Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-07-14

excellent climate although each has
features of Its own. The black current,
which flows by Japan up around tho
lower shores of Alaska and then dAwn by
Puget Sound and off the coast of Oregon
acts as great hot-water plant to mako
the winters warm. Seattle is never cold,
and In Portland the thermometer seldom
faIIs below twenty degrees above zero. At
the same time the summers are never hot
and the moist air paints the cheeks of the
children and young women with roses
Indeed, the girls of our northwest have
compilations equal to those of Scotland.
Ireland and England. where the gulf stream
is the painter.
The grass is green in Portland all the
year round and the roses bloom from
Christmas to Christmas. The people are
fond of an out-of-door life and they are
about as healthy as the citizens of any
United States town. Their death rate is
a little over nine to the thousand, while
Chicago has sixteen. Cleveland seventeen.
Denver eighteen, Cincinnati nineteen. and
my own city of Washington, y. c, TWEEN
ty-three In other words, considerably
more than twice as many out of every
thousand people die in Washington every
twelve months in Portland.
| found the people of Portland talking
aboA irrigation quite as anxiously as
those of other sections. \ large part of
eastern Oregon is arid. and ii is claimed
that much of 1t can be redeemed. There
are altogether something ike fOrty-two
million acres In that part of the state, OF
which less than two millions are under cul-
tivation | am told that there are about
twelve million acres which might be re-
claimed If the water available We're proper
ly used. This is an area almost half as
large the state of Ohio. and il would
support more than million people. | have
already spoken of the DeSchutes river
scheme on the eastern side of the Cascades.
Oregon is doing other work in reclama ZION.
and at the close of 1904 the state had con-
tributed almost five million dollars for ma
tional irrigation projects.
Uncle Sans Reclamation Projects.
Indeed the government schemes for re-
claiming our arid lands just at their
beginning. Those already undertaken and
planned will involve an expenditure OF
about thirty-three million dollars. and
when completed they viii make fertile a.
most two million acres of land. This land
is now worth comparatively nothing, but
when the water is on II it will bring some
thing like fifty dollars an acre. The aver
age price has been estimated at 81 an
acre, and at this figure the total would be
worth 81, 100000, adding that much to our
national wealth.
a large part OF this reclamation is west
of the Rockies and in some places millions
of dollars have already been spent In
southern Oregon and northern California
there is a project to redeem three hundred
thousand acres by the diversion of the kla-
math river, and the Malheur river, IN east
ern Oregon, If property used will redeem
several hundred thousand acres in the
Umatilla valley In Arizona thirty-six hun
dred thousand dollars have been set aside
to redeem one hundred and eighty thousand
acres by the Salt river project. and in
Idaho the Minidoka project will redeem
sixty thousand at cost Of thirteen hum
dred thousand dollars.
In Wyoming the Shoshone project will re-
deem one hundred and twenty-five thou
sand acres and will necessitate the con-
struction of the highest dam in the world.
The dam site is in a narrow canyon with
MOI n a mile
high and the dam itself will be three hun
dred and ten feet in height.
In addition to these there are other
projects under construction and approved
by the Secretary of the Interior in Col
orado, Nebraska, Nevada, Wyoming, New
Mexico, South Dakota, North Dakota, Mon
tana, Arizona and Washington. l have al
ready written of the Milk river scheme and
of irrigating parts of the inland empire.
Crops Every other Year
In addition TO the arid lands which can be
irrigated. / understand there are vast
tracts in the west which will produce crops
every other year If the ground be properly
cultivated. Utah alone has twenty-three
million acres of such soil. 1t is desert, but
If the rain can be saved 1t will produce
abundantly once in two years. All that is
needed is that the land should be piowed
deep In the fall and the top kept well
stirred This holds the moisture and the
twelve inches of rain for one year becomes
twenty four inches in two years. result
ing in big crop IL II be planted the sec
ond year.
There are now six experimental farms
working in these Utah deserts. They are
supported by the state and are testing all
matters regarding desert crops. They ex-
pect to have an arid farm exhibit this year.
and to show that wheat can be raised on
lands which are: now considered almost
worthless. At present Utah is selling such
lands at 81 so an acre.
The men who are testing the matter
claim that the land will produce fifteen
bushels of wheat per acre, which, at rs
cents per bushel would net s11.23 They
say that IL costs $50 per acre to raise
this wheat SO that man could pay for his
land with a first crop and have about $
per acre to the good. This statement. is
made by the officers OF the experiment sta
ton at Logan. Utah.
FRANK q cARpENTHR