Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1905-10-27
Conquest q II. Great
American Desert
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A great many people have an idea
that by some means or other the gov
eminent will be able to increase the
water supply and that they may settle
on any lands under irrigation with the
certainty Of being supplied. 1t is con-
tended, therefore, that it is not good
policy to invite settlement unless the
water is adequate throughout the en-
tire irrigating season, or, In other
words, that no more land should be
put under canal than can be supplied
during the entire season. This SOUNDS
very safe and conservative, but L DO
not believe it is a broad view to take
Of the possibilities of irrigation under
the reclamation act.
The question to be considered is,
not what is the most conservative plan
for to-day, but what policy will lead
to the development Of each locality to
the full extent Of it's possibilities In
undertakings proposed to be carried
out by the government, the line of
least resistance will not be found in
the conservative plan mentioned, but
in q scheme so broad and comprehen-
sive that future generations will not
think of supplementing it. One impor-
tant factor in determining the limit to
be placed on the magnitude of under
takings Of this kind is the value of the
land after it has been put under ir-
rigation. Will the land, after it's irri-
cation, be worth the expense Of it's rec
lamation? The consideration of this
question leads us to inquire as to the
kinds and quantity Of crops that can
be produced on the land during the
different periods of the growing sea-
son, and finally resolves itself into a
question relating to the value Of crops
produced rather than to the length
Of the irrigating season.
If the value of the crops that can
be produced by early irrigation for
example, the first and second cuttings
of alfalfa or a crop Of grain-gives a
value to the land greater than the cost
of its reclamation, the project should
be regarded as feasible, although 9th
err lands in the same locality may hap
pen to have water right which makes
possible three or four cuttings of hay
or renders the adjacent highways i'm
passable by mud during the month of
August If we must decide as to the
capacity of 8 canal under these con-
ditions and have nothing more on
which to base our judgment than the
fact that with certain climatic con-
ditions we would be enabled to mature
by a certain date a full crop of grain
and one or two crops of hay, the mag
nitude Of the project would be meas
ured by the supply of water that would
be available up to the last irrigation
of such crops, and no attention what
ever need be paid to the available
supply of late water.
For example, if the climatic condi-
lions render it possible to make four
cuttings of hay during the season on
lands irrigated from certain stream
the first and second cuttings as well
as the harvesting Of grain occurring
before Aug 10 then, If the mean flow
of the stream up to July 20 is 1000
second-feet, for instance, and the avail
able supply during the months of Au-
gust and September is 500 second-feet,
the computation of possibilities Of land
reclamation from this stream should
be based on the former and not the lat
ter amount, and the capacity of the
canal in this case should be 1000 Sec
ond-feet. the number of acres to be ir-
rigated being determined by the aver
age quantity of water required by
each acre during the period when most
water is needed. If it is found that it
will be necessary to apply water to
an average depth of one foot during a
period of thirty days over all the land
to be irrigated, the canal should have
a capacity of one second-foot for each
sixty acres. The water supply would
then be sufficient for the irrigation of
10000 acres, and the project should.
under these conditions, be limited to
that acreage
OF this tract fully 80 per cent, under