Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1905-10-29

seasons, runs and other low places bear
great amounts Of good feed.
Consider. next the possibility Of irriga-
ton The streams Of Nebraska carry an-
nually. on the average, across the boundary
which separates the semi-arid from the
sub-humid region, and out of the state at
points west OF that boundary, enough water
TO cover an area OF about 6OOO,OOO acres to
a depth OF one foot
1T is believed that a quantity OF water
equivalent to a depth of two feet applied
each year on the land will insure The best
results from irrigation in Nebraska. on
this basis, and taking no account Of the
water which will return in the form of
seepage from the irrigated fields to the
streams, it may be said that the streams
of Nebraska, when the normal flow is COM
pletely conserved, will furnish water suf-
ficient to irrigate about 100000 acres Of
land.
Millions of Acres Available.
Taking into consideration the return
waters from the irrigated land, is seems
proper to increase by material amount
possibly to the extent of 30 per cent, the
above estimate Of the area that can be
irrigated. So that an optimistic, but not
admittedly extravagant estimate of the pos
sibilities may raise as high as 100000
acres.
-Four million acres in one tract would be
the approximate equivalent i'm area Of
Scott's Blur, Banner, Cheyenne and Deuel.
counties; or, passing to our own immediate
neighborhood of Seward, Saline, Jefferson
Lancaster, Gage, Cass, Otoe, Johnson. Ne
maha, Pawnee and Richardson counties. 1t
is equal to about s per cent of the area
Of the entire state, or about 10 per cent Of
/ 40 of oh
mo confident prediction can be made as
to the rate at which complete utilization
of our irrigation streams will be APP
| preached. The interest seems to have
! lapsed almost completely in respect to some
| of the largest and m - easily available
notably the Loup. On the other hand, for
| a few years, or until the effort at develop
ment was transferred from the irrigation
! field to that of power the Great Eastern
canal, in the valley of the Loup, and
clearly east of the semi-arid region, made
| very material progress toward the estab-
lishment of the irrigation industry in To-
cality only 100 miles west of the Missouri
! river.
These remarks apply only to the best
known form of irrigation, that by means of
reservoirs supplied by rivers. This sort of
irrigation, possible of course, only on such
! levels as afford fall from the river sources,
! will ultimately be supplemented to an inn
mense extent by artificial lakes formed at
higher levels and also by pump irrigation
| with windmills or gasoline engines to fur
nish power Underground western Ne
braska has no lack of water. 1t is, in
fact, among the best moistened tracts in
the world.
Use of Underground Water.
"As to the acreage which can be ulti-
mately irrigated by lifting the ground
water to the surface through mechanical
means, it is difficult to find a definite basis
for an estimate. 1t is believed that in time
a large majority of the farmers in the
western part Of the state will have plants
OF greater or less capacity installed and
operated for this purpose. 1t is not be-
| lieved, however, that more than few of
them will rely wholly upon such plants in
their farming operations. Each farmer will
irrigate an area from one to ten acres in
this manner and the ordinary field crops
will not be raised on this irrigated area.
| Sugar beets may in some localities constl-
tute partial exception to this rule. But
in general the irrigated tract will be de-
voted to the raising of garden truck, small
fruits and orchards. The products will
supplement the income which will be de-
rived in good crop years from the dry
| u
cellar and Independence OF aid to. drouth
sufferers in those years, If any, in witch
the dry farming fails to return a yield.
This statement about irrigation en-
bodies almost in his own words the views
of my able colleague, Prof. o. V. p. Stout,
recognized authority on the subject. II
is quite possible, however, that his esti-
mate fails to make full allowance for the
economy with which water is going to be
used in future irrigation, which will be
much more scientific than hitherto We
have learned that in the use of water tc
raise crops enough is not only as good as
surfeit, but a great deal better Instead
Of 'sloshing' on water in a field Just be.
cause we have plenty, we shall save the
surplus for new acres elsewhere indie.
pendently of dry culture, of which I shall
speak presently, a little water will go 9
great way. AS this chance for economy il
water is not, l think, very generally an.
preciated. all present forecasts touching ir
rigation possibilities can be stretched a lit.
tie
Where Trees VIII Grow.
consider, thirdly, the prospects Of at
forestation in Nebraska Nothing like ;
careful survey of what we call our SAM
land has ever been made. 1t probably Gov
ers 1900 or 1900 square miles, not far from
lO,OOOOO0 acres. This area is not by an,
means all sandbanks, for a considerable por
ton is quite free from dunes and blowouts
AS in the case of most so-called waste land
5 the more we know about our sandbanks tn
fewer and smaller we find them to be. Tn
; sandlots lie mainly in the following coun
ties; Sheridan Grant, Thomas Rock
Wheeler, Cherry, Arthur, Logan Holt
Custer, Deuel. Mcpherson Blaine, Lour
Sherman, Cheyenne Hooker Brown. Gar
! field. Howard
within the say 1900 square miles ar
large areas OF valley lands that are croppe
with success. Some of the hills are grow
ing tame grasses. Good pasturage line
the hillsides in May and June and ha,
} grows in the bottoms and about the lakes
,, am told that alfalfa is succeeding on tn
: tops Of sandhills, and the sandiest spots ar
perfectly well watered underneath. quit
near the top No doubt large areas. per
haps so per cent of the entire 10, 1000 acre,
will be utilized directly for agriculture a
. people come to know more about the natur
of the, land, and the crops adapted IN II
4 Upland soil of this kind can be bought IN
Is cents an acre; lowland is at points wort
SIS. The dry valleys, where the water tabI