Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-04-08
UTAH PIONEER In IRRIGATION
First Successful America system Of
Water Service Evolved There.
COUNTRY OF SMALL FARMS
average Tract Comprises Forty Acres
81 We'll developed and Highly
improved Land--BCct
Crop Grown.
COUNTRY OF SMALL FARl


Crop Grown.
american irrigation VAS yaat'-5 in the
salt Lake valley. and tr tau early settlers
OF Utah must be given tsc cred. o. having
introduced that art inso .dis country With
nothing to guide them bus ya-uc accounts
Of the methods Of Spain ard Egypt they
laid out a plan 81 distribution and orig
mated impartial rules &C. govern water
takers that wore models OF excellence and
have been adopted wherever the canal and
the lateral are nccdful 90 agriculture. The
privauon and suffering they endured in
the early days o. Joasr. .gilm4tion gave
10 Utah An ag-iDu.t..ai a.tl which ranks
among The most t,.t., "a productive in
the world.
I'm no portion OK th.s ,u. ..I. has iIriga-
ton been brought to such perfection as in
Utah. and nowhere else are the farmers
more prosperous and content. The success
Of the Utah people in agriculture Is to be
attributed to their industry and their habit
Of doing things well; 60 the fact that their
land holdings are smallAthe average farm
being only forty acres In size, TO the com
mon honesty that characterizes their use
OF water, and the presence Of market
for their products at home and in sur
rounding states.
It was Brigham YounE's idea that
man should not own more land than he
could cultivate and that in the use of the
public waters no one should receive more
than his rightful share. Most OF the farm
ers in Utah have snug sums laid away for
rainy day and all Of them have good
homes improved farming machinery and
graded stock.
Soil wonderfully Fertile.
ha Of he soil in
sures large Yields. which, under the
genial climate, are repeated from year to
year. There are few insect pests to fear,
and never any doubt OF a ready market at
good prices for the farm output
In Cache, the extreme northern county,
the harder grains, vegetables and fruits
are raised. and in Washington, the farth-
est south, cotton, figs, almonds, walnuts
and pomegranates are grown. and va
risty of grape from which a wine is made
~ at once delicious and potent. Between
these two extremes are cultivated all OF
the grains. grasses and fruits common to
the temperate zone,
Utah Ia a mountainous region, but the
claims are irregular and the mountains
rise abruptly. At the base of every noun
tain there is a valley. and these valleys
wind in and out among the broken ranges
and most of them are rich productive
areas.
A chain OF larger valleys extends from
north to south through the state. These
we're once portions of the bed OF an ancient
sea and were fertilized by the deposition
for ages of enriching materials. The Nor
mons found them alkalied and sage-cov-
cred; but under irrigation they have be
come garden spots among the mountains
The Cache valley on the extreme NORTH
il one of the largest and most fruitful IN
tho chain. This has average altitude
OF about $500 feet and presents one Of the
most beautiful pastoral spectacles In the
state. The valley proper is about thirty
miles long and in many places ten miles
wide Logan. the principal town, has 4
population of about 5000 and is the hom,
of the State Agricultural college and thu
location of ono Of thu four great temples
of the Mormons. The valley is dotted will
villages and checkered with little farms
around which are hedges and rows o
Lombardy poplars, and the fields carr
colors from the green OF lucern to tn
gold of ripening grain.
Development by Irrigation,
South OF the Cache valley are the fertil
lands along the shores of the Bear Rive
bay, famous for fruit growing. and the
comes the shore lands about ogden. an
then the salt Lake valley and so proceed
ing southwark the chain extends throug
the Utah. sanpete. Sewer, Parowan an
Rush Lake valleys TO the valleys OF tn
Santa Clara and Rio Virgin near the south
ern borders of the state. After the Sal
lake and Utah valleys passed on tn
way south. the links in the valley chat
grow smaller, until the limits of the stat
are reached. Collateral to the main chat
are many lesser valleys which creep arOun
among the scattered mountains, and
these the farms are long and marrow
Bvorywhere to the limit OF the water SUI
ply, the irrigation ditch has made its wa
to the fertile fields. and from one end
Utah TO the other are pastoral scenes
beautiful as any In the world.
The principal agricultural products
Utah. named IN the order of their impor
Rnce, are hay, wheat sugar beets, Oat
potatoes, barley, alfalfa seed, corn and ~
the aggregated value of which, in fsC
according TO the state statstician, Wi
tI.SE.s5O. The financial results from Il
dairies and creameries, from the sale
poultry, eggs and small fruits are give
by him, for 1909, at $l7,12s,oOO SO that Il
grand total from the farms, diaries. crear
cries, poultry houses, vegetable garden
vines and bushes for 1909, aggregated 81
y slh&0 AIDING TO TINS inquire the StntlS
clans report OF $50, 10000 received from Il
sales of live stock and wool, brings Il
total income OF the farmers and sto,
growers Of Utah, during 1909 TO $50 $50
over Two million Acres Cultivate
recent reliable estimate fixed the Gull
waited area OF Utah at 2l35OOO acres. T
crop yield per acre averages are, Of wheS
2S.S bushes as against 10 bushels in IlinC
and Is bushels In Minnesota. Of corn, .
bushels; OF potatoes, 100 bushes; OF suE
beets Ia tons; and Of hay, 2.l tons. The
averages are regarded as conservative a.
applicable from year to year.
The Utah hay crop represents more
gross returns than any other. Accordi
To the reports Of the state statisucans
1893 tho tons cut We're 900. and t
value $3.50 go There is always a dema
In Utah for hay at good prices. and eve
farmer has a patch Of lucern or a field
timothy.
Wheat sold in the spring Of 1919 as hi
as g2S Der hushel and the total yield