The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-05-04
ARTIFICIAL WATERING.
From the April issue of Maxwelrs Talisman We take tho following.

ARTIFICIAL WATERING. From the April issue of Maxwelrs Talisman we take tho following:
 More and more. as time passes ani that irrigation is the recourse of an arid country, and is of little value else- where, is being abandoned; and more knowledge that if irrigation Is the ne- cessity of a dry region, 1t Is no less the wealth. producer and wealth h-insIrer or = out iregard ote to ihv latitude D or T icngituds, this is the case, for there is no locality where the supply of moisture from the sRiss IS so constant % ana mnvarying g,a as ble quantity in computing the chances of agriculture. Irrigation is the only definite guarantee the farmer may ture of gambling pertains to all of his operations. Even eastern farmers, who this long time have accustomed them. selves to believing that the ebo and flow of their fortunes must necessarily depend upon the bounty of the skies, are beginning to acquire a greater wis heard, even on the sunrise side of the Mississippi. In California the desert lands must have a regulated water supply to give them worth but af19r rr gation will be demonstrated not on such lands, but on those where it will be-, not the creator. but the increaser and guarantor of wealth.
 The artificial watering of dry lands Is almost as ancient as civilization it. self Not only do the writings of the most ancient historians refer to the practice in Europe, Asia and Africa, but there are to be found remains of canals and ditches going back almost to tho starting point of man on earth. and which are beyond doubt the ruins of what were once extensive irrigation plants. It is highly probable that the artificial watering of the great valley of the Nile by the annual overflow of that river, and the incalculable benefit of this overflow was the first lesson in irrigation. Seeing the good that re- suited from this watering of land which would otherwise have been worthless no doubt caused the building of those vast irrigation plants of which the remains yet exist.
 In the United States artificial water ing is almost as much a modern prac tice as electric street cars In the ear Her history of the country, when most of the land was covered by forests, when the rainfall was more regular than at present, and when only the best lands were cultivated, no thought was given to the reclamation of tho desert lands. and no one imagined they would be cultivated. Millions or acres were set down on the maps as arid deserts." Thousands of square miles of territory were looked on and spoken of as only fit for the abode of Hazards and the growth of cactus and a few other useless specimens of animal and vegetable life.
 But that time has passed ard a new dispensation has come. The region which was given over to eternal and hopeless aridity has been transformed into fertile fields and gardens and or- chards. The immense area which was regarded as destined to remain a sun scorched desert for all time now con- prises some of the most desirable DOT tions of the Union. In California, Ari-- zona, Montana--in fact in every DOT tion of the great West-extensive irri- gation works have been completed, and the result has been so satisfactory that the plans for the future are almost without limit. "The desert shall re- Joice, and blossom as the rose," said Isaiah, and if he had been looking for ward with the eye of prophecy to our Great West his words could not have been more thoroughly appropriate.
 But as The Talisman says, it is not merely the waste lands that will be benefited. Of late years as all are aware the seasons are becoming mora uncertain and the droughts more fre- quent. Whether this is owing to the destruction of forests or to some other cause makes no, difference. It does not affect the main fact and that Is that the crops suffer for rain. In many parts of the country the irrigation of small farms is not only possible but thoroughly practicable, and, what is equally important, 1t would pay. It Is paying wherever 1t is tried, and in many sections the gardeners. fruit growers and truck farmers are no longer dependent on the rains but Wa ter the earth whenever and as often as it Is necessary. It is an innovation which will extend and spread to scc- tions where such 0 thing is not now thought of, and the result will be grat- flying and satisfactory.