The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1909-07-14
OF IRRIGATION.

In making official announcement OF
the seventeenth session of the Irriga-
ton Congress in Spokane on August
9, a press bulletin calls attention to
the fact thai farming by artificial ap-
plication of water to the land was
practiced by the Arabians, Egyptians,
Assyrians and Chinese long before
the advent of Solomon, and 1t has
since formed q part Of the agriculture
of the countries bordering on the
Mediterranean sea. The ancient art
had its origin in America in prehis-
toric times, by the Pueblo Indians,
who inhabited portions Of what is nov
New Mexico and Arizona, and their
descendant we're still cultivating the
lands when the Spanish colonists
came from the south, several centuries
ago.
History recalls that the valley of
March in Arabia, was supplied with
water drawn from q reservoir made
by q dam 12O feet in height and two
miles in length. The wall was con.
structed of hewn stones and it re.
strained the swift current of an i'm.
portant stream for more than 1000
years. Mention is also made of the
canal of thelPharsohs, connecting the
Red sea withiPelusium. Flood waters
Of the r%iverlwere used to irrigste the
valley of thel Nile centuries before,
and the plains oflBabylon we're liter
ally c~riss.croseed with %cansls. some
of them hundreds of miles in length.
The RomansIalso operated vast sys-
tems. while the Chinese supplied
moisture to their rice lands by artif-
cisl mesns0beforeIthe Christian era.
Mormons settling On the shores of
the Great Salt lake ini Utah, we're the
fret Of theiEnglish.speskine people to
make q systematic application Of the
principles Of irrigation in the west.
They turned the water of the Wasatch
mountain streams upon their holdings,
the present. site of Salt Lake City,
mastering ltheOart after years Of effort.
Priests Of theicity missions also made
use of water on the lands in southern
California. Owhere todaytmsy be e e
the ruins OIL pretentious works built
by the Indians. Placer gold miners
In CsliforniaIutilized the water from
their ~ditcheslfor irrigation purposes.
The results obtained in Utah and
California %induced0 settlers in other
states andtterritories to try the plan
and email tracts of land we're put un-
der the bitches in Idaho, Washington
and Oregon.0 The Indians in the
Clearwater country in Idaho, we're the
first in thisIpart of the country to use
artiicially supplied moisture in the
guilty ationuof crops. Rev. Henry H.
Spaulding, who camelfrom the north.
west withlDr. Marcus' Whitman, men,
toned this fact in his early letters to
relatives intNew England.
A census to-day would show fully
$500 600 farms in the United States
under bitches, watering than
5000, 0OOsiacresI of lands. Colorado
leads in the number of acres irrigated,
California has the largest number Of
irrig ators, while Washington has the
greatest!percentage in the number Of
irrigators.t IThe science is also prac'
ticed in Canada,l England, France.
Italy, Japan, Argentine, South Am
erica, Algeria, Australia, Switzer'
land, Belgium, Denmark, Bohemia
India. Spain andSScotland. 1t is es'
timated that more than Is, 900 ,O0(
acres are under irriga alton throughout
the world.