The Kendrick gazette. [volume] (Kendrick, Idaho) 1892-1968, 1909-06-11
IRRIGATION
GREAT AID
WONDERFUL RESULTS
IN NORTHWEST.
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO BE
EXPENDED TO GET WATER
OVER THE LANDS,

ou0 achievements IN the Inland Empire,
where the pioneers and those who fol
lowed have, within the last few years,
wrested. from the sagebrush country,
long looked upon as absolutely worth
less, a crop-producing, ome-supporting
area of inexhaustible fertility, greater
in extent than the cultivated lands in
New England and capable of support
ing larger rural population.
Out of the arid waste sprung won
derful orchards, vineyards, berry fields,
truck gardens and fields of golden
grain and waving grasses; towns and
villages peopled with happy and OPP
tlmlstlc population, comfortable homes
in the country inhabited by a satisfied
yet energetic husbandry; banks, liter
ally bullying with the wealth of their
depositors, and railroads and CONNER
cial and industrial enterprises telling
of the march of progress into what
was the desert wilds less than two dec
AIDES ago.
This wonderful transformation is due
to irrigation, the science of supplying
moisture, bringing to the soil the
waters and streams which constantly
corrode the mountains and foothills,
giving out the new life principles in
the form of alluvium from the decay
ing rocks and vegetation of the up
lands.
The economic value of irrigation,
whether by national project or private
enterprise, cannot be measured in dol
lars and cents. 1t is no longer an ex-
pertinent in this growing country; it
is a confirmed success from CONNER
cial and financial viewpoints, and the
influence of it's far-fung horizons and
its true perspective are potential in
character molding and building. There
is inspiration in the vastness of this
westerness, where men and women and
children, breathe optimism and grow
mental breadth and strength in con-
templating scenery, declared by sea-
soned travellers to have no counterpart
in the world. The development of the
country will provide safety valve
against the impending dangers of con-
gestion in the cities Of the east.
1t has been demonstrated that under
irrigation western land will produce
paying crops Of anything which grows
in the temperate zone. The products
are noted for their brilliant coloring,
unusual size and excellent flavor, and
they command the markets of the
world. Vegetables in almost endless
variety and the choicest vine and tree
fruits follow each other in rotation and
fill out the season. There is courage
born of conviction and fostered by
hope in the superintendent life which
springs from the broad desert when
moisture is applied, and this gives
constant inspiration to industry and
stimulus to greater things.
What Little Land Will Do.
Five to ten acres of land in the irr-
gated districts will provide shelter,
food and raiment for a family and en-
able its owner to put aside from $500
to $1,000 a year. Scores Of hundreds
of men and women, many of whom
came from the crowded cities in the
east and south, are doing that much or
better today. The home making in
stinct characteristic of the true Amer
lean won out, and as a result they are
independent and able to dictate the
prices of their products.
Government Projects.
The government of the United
States recognized the possibilities of
the lands in the northwest, where its
projects cover nearly million acres.
The largest of these in Washington is
the Sunnyside project, in the Yakima
valley, 10000 acres, to be completed at
an estimated cost of $1,60O,OOO. 9th
ers are the Tieton, in the Yakima val
ley, 10000 acres, cost $1,500,000; the
Wapato, also in the Yakima valley,
100000 acres, cost $1,5OO,OOO, and the
Okanogan, 5000 acres, cost 100000.
In addition to these, the United
States reclamation service has author
lied the Kittitas and Benton projects
in Washington. The Indian and re-
clamation service estimate that $25 or
less will cover the cost for water right
on the reservation. This is about half
the cost of the watering land under
other canals in the Yakima valley.
It is likely that in time more than
$50,OOO,OOO will be expended by the
reclamation service in the state of
Washington in retaining 100000
acres of land now entirely or partly
waste. Of this, $4,000 acres will be
in the Ellensburg district, 100000
acres in the Rattlesnake and Coal
creek districts, and 10000 acres in the
valley of the Okanogan.
The government s projects in south
ern Idaho are the Minedoka, with an
area of 100000 acres, to be completed
at an estimated cost of $4,000,000, and
the Payette-Boise, 100000 acres, cost
ing $3,O00,0O0, while Oregon has the
Umatilla project, $4,000 acres, costing
$1,1OO,0O0, and the Klamath, part of
which extends into California, 10000
acres, cost $3,6OO,OOO. The projects in
Montana are the Huntley, 10000 acres,
cost 100000; the Milk river, includ-
ing Saint Mary, 10000 acres, cost
$1,2OO,OOO, and the Sun river, 10000
acres, costing 100000. The Lower
Yellowstone project in. Montana and
North Dakota takes in $4,000 acres
and will cost $2,7OO,OOO.
Wonderful Possibilities.
There are scores of gravity, siphon
ana pumping plants in various parts of
Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Mon
tana, and all are successful. The ex-
tent of operations on irrigated lands in
the northwest will be better understood
when it is known that the value of
the apple and other fruit crops in the
Inland Empire amounted to $14,OOO,OO0