New-York tribune., 1910-01-25
WATER AND TEXAS
SOAKING THE SOIL.
Great 4dUances Due to Hriga-
ton WOrk.
fBy telegraph to The Tribune. ]

TBv Telegraph to The Tribune
Galveston, Jan. 24.-One of the officials
connected with the government arid land
reclamation service said recently that
plans had been made for the expenditure
of about $4,000 600 on this work. and
that when il was completed the irrigation
systems would take care of 5000. 600 acres
of land. which when reclaimed would
have a value of nearly sI0o an acre. In
1908 the government reclaimed 367, 900
acres Under the Catey act the reclamation
of LIE acres by private corporations has
been approved. This viii be done under the
direction of state boards.
In no states is this important agricult-
arai work more extensively under way
fhan in Texas and Louisiana, the former
leading the way. 1t was recognized many
years ago that the arid and semi-arid
lands of the Lone Star State were re-
n1arkably fertile. Around the ancient mis-
sons there were fiourishing gardens, re-
ceiving their irrigation from the crude
systems built under the direction of the
friars
In the Pecos Valley and the Toyah Val
ley the native Indians were able, with the
assistance OF natural springs. to make the
soil productive. These are in the far
western extension OF the State of Texas,
where the elevation is from 1900 TO 5000
feet above the sea level, where the air has
;nvigorating crispness and the climate ali
the year round is free from the enervat-
sng qualities of that of the interior states.
Down in the southern and southwestern
sections irrigation was established by the
+rnonks, who needed vegetables for the
table and fodder for the cattle. Relics of
sthese ancient systems may still be seen.
but everywhere the ancient method has
~ste control irrigation has progressed 10
that stage where it has become an estab-
1ished fact, and arid tracts of vast extent
have been transformed into productive
s6istricts, where homeseekers from the
North are settling in large numbers.
EXPERTS REACH DECISION.
At the last national irrigation congress
txhe whole subject was thrashed out by ex-
perts among the farmers, irrigation COM
panies and government officials with tech
nical knowledge Its conclusions were
Srouped under three findings, which, sum-
married, follow:
First-Irrigation, far from being an un-
saappy and costly expedient by which the
desert farmer raises enough to keep from
starvation, is a real boon, which may be
1grasped by every farmer everywhere.
seeond-The cost OF introducing irriga-
ton. compared with the increased output
resulting. shows the investment TO be the
biggest interest Garner of any form of ex-
penditUre the farmer has ever had pre-
eented TO him since agriculture began.
Third-With the spread OF this knowledge
end with the corresponding increase in the
area OF irrigated farm lands the day is
fast approaching when the country's prod
uce will be as non-fuctuating in amount
he
of a well equipped and well managed fac
Rory.
The Pecos and Toya valleys embrace
Reeves. Pecos, Ward and Loving counties
There, amid the most charming surround
ings. the benefits OF irrigation. explained
at the irrigation congress. have been ex-
perienced, and will continue TO be expe-
rienced SO long as the Pecos River runs
and artesian wells can be sunk into the
great underground water supply. There are
nearly score Of companies in the district
either operating irrigation plants or build
ing them. Their projects embrace more
than six hundred thousand acres now, and
plans have been made for great extensions.
as settlers from the North and East are
continuously coming.
In the lower Rio Grande Valley is a
made" country that in fertility matches
any section OF Texas, and irrigation has
been carried 10 as perfect a conclusion as
modern methods permitted. The silt and
debris carried down by the freshets of
years and distributed over the land have by
means Of the irrigation systems placed
under almost perfect control a region of
marvellous richness in soil values. Wher-
! ever the arid or semi-arid country in Texas
N has been subjected TO artificial moisture
u processes this richness has been found to
be distinctive.
OF course. men who are in the irrigation
companies believe that irrigation far ex-
cells rainfall in every way. Il is from the
practical farmer that expression OF
opinion counts among farmers. And it has
been a uniform experience that when a
farmer has tried the artificial method he
has been an immediate enthusiast. Irriga-