Los Angeles herald., 1910-02-20
le

..
must be fertilized at increasing cost as
the years go on are not good invest
ments.
The wise man will note also the per-
petual self-renewal of this land under
the process of irrigation. irrigation
waters carry new supply of fertlllz-
ing silt every year, more than enough
to replace in the soil the strength
that has been taken by preceding
crops. Thus the soil is everlasting and
there will never be an abandoned
farm" in the Imperial valley
This fact cannot be overestimated in
it's good effects. Even without this
added silt every year the soil OF this
region would last for several genera
tions AS it is it can never wear out.
The valley of the Nile is an example,
and the plains of China also; cultivat-
ed for thousands of years, these lands
are unexhausted 1t is the great TRIBUTE
which time pays to irrigation. Wher-
ever the water carries sediment 1t
renews the fertility of the land.
No Public Lands
It is we'll that the intending settler
in the Imperial valley realize the fact
that the day when people would come
into the valley, go a few miles INTO the
country and file on piece Of rlch iano
is past Every bit of government lana
wv
times
However, in many cases these loca-
tions were made by persons who owned
property elsewhere, and never intended
to build homes or cultivate the lano'
but filed on it for the purpose OF spec
ulation.
These lands are open now for pur-
chase, some with government patents,
ond in many cases the assignment OF
the filer may be had for a reasonable
figure.
The newcomer should be prepared to
purchase lands outright, the rates not
being speculative as yet. Values IN
land have gone up steadily from the
first year of the Imperial project. The
growth has not been forced, nor have
the values anywhere near reached the
normal stage, judged by the products
of the land. Land prices can only be
indicated-so much depends upon 10
cation, distance from town or railroad,
improvements, etc. Some tracts can
be bought for $40 an acre without water
right, but III general prices range from
$50 up, including water.
Securing Water Stock
The owner of land buys stock in the
mutual water company in which his
land is located. This stock guarantees
him perpetual water supply, for which
=
per acre share for the stock, a part of
which goes to the parent company ana
the remainder toward the building OF
the bitches by the mutual company to
supply him with the water. IN addition
to this he pays yearly so cents per acre
foot for water delivered.
Drainage will ultimately be seen to
be of vital Importance, as in every ir-
rigated section, and here it is provided
for in the great channels cut by the
flood in a better way than anything
that could be devised by engineers. The
sewerage problem of the towns is also
solved, and the actual damage caused
by the runaway river is not felt to be
a great prize to pay fer the immediate
and prospective advantage of these
great dry drainage channels They are
available for all time and deep enough
on each sde of the valley to keep the
land perpetually sweet. Irrigation cam
not "waterlog" this land while the dry
beds of the Alamo and New river re-
main.
Weather Conditions
Meteorological observations have
been made by the United States wealth
er bureau at Imperial for five years,
and at CaleXico for two years. Tenn
peratures as high as 125 degrees have
been recorded on one or two occasions.
but the maximum for the last year was
only 116 degrees at Imperial in July
and 112 degrees at CaleXico in August
The winters are mild and exceptionally
fine. The minimum temperature for
the past year was "a degrees at I'M
perial and 32 degrees at CaleXico, both