The Twin Falls times. [volume] (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1905-1916, 1915-08-27
TOO MUCH WATER
IS BEING USED
Navada Engineer Draws Com
PARSONS
CLAIMS THAT TWENTY. -FOUR IN.
CHES is SUFFICIENT
Believes that Using Too Much Water
Constitutes u Crime Against the
State.

e. C. Mcclellan, an irrigation engi-
neer from Nevada spent Monday in
this city and gave us an interview on
this country and on irrigation that is
worth giving our readers.
Mr.. Mcclellan started in by stating
that this arid region between the
Rocky Mountains and the Cascade and
Sierra Nevada ranges was populated
a few thousand years ago by an agri-
cultural people, and that as the climat-
ic conditions were the same then as
now they dry farmed the land and were
able to raise family on about fifteen
or twenty acres of land to the family.
And he says he can prove this by
showing the ruins of their habitations
scattered from Boise on the north
as far north as he has been, to south
of the Humboldt valley
His next statement was that for
eight years he had charge of irrigation
on his fathers ranch near Reno, where
the annual precipitation is nine inches,
and successfully raised all kinds Of
crops by the use of an additional eight
inches of water supplied in irrigation,
or total OF seventeen inches. He then
quoted the head of the Reclamation
Service as stating that twelve inches
per acre was ordinarily sufficient for
use in irrigation and after that quoted
from the Agricultural Experiment sta
tion at Logan, UAah, that twelve in
ches is the maximum that should be
applied for ordinary crops and that
better results was secured when there
was five and one-half inches of soil
moisture and precipitation and the
same amount applied in irrigation for
raising corn.
Mr.. Mcclellan gave two new
points of view regarding the use of wa
ter. The first is that nature has adap-
ted our food plants to a certain av-
erage amount of moisture supply to the
soil. Man has increased the bear
ing quantity and food values of nearly
all kinds of plants by cross breeding
and cultivation, but the relative value
has remained the same when COM
pared with the amount of water ap-
piled, either naturally or artificially
This amount has been determined by
thousands of years, (history takes us
back over five thousand years.. when
nature has supplied the same rela-
tive amount of water to the soil.
Now in the United States, this water
supply may be considered as the most
favorable In the valley of the Mississ-
ippi river, but to illustrate his points
MIR. Mcclellan gave two tables for
consideration. The first table shows
the monthly and annual precipita-
ton records made by the U. S. Wealth
er Service for from 80 years at Boise
to ~ years at Leavenworth, Kan.
He divided his tables for convent
ence into groups The first covering
five states in the arid region; South
ern California, Arizona, Nevada, Ida
no and Utah The last two covering
the points of greatest precipitation in
the United States, Florida and West
ern Washington.
A study Of this table is a revelation
in itself The precipitation in the
arid region is from 1856 inches at
Riverside, California, to 1888 inches
at Salt Lake Then at Bismark, North
Dakota, where irrigation is not need
ed. the precipitation for the year Is
only 1880 inches. That is, there is
only difference of 1.27 inches year
between q land that needs irrigation
and a land that does not need it at
ALL
The most fruitful part of the United
States is the country in the Mississip-
pi valley extending north from eastern
Kansas. The yearly precipitation at
Leavenworth, Kansas. is 1880 inches,
and at Grand Rapids, Michigan, is
34.S6 inches.
The average season for growing
plants IL four months from the mid
die Of April to the middle Of August.
The second table gives the precipita-
tion 1t the same places duiing that
time. Now, certain part of the mols-
ture falling during the other parts OF
the year is In the ground. within reash-
ing distance Of the plant roots when
that growing season commences.
Granting that so per cent OF that is
in the ground In the arid region; that
60 per cent is In the ground in North
Dakota and central California: that
50 per cent 10 in the ground ID the up-
per Mississippi valley the middle Of
April; 20 per cent In other we4ter
places; and 80 per cent remains In
the ground In the wettest spots OF the
United States; and the last column
OF th3 table shows the amount Of Wa
ter nat1re has provided tor fta pIAnte.
and u na4N1mnfA Atnonn4 the plants
hAye bean t1a1ned " na4mre to pro-
n = Ia0a ID