Yerington times. [volume] (Yerington, Nev.) 1907-1932, 1912-08-24
OUR RESOURCES.

an insurance man WHO Has NlSltCu oi'iN'' -
portion of Mason and Smith valleys in the pas
few weeks and who you can read IS more tha'
favoraby impressed with what he has seen-mos
OF itAbut he tells YOU frankly, that there is
) woeful lack Of enterprise here in agriculture
way The Times has been aware of this cond
ton for a good many years Mr.. Alexander rep
resents a concern which loans big amounts OF
1 money on big schemes where known results can
be shown He has visited many parts OF Calilor-
MIA and other States and his belief is that there
! is nothing anywhere that has the two Walker
River valleys beaten, provided. the people get a
move on and show to the outsider that they are
alive to their interests and the possibilities
of our great agricultural section. He sees SO
many things that might be done here by enter
prisng people that it is hard to enunerate them.
In the first place the water question should be
settled in such way that, if the government
would not take hold of the prof ect OF conservation
itself. it would allow company OF men OF means
to do the work And Mr.. Alexander's company
is which furnishes money for just such enter
prises. There is no better security for any money
oaner than land and the land i'll the Lyon county
valleys is the finest, most productive. and Will be-
come the most valuable OF any in this State, and
equal to that OF any State in the very near future.
Our agricultural section is adjacent to the big cop
per mines OF the district and the mines and smell
tiers going to employ host of men in the next
few wears. They will all have to be fed and
clothed, and the feeding can be done by the
farmer stock-raiser and dairyman OF the valleys
With the activity now displayed by the mines and
smelter the change from few years ago is noted
bv the farmer, in the shape OF greater consumption
OF his products and better prices therefor. The
price OF farm land has also advanced several hun
dred per cent in the past ten years and IT is going
to continue to advance. There still few OF
the old residents who skeptical about on"
mining industry. but the great majority have
awakened to the fact that we have the mines, the
smeter and the railroad, and that these the
things that have made ready sale and good prices
for all kinds OF agricultural products.
Mason and Smith Valleys, with the large land
holdings cut up into small tracts OF 40 to 100 acres
would easily have population of ten thousand
people including the towns. These small farmers
could furnish to the mining industry all the veg
etabes, beef. mutton, pork. poultry. eggs butter
milk cheese honey and flour; in fact all the e1i-
bles that army OF miners would consume.
But these conditions will not come aboat until
there is definite settlement OF the water qucs
ton for irrigation or the system OF pumping water
is generally adopted by the farmers who take up
small tracts.
There is plenty OF water going to waste in
the Walker Rivers every year, which ii stored
would irrigate every foot OF land in the valleys
1t has also been demonstrated that aresian and
deep wells can be obtained that will furnish flows
sufficient to irrigate small tracts, say hundred
acres. Either of these schemes would be
good. The former would take the most money,
and the concerted action OF the land owners and
be financed by the people whom Mr. Alexander
represents. The pumping proposition would have
to be worked ont by the individual owners OF
small farms Gasoline electric plants could be
cheaply installed and maintained, and the owner
OF such irrigation system would be independent
OF any for his supply OF water, 1t is more thar
/ likely that the right kind OF farmers could hnt
the money through Mr.. Alexander to install suol
irrigation systems their farms.
One thing that has been noticeable to The
writer is that the farmer is prone to too mucl
water on his land. There have been two three
] dry seasons during residence in the valley
and the farmers have deplored the fact that ther
would not be sufficient water for the crops Yet
when harvest time came, the crops bumpe
ones This has demonstrated to that there i
irrigation that the farmer does use when there i
plenty in the river This is supposed to be o
the dry years The snowfall last winter wa
light in the mountains and the cry that thei
, would he an insufficient amount of water for rri