The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1905-03-14
MAY USE LIGN'ITE
FOR IRRIGATION
Pump River Water and Make
North Dakota Lands Ten
Times More Valuable
Globe Special Washington Service
1df7 q

Globe Special Washington Service
1417 g Street
WASHINGTON, March 13.-The re-
clamation of something like 25O,000
acres of land in North Dakota by
pumping water with Ignite as fuel is
a possibility held out by the geologi-
cal survey. If this plan should be car
ried out, benfits far broader than the
mere area in question would be derived
by the people of the state, so the Of
ficers of the survey believe. T. A.
Wilder who has made an examination
Of the irrigable lands and of the Ignite
beds In North Dakota, has this to say:
IF only small fraction of the west
ern part of the state is under irriga-
ton the productiveness of the whole
region will be greatly increased. With
a few acres which can be watered at
will, and abundant range of cattle in
the broken or rolling land back of the
valley, ten families, by combining
farming with cattle raising, will pros
per where one finds a living now. These
conditions will lay a sure foundation
for the dairying industry, which should
be one of the foremost of the state"
The government authorities appre-
ciate the fact that North Dakota de-
serves to receive some Of the benefits
of irrigation, even if the projects should
prove to be comparatively expensive,
for the state has contributed more
than any other. through it's public land
sales, to the general reclamation fund.
Pumping the Only Means
The areas most favorably located for
irrigation in North Dakota are the
broad terraces along the Missouri and its
fT-ih rio CT. 4 H..
intrenched, and il does not seem pos
sible by means now available to raise
water from them a vertical distance
of $50 to 400 feet over the bluffs that
rather sharply bound the broad valleys.
The fertile terraces in the valleys of
the streams range from Is to 100 feet
In elevation above water level. As
there is an abundance of Ignite along
these streams, 1t has been deemed de-
sirable TO consider the possibility of
irrigating the 250,000 acres of land in
cluded in the terraces by pumping
water directly from the rivers, using
Ignite as fuel. To this end the Ignite
area has been studied and the Ignite
beds investigated. Practical tests have
been made to ascertain the cost of ir-
rigating river flats which are less than
100 feet above the streams. The Mis-
souri, and its tributaries In North Da-
-AONeS AofS 0NNh AOhONCO, anu the eX-
tent and elevation of the river flats and
the amount and quality of the Ignite
near them have been noted.
The only workable beds of Ignite east
of the center of the state are in the
Turtle mountains and at the southern
end of the Sheyenne river. about twen-
ty-five miles southeast of Valley CITY.
The region is which discoveries of lig-
mite might reasonably be expected NAV
be bounded on the east by a line be-
ginning at the northern boundary of
the state, thirty miles east of the 500
railway, and extending southeast to
Harvey, thence south through Steele
to the southern boundary.
Half the Size of Ohio
On the north, south and west the
ngnite continues beyond the boundaries
OF the state. This region is half as
large as Ohio. The extent and thicl-
ness of these Ignite beds will soon be
described by Mr.. Wilder in an official
publication of the geological survey.
The subject of pumping water by
means of power plants supplied with
ignite fuel will be discussed in another
paper by Charles S. Mcgowan OF the
survey. The Ignite output of North
Dakota in 1902 amounted to 315.SO0
tons, valued at s42S.270 Judged by
ordinary standards the Ignite Is very
inferior. Its fuel value has been de-
termined analytically and the results