The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1909-08-01
VOL. XXVI. NO. Is.

lneIe Is uOlIlllS new uuuSl InS
sun" Farming by irrigation is the
Oldest method of which we have any
record. 1t was practised in the val
ieys of the Euphrates and the Nile,
where the earliest civilizations had
their birth. There irrigation flour
ished and untold millions of people
were sustained under intensive culti-
vation and certainty of yield Nature
furnished the soil and the sunshine,
and the canal supplied the needed
moisture. Supplying moisture to semi
arid and desert lands by artificial
means is to be discussed by experts
at the sessions of the 18th National
Irrigation Congress in Spokane, Aug
ust 8 to IA.
History records that the valley of
March, in Arabia, was supplied with
water drawn from a reservoir made
by dam 120 feet in height and two
mOiles in length. This 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 the Pharaohs, connecting the
Red Sea with the Pelusium. Flood
waters of the river were used to irri-
gate the valley of the Nile centuries
earlier, and the plains of Babylon were
literally criss-crossed with canals,
some of them hundreds of miles in
length The Romans also operated
vast systems, while the Chinese sup
piled moisture to their rice lands by
artificial means before the Christian
era. In America, the ancient art had
it's origin in prehistoric times, by the
Pueblo Indians, who inhabited portions
of what are now New Mexico and Ari-
zona, and their descendants were still
cultivating the lands when the first
Spanish colonists came from the
south several centuries ago.
Under irrigation, the soil is prac-
tically ineXhaustible. The melting
SHOWS bring down vast quantities OF
silt from the higher attitudes, that
contain all the elements of fertility,
which are spread evenly over the land
by the irrigation cOnduits and act as
a coating of fertilizer by constantly
renewing the soil in use, so that the
land becomes better and stronger each
year and produces heavier crops. In
addition to this, while the farmer is
watering a growing crop in one field,
he can be harvesting from an adjoin-
ing field or cultivating in another.
The supply of moisture is under COM
plete control. Different crops require
different amounts of water for proper
growth, and the farmer who can tell
when his crop needs more moisture
can supply it as required. There is
no secret in irrigation. Richness OF
soil, favorable climatic conditions and
perfect control of moisture make irri-
gated regions the most productive sec
tions of the world.
Mormons settling on the shores OF
the Great Salt Lake, in Utah, were
the first of the English-speaking peo-
pie to make a systematic application
of the principles of irrigation in the
West. They turned the waters of the
Wahsatch mountain streams upon
their holdings, the present site of Salt
Lake City, mastering the art after
years of effort. Priests of the early
missions also made use of water on
the lands of southern California,
where today can be seen the ruins of
pretentious works built by the In
dians. Placer gold miners in Califor-
MIA utilized the water from their
n -.