Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1910-12-23
IRRIGATION ARTICLE
VALUED INFORMATION ON THE
IRRIGATION WORK THAT
is Being DONE.
Department of Agriculture Accom-
plished Important Work in Recent
Praise for Creditable Work-Scien-
tifc Research Proves Great Boon.

| Inc United, States department OF
agriculture has during the last ten
years been doing very important work
through its irrigation Investigations,
and the following extract from the last
annual report of the secretary, James
Wilson, should be of interest in show
ing the relation between the depart
ment and irrigation development:
During the past year the Office of
experiment stations, while maintaining
most of the old lines of work in it's
irrigation investigations, has endeav-
ored to modify its plans so as to meet
the demands for information on the new
Issues which are constantly arising.
This is particularly true as regards
the assistance which has been given to
the new settlers. The task of convert
ing desert land into productive fields
is not easy under the most favorable
conditions, but when the one who at
tempts it knows little or nothing about
irrigated farming, the difficulties are
greatly increased. Those in charge of
irrigation Investigations in the west
have, therefore, devoted a considerable
portion of their time to advising the
newcomers as to the methods best
adapted to their individual needs. This
personal advice, supplemented by prac-
teal bulletins, has done must to pre-
vent mistakes and to safeguard the set
tier from either partial or total failure
East Interested.
So widespread an interest has of
late been created in the east regarding
irrigation in the west that the depart
ment has been flooded with requests
for information as to the conditions and
possibilities of different districts. The
series of bulletins on irrigation pre-
pared by this department in co-opera-
tion with western state engineers and
others, has done much to furnish the
information desired. OF this series
ten bulletins have already been pub
lished, and four more are being pre-
pared. When complete, the irrigation
conditions as regards the climate, soil,
water supply, extent of land, crops, etc,
of each state and territory in the west
will be accurately described.
| 6AOdb w doIC VI WdL0Ls
In former days water for irrigation
purposes was both plentiful and cheap,
and in attempting to use it much was
wasted In many parts of the west
the old wasteful methods still prevail,
although the value of water has in
creased many fold. The results of seep-
age measurements of irrigation chan
nels obtained by the department,
coupled with the high price of water
rights and the rise in value of agri-
cultural products, have induced many
companies to line their main canals.
AS result, many channels which for
merly lost from 20 to 80 per cent of
their total flow are now practically
watertight. In many cases such i'm
} provements would not have been made
if the attention of the managers had
not been called by our engineers to the
large losses sustained and the best
means of preventing this waste. In
cases farmers used large amounts of
water without realizing how excessive
was the use until measurements were
taken. When the irrigators of the San
Joaquin valley in California first began
to apply water on what had been dry
, farmed grain fields, they frequently
, used over nine feet. Now about one
, third of this amount is found to be
ample. The water users of Greeley and
neighboring districts in Colorado USED
to think their crops would burn up un
less they had miners inch of water
to the acre. Now they are raising crop
on the same ground that are wortl
about four times as much with one
fourth the water formerly used They
E are learning that cultivation takes thu
place of irrigation to great extent.
Demonstration Farms.
The demonstration farms establishe,
in former years have been maintained
These have been of great value durini
the past year in showing, among othe
= things, the benefits to be derived fror
the use of scanty water supplies o.
= small fields in connection with dry farm
ing. At the Cheyenne farm during tn
past season, "a bushels of oats wer
raised per acre with the application o
only eight inches of irrigation water
while the crop grown without irrigs
l. tion was practically failure. Alfalf
a, yielded 1905 pounds of hay per acr
D with the application of 1873 inches
a while the unirrigated field yielded onl
r. $50 pounds. Beardless barley, with tn
r application of OF inches of waite,
n yielded 81 bushels per acre; that III
a irrigated and raised on summer-fallowe
RS ground yielded only 21a bushels. A
'e Gooding, Idaho, s.s tons of red Glove
g was harvested from land which receive
Il only 10 inches of irrigation waite,
These results showed what can be don
with a limited supply of water whe
properly applied.