The daily silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1903-1907, 1904-11-19
THE ADVANTAGES OF.
IRRIGATION
r. L. Fulton of Reno Reads
Interesting Paper Before
Irrigation Congress

Mr.. r. l.. Fulton Of Reno. Nevada. read
a paper before the National Irrigation
Congress at Ell Paso. Texas. upon 1.-The
advantages of Nevada for the small
farmer" which was in part as follows:
No other state in the Union has been
sc misunderstood and IN srepresented as
has Nevada. She took up the burdens of
statehood unwillingiy, at the urgent So
licitation OF Abraham Lincoln. who found
his influence weak with the senate dur'r.;
the last days of the Civil war; ar; for a
generation she was supposed to he little
more than an ash heap with a few stresks
went out that her mines were tyhaustei.
and many intelligent people were ies I"
paraphrase the scriptures and ask. Can
any good thing come out of Nevada7''
However. no thoughtful citizen of the
Republic looks with indifference upon
anything that may affect the fortunes Of
my state. Our country Is bound together
so strongly. and its higher interests are
no closely interviewer that none can suf-
fer decay without SCORER or la'er affect
ing all the others. The different secrions
Of the Union so happily complement ea"h
other In their natural resources that the
greater activity I'm any ore part, the
greater prosreri'y In I'll.
II Is one OF the blessed things about our
beloved land that in every corner II has
raw material which can be developed
without comirg into competition with
that of any other part. and :. this con-
make the west better known 10 the east
and south. make better friends of our
more distant ne'ghbors. break down SER
tionai prejudIces. IL any remain, 1t will
well serve It's day.
The fact Is that no'h'rg necessary to
the urbuiiding of a great state was omit
ted when Nevada was created. The raw
materials were abundantlv bestowed. and
only the lack OF human endeavor has pre-
vented her from taking n high place
among her ss'ers. The wort that can
be said is that she lacks population and
II must be apparent that IL that is
fault II is chargeabie not to those who
are here. but TO those who fail to come.
Perhaps the greatest drawback to Ne
vada's advancement has BEEN the fact
California. which Is incompatible. instead
OF with her ne'ghbors to the east. II vir-
ginia. or Massa chusetts. or even Mairc
lay whore Nevada does. and the blossom
ing plains OF the Golden State wore
reached only after travers'ng Their ter
ritories. they would suffer in contrast far
more than they do now when surround
cd by states Of like condition.
The indeflnable charm which covers ali
"The Land OF Lit lie Ran" extends over
Nevada. with its sunny skies. its bea'.-
tifui sunsets. its violet-tinted hills and It's
rush OF sudden storm. Within her bor-
ders lie some OF the richest land upon
the globe and where 1t can be reached
by an adequate water supply the crops
are never failing. the quality the finest
rainy states. Like the island of Scic iy.
which has raised wheat for 1000 years
with almost no viiminution in yield. her
soil Is largely volcanic. and Its streng h
has not been dissipated by ages of rainy
seasons. but les ripening In the sun,
waiting for the plow which shall tickle
In her early years agriculture was
merely an incident. The wonderful rich
ness OF her mines brought her forward
az pre-eminently minirg state, and only
the most tempting inducements led men
to forego the more exciting pursuit OF
prospecting for that of t'ling the soil
The first attempts at farming were made
in favorable localities where hay grew
naturally or shallow streams offered -
ducements for gardening or ranching on
a small scale.
II was soon found that lands which had
been considered worthless deserts would
produce In astonishing abundance. and
the uniform success attending the efforts
Of every one who put seed into the
ground In any corner of the state shows
<.f
the immense valleys and smooth benches
only require water to make them blossom
as the rose. The many valuable premi-
ums taken at all the worlds great exlo-