Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-13

The United states Land and Irrigation
exposition which begins in Chicago. Nov
ember 20. promises to be the most unique
and complete showing Of the successes Of
irrigation that ever has been made. The
products Of the erstwhile Great American
desert will be on exhibition in the richest
profusion. and will tell their own story
OF what irrigation may be expected to mean
to the American people in the generations
to come. save the forests, store the
floods. reclaim the deserts and build
homes on the land is the motto Of those
who have the irrigation interests Of the
country at heart.
This will be the first exposition ever
held solely to promote the colonization Of
new land in this country, now made avail
able to homeseekers, because OF the re-
sent reclamation OF vast expanses Of arid
tracts. The object Of the exposition is to
guide and inspire the '1and hunger" Of the
nation. The irrigated lands Of the west
afford opportunities for thousands Of new
homes. 1t will not be a mere county fair
exposition Of land products, although the
products will be exhibited, but it will be
an educational institution for the exem-
plification of the possibilities Of farming
in lands reclaimed from the desert.
California will tell the story Of fifty
years progress from one lone orange tree
to an annual crop Of 5000 carloads. Utah.
Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, all
the arid and semi-arid states, will have
exhibits showing that arid land with ir-
rigation is to be preferred to the best Of
land without irrigation. It is said that
there are from 100000 900 to sO,oOo, 900 acres
of irrigible land in the United States, each
acre Of which might be made to produce
enough to support a human soul. Ten mil
lion acres have been irrigated, the bulk OF
It by private capital.
II is we'll that America has embarked
upon an era Of irrigation. The statisticians
calculate that the appetites of men are
growing bigger with the passing years,
Although the population Of the world has
increased only % per cent in the last forty
years, the amount of food products re-
quired has increased 40 per cent in the
same time. In other words, men eat about
one-fifth more than they did a generation
ago. With the population OF the world
increasing at the rate of 100000 souls a
year, and the appetites Of the people grow,
ing proportionately, the business Of making
two blades Of grass grow where one grew
before will be an Increasingly great bene.
faction to the race.
Statistics showing the per cent Of the
arabic land actually under cultivation In
the various states show remarkable facts
Only 80 per cent of the arabic land in
Massachusetts is cultivated. In New York
only "a per cent is cultivated; in Ohio, Il
per cent; in Indiana, Sc per cent; in II.
linois and Iowa, 70 per cent; Nebraska, 81
per cent; Colorado, 3 per cent; Utah ant
Nevada, / per cent; California, II per cent
The ninety-seventh meridian, cutting II
twain the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas
Oklahoma and Texas, divides the climatit
east from the west. West OF tina line liz
the regions where the rainfall is per
petually insufficient for crop growing. We
the west does not regard that as an evil
One OF the enthusiastic irrigationists of tn,
far west has gone the whole length o.
optimism by speaking OF the iblessinEi
OF aridity, . and ne offers many interesting
facts to prove his case. He first declare.
that the Bible offers conclusive evidenc,
that the Garden of Eden was an irrigated
spot. and calls attention to the passag,
where it says that a river went out o
Eden to water the garden. Then he look
around and sees that every ancient civiliza
tion has its birth In semi-arid regions, ant
that most of the glories of antiquity spranl
from the heart OF the desert. He looks t
Egypt, Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Persia
Arabia, Northern India, Carthage; into tn
ands Of the Aztecs and of the Incas, an
sees civilization rising from the sands an
semi-arld lands. He says that the com
mon belief that the fertility OF the Nil
regions is due to the coat Of mud depositet
by the rivers subsiding waters is not wei
founded; that 1t amounts to less than twI
ordinary two-horse loads OF material pc
acre, whereas Americans may put tire
times as much manure per acre without a
great resultant fertility. Furthermore, Of
going up to Fayum, in the LAbian desert
where irrigation Is carried on with clea
water, the land is just as fertile as tn
; Undiscovered valley OF the Nile itself. Also
/ In the Loess regions around the headwater
OF the Yellow river in China. which 1
known as the granary OF the celestial EN-
pire. the land is perpetually fertile thong