Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-02-17
MADE TO PRODUCE.
Significance of Restoration OF
Government Land at Gar
den City, Kan.
TO TAP HIDDEN STREAMS
II Federal Project Is Successful Other
Sections of Arid Plains May Be
Similarly Treated.

The experimental application of an
irrigation project of the government
reclamation service-one which. should
it prove It's worth in the one instance,
will be of Importance to the rich, but
as yet unfertile valleys of the great
plains-will be possible near Garden
City, Kan. next spring, according to
the estimates of the engineers in
charge of the work, says Il Garden
City correspondent of the Kansas City
Star.
To reclaim the abundant acreage of
this section of Kansas, unproductive
through the lack of water at the very
season when moisture is most essential
TO the raising of the crops. the govern
ment is now arranging for the instaia-
ton of a complex system of pumps and
wells destined to supply from subter-
rancan springs and streams in excess
of 10,O00,G00,O00 gallons of water for
the irrigation of the adjacent country
each season.
Since the early days of Kansas this
western section had been considered
next to worthless and barren because
of this very lack of water. Which it is
now planned to overcome b. tapping
the supply which is found in the gray
81 deposits under the great plains at
no great depth. The original settlers
Ice Ir Io, ~ ho,
had taken up claims not worth their
pains. They returned east or south
whence they had come. Their mort
cages lapsed, and small and large cap
italists as far away as New England
found themselves interested in arid
Kansas prairie which held forth not
even the most vague promise of fu-
ture fecundity. The land had lain III
1isuse and disrepute through decades
until the development of the sugar
beet industry with the aid of irriga-
ton, some years ago. again drew at
tention to the practically deserted sec
ton
Now the government purposes, by
| tapping these hidden streams of much
needed moisture, pumping it to the sur
face and spreading out over great
areas, to transform what was discard
ed of the first settlers into n new land
of desire for the farmer of the west
Naturally a good deal of public inter
est in many sections of the country
attaches itself to the success or failure
of the projected, work, more so in view
of the eastern held mortgages and the
probability of the application of similar
methods in other localities in the event
of the successful operation of the Gar
den City scheme.
Plans Are Unique.
The reclamation service plans to
utilize some of the water in the Ar
kansas valley, and its plans are unique
and unusual To bring the water to
the surface a series of wells has been
bored, the aggregate length of which is
more than four miles, and pumps
which were purchased from Buffalo
are to be installed The project will
have go wells, varying in depth
from 40 to 300 feet and sunk in groups
O? ien wells. with one pump installed
for each group. These wells vary from
twelve to fifteen inches In diameter
and it is estimated that each group
will yield $3.50 gallons per minute IN
der fifteen foot head. Each pump
ing station is connected by suction
pipes to a No. . vertical centrifugal
pump driven by a twenty-five horse
power vertical motor. The twenty
three stations will be operated from 6
central power plant, run by electricity
generated by steam power.
During the irrigation season this
pumping system will lift 10000 acre
feet, or 1O,775,OO0,OOO gallons.
The big ditch which is to carry the
vast supply of water to the district t.
be irrigated is, along with other de
tails of the arrangement, under pres
,ent process of construction. From
this main channel the hundreds OF
branch lines which will in turn feet
the individual bitches are to go forth
The governments work has already
proved stimulus to the settlement Of
the district and to private enterprise
already in Garden City. There ha'
been a jump in land values since The
Inauguration of the work. and nros
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