Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1920-06-04
DESERT IN BLOOM
Irrigation Makes Garden Spot of
Death Valley.
Furnace Creek Ranch, in Eastern CAL
ifornia, Probably the Most Isolated
Farm in the World-Many
Feet Below Sea Level.

Probably the most isolated farm In
the world is situated in a certain spot
In eastern California, near the bottom
of the United States, where some min
ing men have fitted out ranch of
some Go acres The place is known
as Furnace Creek ranch, and it has
been made possible by irrigation, the
water being piped. from springs in
the Funeral mountains.
Edward Hogg, in describing the
ranch, says that it "is situaDt l1S
feet below sea level Oil the door of
the greatest depression OF the face
of the western hemisphere, within pis-
tol shot of and only about 100 feet
higher than the greatest depth of
Death valley. Yet, in spite of its Pc
culiar location, the ranch is within
the shadow of Mount Whitney, whose
eternal SHOWS tower into the heavens
to height of nearly three miles, the
highest point of land in the CONT
mental limits Of the nation
"Furthermore, Furnace Creek ranch
is probably the only farm in the world
where weeds are unknown. As it is
entirely artificial and surrounded by
a desert barrier, the seeds of noXinus
weeds have had no way Of getting
there, and unless they he imported by
man, the ranch will undoubtedly al
ways remain free from them.
"Obviously the introduction of an
abundant wafer supply was the prime
requisite to make the ranch possible.
This is obtained from two large
springs far back in the Funeral noun
tains, which pour their streams upon
the burned-Cut Death valley soil
through two great aqueducts, one Of
steel and one of masonry. Part of
the water is diverted along the route
to freshen q heavy growth Of willows
planted to give shade to the water
course. But in spite Of this. the loss
of water from evaporation is very
great and in summer the water
emerges from the aqueduct at temper
atures up to 40 degrees. Men and
live stock, of course, cannot drink it
so hot. Cooling is therefore effected
by means of large evaporation 'ollas.'
and the drinking water is quickly re-
duced to 70 degrees in the hottest
weather.
"The humidity of Death valleys at
mosphere varies like that of other
places but according to analyses majle
by the United States weather bureau,
it's air is the driest known. It's aver
age moisture content is less than .Ol
per cent. Water thus becomes as vol
atile as gasoline and evaporatins cool
ing is accomplished with great rapid
ity. 1t is this speedy evaporation that
has largely made Furnace Creek ranch
possible. The ranch is primarily a
hay farm, the principal crop being al
falfa, which is fed to cattle and hogs.
After being dressed, the meat is sent
to mining camps. The live stock
could not live through the scorching
summer if it were not for the cooling
influence of shower baths with which
their corrals are equipped. The cat
tie, horses and mules are further pro-
tected from the blistcring winds by
having the sides of their pens covered
with sheet metal.
"White men cannot live long in ths
withering heat Consequently all the
work about the ranch is done by In
dians of the Piute and ShoshOne
tribes, under the direction of an edu-
Gated foreman. The average life of
q white man in Death valley is very
short. Three white foremen employed
on the ranch lasted two summers each
and perished during the third. Two
others went insane and attempted to
flee out of the valley on foot. Neither
of them lived to get out of the maze
of Funeral mountain canyons.
'"The Stygian temperature of Death
valley lasts for about five. months OF
the year, usually from May l until Oc-
tober; the other months are cool and
pleasant. Rain is virtually unknown.
Consequently the irrigation of Funeral
creek ranch is continuous"