Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-03-31
Allotment of Land.

The system of allotment of land NAV he
interesting. AS the area under irrigation
was entirely open and unoccupied few diff
hculties were met with, and the engineers
were perfectly free in plotting the land.
The entire area was divided into squares
or Iooo feet boundary On each side and
these squares were each divided into TWEEN
ty-flve fields which measure about one
acre and are the unit of calculation in
sales and In measuring water. Sixty
squares, or 1880 fieidsi compose a village,
and between the Villages. surrounding them
on all -FOUR Sides are canals. Between the
squares are bitches. and between the fields
are smaller bitches. sol that the water can
out difficulty. The government sells no
smaller piece than field of twenty-five
acres. but purchasers fan buy in partner
ship and afterwaM suBdivide it.
Each village Is under the charge of a
superintendent, or res dent engineer who
is responsible to IA superior engineer who
has charge of a number of villages. Each
field Is numbered upon a map and a, rec
ord is kept of the area cultivated. the
character of the crops sown. the dates of
irrigation and the amount of water al
lowed. Before harvest ia new measurement
is taken and bill is given to the cultiyator
showing the amount of his assessment
which is collected when his crop is har-
vested. As there has never been a crop
failure. this is simple process and In
addition to the water rate a land tax of
AZ cents an acre is collected at the same
time and paid into the treasury to the
credit Of the revenue department, while the
partment.-
So Water Rates
The chief engineer fixes the volume of
water to be furnished to each village and
the peoriod for which 1t is to remain flow
ing. The local superintendent regulates the
amount allowed each cuitivator according
to the crops he has planted. There are
six rates regulated by the crops, for some
need more water than others. as follows.
Rate
Glass and crops. acre
Sugar cane. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 80
s-Orehards, gardens, tobacco, indigo. vegsta
4-cotton Oh seeds indian corn and ali cold i0'
weather crops, except grain and eutfls. 116
s-A All crops other than specified above. -. 81
G-Single water to piow, not followed by
As 1 have shown you from the figures
above, this enterprise has proved highly
profitable to the government, and its man
agement is entitled to the highest compH-
ments. The main canal was originally
forty miles long, averaging 100 feet wide
with an average slope of one foot to the
mile, and capable. of carrying seven feet
four inches of water, or 10000 cubic feet
per second. Twenty-eight miles have since
been enlarged to a width of-2J0 feet and the
remaining twelve miles to width, of $50
feet. The canal has been deepened to nine
feet six inches, and the intention is to
deepen it one foot more. The banks of the
main canal are twenty feet wide at the
top and are built entirely of earth A rail-
way ninety -six miles long of three-foot
gauge has been constructed down the main
canal, which Is a great convenience in ship
ping crops and pays a profit to the govern
ment. 1t was constructed by the canal
engineers. while the ditch was being dug.
There are $50 miles of branch canals from
thirty to fifty feet wide and from six to
eight feet deep, and 2'O95 miles of dfstribu-
taries, or bitches running between villages
and squares. The banks of the branches
and bitches are aHswfde enough for high
ways, and thus enable the people to go
from village to village and get their crops
to market. v..4..,..4
Several towns OF considerable size have
already grown up; the largest. called Lyan-
pur, having about 10000 inhabitants. 1t
is the headquarters of the canal and also
of the civil authorities: and scattered
through the irrigated country are about 100
permanent houses used as residences and
offices by the superintendents and engi-
neers.