the north Pacific do loop
downWards after crossing the noun
tains. and that there must be reason
before any Irrigation was attempted in
this western country the reason also
existed prior to irrigation Every
meteorological knows that the move
ments Of high and low areas are usual
~ sluggish in the warm months and
this fact was also established before
the commencement of irrigation in the
arid and serni-arid regions
unfortunately there were very few
temperature records in Kansas pre-
Vious to 1880, but the record at the
Kansas State Agricultural college goes
back to 1858, and the hottest July on
that record was July, 1860, with a mean
temperature of sos degrees. The mean
temperatur for June, 1860, at said col
lege was SOB degrees, which is also the
WarneSt June on their records. and the
mean temperature for September Of
that year chs August record is miss
ing) WAS 72-4 degrees, degrees above
the normal. All Of the old settlers pos
itiVely assert that the summer of 1860
state and this record bears them out
The maximum temperature at the col
lege for June, 1850, was 100 degrees. for
July II was Ito degrees and for Sep
TENDER it was 100 degrees. 109 degrees
for June and I15 degrees for July have
never been reached since, yet at that
early day there had been no attempt
at irrigation in the plateau region The
temperature records at the Kansas
university, Lawrence, began in 1868,
and with the record at the Agricul-
tuarl college indicate an unusually hot
July that year-the college record show
ing a mean temperature Of S2.9 de-
grees and the university record q mean
of S5.1 degrees. the latter not having
been again reached until this year.
There was most certainly q reason for
these months being so hot. but as ilrl-
cation did not exist in this western
country at that time, we are compelled
height of folly to ascribe a condition
that has occurred at different periods
In the past to 4 cause that has only
recently come into existence If irri-
cation has had any effect on the con-
ditions this year it was to ameliorate
the consequences; the hot summer OF
1860 burned up all corn and forage, this
year the damage lay In the fact that as
fast as the corn tasselled. between the
4th and 20th of July, the sun killed the
tassel. but did not destroy the stalk
as shown by the fact that we are har-
vesting the largest and finest crop Of
cOrnfodder in the history of the state.
1t is an abominable attempt to deprive
the arid regions Of the dement's Of irri-
cation, and It's author should receive
the contempt Of the whole civilized
country
One OF natures remedies; cannot
harm the weakest constitution; never
fails to cure summer complaints Of
Wild Strawberry.