The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-28
B|G RESERVATION
 OPEN ID PUBLIC Largest Irrigation Project on
 Continent IS IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA Canals Are Fed by the Perpetual Shows of the Rocky Mountains. Settlers Are Now Pour
 ing in.
IS IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA

calgary, Alberta, June Zo.-Ine laTSesI reservation of irrigated lands on the conti- nent has at last been opened for settle ment. Final notice has been given of the opening of 900 acres of the Bow River Valley reservation, in the southern part of this province, and settlers are already be- ginning to pour in. The total area of the tract is 100000 acres, or nearly as much as the area, of all the irrigation projects in the United States combined. The work of digging the canals for the rest of the enormous tract is being pushed and ulti- mately all the land will be thrown open for settlement.
 The magnitude of the project gives it d unique interest and marks a new chap ter in the history of agricultural develop ment. The reservation extends in the form of a stubby bow, southeast from Calgary. It Is 15O miles long and 40 miles wide, with general eastward slope of seven feet in the mile. The Canadian Pa cfc main line traverses 1t from end to end. The water is drawn from the Bow river at point two miles below Calgary, and distributed through system of main and branch canals that already has total of about 1000 miles, and will have
 somewhat over three thousand when completed. From these canals the water is conducted directly to the fields, in ditches dug by the farmers themselves. The Bow river. like all other natural wa ter in the Dominion, Is crown property and inalienable.
 The land until recently belong to the Dominion of Canada. It passed to the Canadian Pacific Railway company as Al.1s. I.,. nt1f thctd an agreement under which the company was to construct and maintain an irriga- ton system, and the government was to furnish water at a nominal rate. Up to the time of that agreement none of 1t could be had at any price; nor was any or it open to sale until the company had es- tablished it's plant, inaugurated It's sys- tems, and made ready for settlement upon a very broad scale. q The project Is the largest and undoubtedly the most import ant one involving irrigation in America and the manner of carrying 1t out Is the most modern and thorough. It is planned for present efficiency and to endure for all time.
 Alberta is not arid. The average annual rainfall of about 20 inches is quite suffl- cient for successful farming by the old and ordinary method. It is not for lack of water enough to make things grow, but to show what a well planned and thor oughly controlled artificial supply of wa ter will do to make more things grow, and all things grow better, and to show moreover, how the real wealth of an acre of soil may be brought out, that this enterprise has been established.
 The Bow river takes it rise in the nearby Rockies, in series of lakes that are fed by the mountain snows. At the main intake near Calgary 1t has volume of almost 22,0O0,000 cubic feet per hour in the warmer months. When it is con sidered that the duty of this water is one cube foot per second flowing contnu- ously. for each 150 acres of land, that considerable percentage of the block IS purposely left dry to enable combination of dry and irrigated surfaces in single farms, and that none of 1t is kept under continuous moisture, the abundance and reliability of this supply is apparent at once.
 While a new comer's arrangements for occupancy are in progress, the company's development department, which has of- fees In Calgary, will break, disk, harrow, seed and fence his land for him at actual cost but it will not undertake to either harvest or market his crop. The agricul- tural department of the Dominion gov ernment has established laboratories for testing seeds, and this service is free. So ie the advice and active assistance of the experts at the company's nearest demon stration farm, in determining the partic- ular growths best suited to each new farm. The test of seeds is for purity as well as vitality, the Dominion laws against noxious weeds being strictly en- forced.
 One of the first things necessary in prairie country is to set out trees to act as wlnd-breaks, and to form shelter for live stock, or shade for buildings and grounds.
 Some years ago the Dominion depart ment of agriculture established a depart lnent of forestry and appropriated large sum of money for supplying native trees to settlers free of cost. This department now has a large tree plantation at Indian Head, and forestry experts will upon re- quest visit any farmer to aid and advise him as to tree planting. The trees are de- livered free. Shade trees on these irrigat- ed lands make a growth of from 12 to 15 feet the first four or five years
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