Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1904-04-06
DESERT MADE
TO BLOSSOM
Millions Of Acres Of India Reclaimed
to Fertility by System Of Gov.
eminent irrigation.
MANY MILES OF CANALS BUILT
William e. Curtis Tells Of the Great
work-simiIar to Undertake
ings IN This Country.


Herald. II tells tersely OF the great
work OF irrigation being done by the
British government in India. The
work already done is very similar to
that which Is now about to be begun
by the American government. Mil
lions OF acres of American deserts
can be made to bloom just as easily
as those vast tracts in the Asiatic
country:
Lahore, India, March 5.-The gov
eminent OF India has solved success
fully several Of the irrigation prob
lens now under investigation by the
agricultural department and the geo.
logical survey of the United States.
The most successful public works Of
that nature are In this part of the
empire. The facilities for irrigation
in India are quite as varied as they
would be In the United States, the
topography being similar and equal
ly diverse. In the north the water
supply comes from the melting SHOWS
of the Himalayas; in the east and
west from the great river systems Of
the Ganges and Indus. while in the
central and southern portions the
farmers are dependent upon tanks or
reservoirs into which the rainfall Is
drained and kept in store until need.
ed. In several sections the rainfall
Is so abundant as to AFFORD a supply
of water for the tanks which sur
passes in constancy and volume that
from any of the rivers. In Bombay
and Madras provinces almost all of
the irrigation systems are dependent
upon this method. In the river prov
inces are many canals which act as
distributaries during the spring over
flow and carry the WAGER a long dis
lance and distribute 1t over a large
area during the periods Of inunda-
ton. In several places the usefulness
of these canals has been increased
by the construction of reservoirs
which receive and hold the floods up
on the plan proposed for some of our
arid states.
In India the water supply is almost
entirely controlled by the govern
ment. There are some private en-
terprises, but most of them are for
the purpose Of reaching land owned
by the projectors. A few companies
sell water to the adjacent farmers on
the same plan as that prevailing In
California, Colorado and other Of our
states. But the government Of India
has demonstrated the wisdom of gov.
eminent ownership and control. and
derives a large and regular revenue
therefrom. In the classification
adopted by the department. Of public
works the undertakings are designat-
ed as major" and minor" classes.
The major" class includes all ex-
tensiye works which have been built
by the government money, and are
maintained under government super.
vision. Some of them. classed as
famine protective works were con-
structed by relief funds during sea.
sons of famine in order to furnish
work and wages to the unemployed,
and at the same time provide a GER
tain supply of water for sections OF
the country exposed to drought.
The minor" works are of less ex-
tent. and have been constructed from
time to time to assist private enter
prise.
The financial history of the public
irrigation works of India will be par
ticularly interesting just now to the
people of the United States because
our government is just entering upon
a similar policy. The following state
ment is brought down to December
81, 1902:
nos. % s9 fTsm Sa,sr rates rates iisotj. - S.SSs, 500 sS
Receipts from land taxes (lsO2l....; 4,066,y6o
Total revenue from all sources (i9o2) lI,S6l,Sl5
Working expenses teo2)..""".." ss.ses' s so
interest," reye ON es ises invested '" s s.SS.sis
Net revenue, deducting interest. -. 3,S34.e6O
Profit on capital invested. per cent. 81
Net profit to the g0vernment........ SW
In addition to this revenue from the
major" irrigation works belonging
to the government, the net RECEIPTS
from minor" works during the year
1902 amounted to $S64.36O In Ameri-
can money.
In other words, the government Of
India has invested about $125, 900, 900
in reservoirs, canals, dams and
bitches for the purpose of securing
regular crops for the farmers of that
empire who are exposed to drought.
and not Only has accomplished that
purpose, but after the payment of 3h
per cent interest upon the amount
named enjoys a net profit of %
than 49, 500, 900 after the payment of
running expenses and repairs. These
profits are regularly expended in the
extension of irrigation works.
In the Sinde province. which Is the
extreme western section OF India. ad-
joining the colony of Beluchistan on
the Arabian Sea, there are about H.
SOC. 900 acres of land At for cultiva-
ton. or this a little more than g..
900 900 acres are under cultivation,
irrigated with water from the d
river, and the government system
reaches 3,O77, 466 acres. Up to Dec.
81. 1902, It had expended $S,S3O,0OO
in construction and repairs, and dur
ing that year received q net e
of SIS per cent upon that amount over
and above interest and running ex-
penses.
In Madras 6,SS4,554 acres have been
irrigated by the government works at
a cost of $24,975,0 900. In 1902 they
paid an average net revenue OF 80
per cent upon the investment, and
the value OF the crops grown upon
the irrigated land was $36.663.OOo
In the united provinces OF Agra
and Oudh in northern India the sup
ply of water fro mthe Himalayas Is
distributed through 1919 miles OF ca
nails belonging to the government,
constructed at a cost of $2S.625,OOO
which ~irrigates 2,741,46O acres. In