The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-03-06


Mr.. Owens was so favorably i'm
pressed with the project that he ex-
/ pressed his Willingness of closing a
/ contract for the construction work a {
/ once, but this was impossible until
the IOrmdIty of advertising for bids
/ was complied with. w r. Kirkland
/ also Of Salt Lake, looked over the sur
| veys last week. He, too, is willing to
construct the necessary canals for the
I benchers and take the irrigation bonds
! IN payment. Both of these gentlemen,
/ however, pointed out the desirability
/ OF building one large ditch to water the
! bench instead of two smaller ones. All
| of the engineers who have examined
] the surveys are unanimous in the opin-
/ Ion that one irrigation system would
prove by far the cheaper for everyone
/ concerned.
The matter of the irrigation of the
| Blue bench in d way is one of the
/ falling straws which indicate the future
purpose of the MOffat road. Last sum-
mer W. ). Greene, a noted 'irrigationist
| OF Colorado, formerly state engineer
and leading expert of the Arkansas
/ Vaiey irrigation system. accompanied
4 by Cashier Mcdonald, of the Bank or
/ Victor. made thorough inspection of
/ the Blue bench and the ditch routes.
Now Mr.. Mcdonald comes forward with
an offer to furnish the money for the
project. Inasmuch as Mr.. Mcdonald is
| cashier of the bank of which David IT
MOffat is president, it would seem thar
the Moffat interests are satisfied to
invest in this section.
Conditions Improving.
Conditions throughout the former Uintah
lhdlan reservation are rapidly growing
| better. and it is safe to predict that there
VIII never be another request for assist
ance from the state. For the most mart
the benches which comprise the greater
area, are still without water: vet the
country IS gradually reaching that point
where 1t IS self-suStaining. The acreage
OF production has been repidly increased
RMS season VIII see enough produce raised
to meet the demands of the pODulafiOn
While this winter has been the longest
and seVerest on record the people are
IN much better shape than this time a
year ago, and no cases have been reported
where there was suffering for necessarie.s
one great mistake that the homestead
ers ON the mesa lands have made is that
WhHe waiting for water, they did not go
into dry farming. Where tests have been
made It has been shown that no section
or the arid west can excel the reserva-
ton benches for dry land production Last
season potatoes, In some cases weighing
over two pounds, and corn higher than
person S head, were fully matured The
result has been that gOOd-sized acre
age was planted last fall to wheat and
rye, and this season a large number of
the homesteaders will put in corn and
potatoes.
Without question of a doubt. the reser-
VatIon, with proper transportation facili- !
ties, Will prove to be one of the great
producing centers of the west for Dota-
toes and alfalfa. Reservation potatoes |
could not be better. The production is /
Iully equal 10 that of the famous potato |
growing sections of Colorado, and the pro-
duce outrivals the noted Grolty spud in
Reservation potatoes would |
reach the top notch on any market in /
the world
Last season three excellent crops of
alfalfa were grown. Experiments in a
small way show that the seed threshed
from it is unusually large, plump and |
firm, and alfalfa enthusiasts believe that Il
seed alfalfa viii soon prove one of the I
greatest industries of this section
Almost Unlimited Acreage.
Ask a reservation man. imbued with Il
he reservation spirit, what he thinks the II
country will amount to, and you will re-
'eive a reply about as follows: I'VE n
nave an almost unlimited acreage of ag-
'icuitural land. We have an abundance
II water for every foot of il. ANYTHING
hat grows in the intermountain section
will thrive in reservation soil. Our grow
ng season is long enough to mature our
,rops II viii be but a few years until
We show you one of the greatest prOduc-
ng sections in the west" Or he may
luote you the words of James r. Garfield |
Ormer secretary of the interior. who. in
eferring to the reservation, spoke as fol-
OWs. The land is some of the best in
he west when once placed under the spell
# irrigation. / look for it 10 become the
eading part of the state within a few
ears"
When it is taken into consideration that
hat portion of the state of Utah known
IS the former Uintah Indian reservation
Omprises more land susceptible to high
lass agriculture than is now in cultiva-
ion within the state, it will be but mat
er of a short time when Utah will begin
o realize what a valuable asset it has in
hat strip of territory thrown open for
settlement by President Roosevelt in
March, 1906.