Bisbee daily review., 1908-04-26
ARID ARIZONA
 AND IRRIGATION

repair the damage they wrought dur
 ing former years.
 Government help has brought nas-
 mony among the holders of the land
 and they are now making every possi-
 ble effort to adjust their differences.
 Those who are interested in the val lev should understand that there is no government land to be had in the 1 irrigable area, in fact, it is douDltaI | if all those who now hold land will
 receive water Tor a considerable time to come. The Water Uusers' Assocla- i tion has no land for sale, although in
 dividual members may wish to dis
 pose of some. Any action individuals may take in this regard is entirely
 independent of the work of the asso- ciation.
 Values are increasing enormously
 as a result of the prospect that intel | ligent irrigation will supplant an in discriminate grabbing of the water. | Five years ago there was "desert" ] land in the valley that could be bought for $15 to $20 an acre-that is ! If buyer could be found, Tor no one 1 showed anxiety to possess himself of | much of this apparently unpromising ground. At that time some of the best alfalfa land could be purchased
 easily at $50 to S60 an acre. During the last two years, and especially in | the last six months, there has been a great jump in values. Today unim-
 proved land where there is prospecC | of irrigation sells at $50 to $75 an
 acre, while improved ranches bring ! from S125 to $500 an acre. If all or
 the reports that come from the valley
 regarding prices of lands are true it
 would seem that the farmers are rath-
 CT overdoing matters, for, if they de-
 mand too much, they are likely to | frighten away prospective buyers. There is plenty of land that can be | had under other government projects
 at the bare cost of the irrigation
 works, or about $40 an acre. Nune but the wealthy will be attracted to ! localities where values are nigh.
 In explanation of the high values a
 resident of the valley supplied the fol- l lowing:
 While these prices are not high wen compared with land in other ir-
 rigated sections even less favorably situated. as for instance, in Caliror- nia, to the man accustomed to prices
 and conditions in 9. section depending on rain alone for it's crop-growing
 water supply, a little explanation may be necessary. The customer shouJn remember that one acre in an fri | gated section is the equivalent of fUIg | in 9. rain country under ordinary eli
 matic conditions. With the exception | ally fine climate of the Salt River val ley this smore than holds good, for some special crops may te raiseu auu marketed so much earlier than else ] where that unusually good returns
 are assured to the farmer. Then, ! again, taking the basis O. the United ! States Agricultural Department that i gross crop returns represent tHe | value of the lands, SC" what is the re suit. Thus, a crop producing Sio an
 acre would make the value of the lana $100 an acre. TwenCy dollars an acre
 in crops would mean S2O0 an acre for
 the land, and so one. Then six to.S
 q alfalfa to the acre per year, with Q l marketable value in the stack of S5 a
 ton, would make s2O0 land. When il
 comes to special crops, like oranges
 or cantaloupes. where the returns
 may run into hundreds of dolla%5 for l each acre, the corresponding value goes into the thousands of dollars an acre.
 "The prospective crop value of Salt River valley land is assured by the building of the reservoir. It is esti- mated that not more than 100000 acres of land may be served wIIn ali irrigation supply from the reservoir
 and it's subsidiary pumping plants. The reservoir will have a capacity Of 1 5000 acTe-feet, which means that if the water which can be stored in the big lake at Roosevelt could be spread out in layer one foot deep it would cover a million and a half acres. Or it could cover 20O,OUU acres to be irrigated in the valley
 with a depth of seven and one-hali
 feet of water if all spread out al
 once But it requires only about
 three and one-haIf acre-feet in. the
 year to supply this land, which soaks up the water with repeated irrigations
 like a sponge and then gives it fort1
 to the roots Of the plants. So that
 supposing there should be no renewal
 from any source, which is most un
 likely, the reservoir when once filled
 could be depended upon to furnish two full years supply. And that l: the value of water storage-the de pendence the farmer may place in It At the beginning of the crop year he
 will be notified just now much he
 may expect as his share during the coming year, restricted of course to beneficial use of his land. Then he puts in his crops accordingly and may , with confidence count on the returns from his investment of time and
 money.
 } "As there are only a little over 5 100 900 acres of land now in culiNS , ton in the valley, the room and. the : necessity of newcomers to work the 7 additional acreage are apparent. Al t ready many eyes are turned with 7 longing toward the Salt River valley |, and many feet are bringing home 3 seekers in this direction, yet there i! 5 room for more. Even the acres nov 7 under cultivation are in man ycases il !, large tracts which could be subdi 3 vided with good results. Where ont l lFamily are now working quarter sec
 ton or even eighty acres, three nIUI' f could readily join with them and stil Q there would be enough production fol [ all. So that, even with no consider y able increase for a year or mUIe il '- the present water supply, newcomer e can be accommodated.
 f By the time the procession o 8 homeseekers is fairly started in thi ' direction, additional water will b e available in the supply stored in tn 0 reservoir and that will mean the trri d gation of additional acres up to tn l. total of 00,000. Then the Wate e Users Association will no doubt nav