Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-10-27
SAGE BRUSH WASTES BEING RE.
PLACED az WAVING FIELDS
AND GREEN MEADOWS.
IRRIGATION
TRANSFORMING NATURES FACE
Many Families Find Homes in West
Small Farms tho RuIe-Rem arkabie
Success Comes to Many Where Irri-
cation is Possible, But Remaining
Farms Are Few.

Washington, Oct. PA quarter OF a
century ago any mention of the great
| American desert called up visions Of
region of limitless extent, sun-baked,
parched and desolate. A country as
ISOLATED always with tales of suffering
| and death, of unfriendly savages, ana
deadly reptiles. for years it was passed
marvellous transformation which has
been wrought in two decades in this
land of silence and sunshine furnishes
one of the most interesting and inspir-
ing pages in the annals Of our repub-
lies development.
The great American desert is van
fishing from the map. Its boundaries
have shrunken and it no longer pre-
sents a formidable barrier to the
growth and progress of the far west
Twelve million acres of this rainless
country have been subdued by means
Of agriculture and irrigation and are
producing bountiful and assured har-
vests every year.
Many Families Find Homes.
A quarter of a million families are
residing on farms and as many more
have found homes and occupations In
the cities. towns. and villages which
have sprung up in the midst Of the ag-
ricultural areas. Great dams have been
constructed to impound the floods and
thru 10000 miles of canals and bitches
the life giving water has been turned
upon the dusty desert. The streams
have been harnessed for power and
an era of manufacturing is dawning in
which all of the raw products OF the
farm, the forests and the mines W4H
be prepared for the markets of the
world The comforts and luxuries
heretofore unknown in agricultural re-
gions already are obtainable In many
OF the western valleys. The farmer
lights and heats his home with cleo
tricity and his heavy work is done
cheaply by the same potent force
Trolley lines bring the farm and town
close together.
Small Farms the Rule.
In a majority Of the irrigated dis
tricts the farms are small-not more
than forty acres each. With sixteen to
sixty farm families to the square mile,
isolation is eliminated and life in the
country becomes more nearly urban
than rural. While pioneering in this
new country calls for a good deal OF
grit and not a little hard work the
compensation is sure and abundant.
Carving out home in the desert is no
child's play, 1t is mans work, but
there are few places where nature re-
spends more quickly to intelligent in
dustry than the irrigated country. On
the government projects the past year
has been a conspicuously prosperous
one.
Remarkable Success.
The success of the average farmer in
many Instances has been remarkable.
On several of the projects the crops
on Individual farms this year have
yielded enough to enable the owners to
repay to the government every dollar
Of their obligations If they were so
inclined. AS the payments to the gov
eminent extend over period OF ten
years without interest there is no OBJ
ject in meeting the same in advance
and most of the farmers therefore are
devoting their revenues to improving
their homes and In purchasing live
stock and Implements One OF the most
interesting features of the upbuilding
of these new communities is the large
number of settlers who have come
from the cities and towns. Their sue
cess is all the more notable because
they had little or no previous expert
ence in farming. especially farming by
irriga ton Under these circumstances
the call of the open country is likely