Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1914-05-24

miles. and which delivered daily 49,
600 600 gallons of water. and this was
later increased TO 312, 500, 900 gallons
1 rhe Aqua MARTA conduit, which
brought the drinking water for the
4 city was forty miles long and sixteen
4 feet In diameter, and yet we marvel
Al many little things being done to-
day.
/ '1he Nismes conduit was constructed
1 in France in 10 b. G. and delivered
| IA ,000.0 00 gallons per day and 1t noted
for the great POnt du Card which
carried il across ravine.
Even China dates her early enter
prises OF irrigation and transportation
far back into antiquity, for some of
her greater canals are the most stu
pendous works Of the kind ever ac-
complished The great imperial canal
has a length Of $50 miles. and con-
meets the Hoang-Ho with the Yang
tse- Kiang The course Of this canal
encountered many large lakes ana the
canal was carried across these on the
crest Of enormous dykes.
Let US leave the old world and come
to the new for records of development
along these lines We shall not be dis
appointed for in traces Of an early civ
ilizatiOn in New Mexico, Arizona and
Colorado, and extending through Mex
leo, Central America and Peru, We're
found the ruins of extensive irrigation
systems laid out and in actual use by
the people. Prescott in his Conquest
of Peru speaks Of finding many irri-
cation systems one that traversed the
district Of Condesuy0s measured near
~ 500 miles in length and extended
over a country so rugged that It would
DO considered extreme folly TO UNDER
take its construction today
The Spaniards also found many
Pueblo Indian tribes along the Rio
Grande valley. who cultivated the soil
and secured abundant crops Of the
necessities Of life, irrigating by means
of bitches which diverted the waters
of this river upon their fertile soil.
In san Juan county the ruins Of
irrigation bitches are TO be seen to-
day, which were IN use by the Aztec
Indians at the time Of earliest dis
Covery by the white man,
Is ii not remarkable the present
condition. extent and method Of irri-
cation In this country, and especially
in New Mexico, when you reflect upon
the great strides that have been made
3
ehanieal development In the last cen-
Jury or tWo2 Think Of the inventions
bctterments and improvements that
have been put i'm use the steamboat
and the general throttling of steam;
the Harvesting of electric power the
telegraph the telephone, the worlds
of modern and ever improving ma
chnery, and even the airy navy and
set We are not much further along
in irrigation than the ancients were
thousands and thousands of years
ago and / doubt il the waters are
being used as economically and eff
ciently as in those days.
From the present status of de-
velopment, and under the present
splendid laws of the nation and of
this state, and the great protection
that IS afforded to both the builder
of the project and the settler on the
same By the law and the state en-
gineer Il seems TO me that New
Mexico and in fact the entire arid
west are now in their prime for de-
Neiopment along these lines II shall
De my aim. In a series of articles
which shall follow in weekly pub
Heations to give an available data
and the actual results being ole
tanned throughout the country with
the hopes that they may be OF some
assistance In this great works