Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1908-12-26

on TOT -FOUR years, ana hve miles OF 0o
tunnel are already completed. Forty.
Ave miles Of canals VIII also irrlgato
10000 acres Of land In Grand Valley,
In the western part Of Colorado.
Then look at Idaho. When the cen.
sus Of 1900 was taken. the government
enumerators found In that state only
10 persons TO the square mile. In
Idaho the United States owns almost
21.00O,0OO acres Of land. Think what
Will happen to the population Of that
state when the work now under way
Ia completed and water IL turned on
to 3I2.O@O acres of land. The Payette
BOise and Snake rivers. In the south.
western part Of the state. are simply
being turned out Of their beds. The
work IL 20 far advanced that settlers
are already beginning to flle on some
Of the land that 10 to be benefited. Al
Minidoka. another point on the Snake
River. a huge dam will divert watel
to supply 10000 acres. The work II
already practically complete and water
will be turned on next spring.
Others Of Importance.
An extensive system Of irrigation de-
vices that extend Along the North
Platte for nearly 500 miles will. when
completed. supply water to 100000
acres Of land In Wyoming and an equal
area In Nebraska. In fact, water wal
turned on to 10000 acres this year
Settlers are taking Up land rapidly.
Besides all this, work II under way
to put water on to 100000 acres In
Montana. 10000 acres In North Dako.
to, 30.O0O acres in New Mexico. 10000
acres in Kansas. 100000 acres in north
ern California and southern Oregon,
10000 acres In Washington. 40.OOO
acres in Utah. and 100000 acres In
South Dakota. And. a. people. we
are just beginning to realize that It II
good public policy to spend money fol
the irrigation Of arid lands.
Those who are best able to judgt
believe that, In this way, we shall re-
claim from 50.O00.OOO to 10000 00(
acres Of land. In fact. the experts in
cline toward the larger figure. And
what does this mean? 1t means that
we shall put under cultivation 234,37,
square miles. Figuring the population
at the same density as that Of Kansas
eighteen to the square mile--it viii
mean that the government land viii
provide homes for more than 1000 O(
persons. And, using the same multi
plier, more than 3OOO.OOO persons arr
now living on land that the government,
Originally give to settlers
For Insensive TIllage.
But the possibilities Of what might
be called the near present are dwarfet
by the probabilities Of the remote FL
ture. Some day stern necessity will
compel us to be economical In the uss
Of our land. as VIC are Just beginning
to learn that we should conserve what
remains Of our coal. timber and iron
Some day we shall learn that no one
can really till 200 or 300 acres Of land
or even 40 acres. We shall become
masters Of intensive agriculture and
produce more from few well.tilled
acres than we do now from the great
tracts that we cultivate with little OF
no realization Of the great opportuni
| ties that we overlook. We shall learr
a lesson. perhaps, from the French
peasants, who let not foot Of grount
escape untitled and make tho fence,
hold up the grapes for the sun to ripper
them.
And when TINT time comes the land
that the government yet has to give t
settlers may support population Of
hundreds Of millions. Scientific agri
culturists say that Texas alone hal
enough land to support Ave times thu
present population Of the United States
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