Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1924-02-01
PAPER
Ucad Before ShOshOne Study
Club at Reclamation Meeting
GIVEN BY WATERMASTER
Traces Rec c'anation from Infancy
and Tells of Some of the
Things it Has
Accomplished


and included an interesting debate
participated in by Charles Bailey,
John Bailey, Ward Mills and George
H. Curtis. For this debate the judges
were Mrs. Paul S. Haddock, Mrs.
Blanche Roberts and S. Fl. Chapman
who awarded the Badleys the de-
cision.
s. H. Chapman, watermaster, read
the following interesting paper which
the Journal has been requested to
publish by a number of the farmers:
Reclamation, as applied to land, in
It's broadest sense embraces any
scheme of man in brining into state
OF Productivity lands that would have
otherwise remain unproductive. The
draining Of swamps, the building of
sea walls and dikes to shut off the sea
at high tide from flooding lands that
would otherwise be submerged, the re-
moving of timber from timbered lands
or stumps from cut off lands, and the
Reclamation of arid lands, are all en-
braced in the general scheme of rec
lamation.
In this paper only the reclamation
Of arid lands by the application Of
irrigation will be treated on. The
reclamation of arid lands goes back
thousands of years. 1t was practiced
by the ancients, particularly in An
ciant Egypt In Arizona the canals
of the Salt River Project in Una
valley are following practically the
same contours that were followed by
canals used for irrigation by some pre-
historic race long extinct. The re-
mains are there to show that some |
race of people diverted the waters of
Salt river and irrigated lands thous- |
ands of years before white man ever
trod the American continent.
Millions of acres of lands are now
producing crops that would be deserts
without irrigation. AS we look over
the. fields of golden grain, the beautiful
orchards with their gorgeous array Of
flowers in the spring and the luscious
fruits of the fall, the beautiful fields
of alfalfa waving in the breeze, the
thousands of homes, the cities that
have sprung up, the highways that
cross the country, and all made poss-
ible by irrigation we are brought to
realize to a limited extent what rec
lamation OF arid land has meant to the
human race.
In nearly every part of the world
the reclamation of arid lands has add
ed TO the wealth of the human race.
~The total amount of irrigated land in
India is 25,OOO,OOO acres. in Egypt is
about 100000 acres. and in Italy is
about S,7OO,OOo acres.
Spain has about 100000 acres. and
France, 100000 acres. Several mill
lions of acres in the United States,
md millions of acres in China, Japan,
Australia, Algeria, South America and
Elsewhere.
Under the U. S. r. Service 100000 !,
lcres were irrigated in 1909. this acre
~ had increased to 100000 in 1916.
Dnder the Carey Act millions of acres :,
save been reclaimed. Millions of :
lcres have been reclaimed. Millions :.
4 acres are irrigated by individuals
md private companys.
Many systems OF conveying water b,
o the lands have been. and are stiil IN
w. Ia certain sections Of the old
roSld small tracts of land are irfi-
aztec BY applying the water 70 fhe
Aad with buckets Water wheels end
|fts q many different types are used
'fsioian wells are used in many porte
the world.
ghe two systems in general use oa
1leated projects is the gravity sy
~ and NJ means ~ pumping plane
Il y combination of the fso in fNr
ftsiiy sgafsm diversion dame are een
Esle'ea in enc hei ~ fhe streams sNd
as paipf is dlfenei iniQ canals aH +.
snep fo ipe Hnas 81 b0 AyHi.a
} ihe pumping s}sieW raia
AmpNd ffoW leNV H'elslQnf ~
|Fheg elaHi'aH N 'Y mWm n IN
VnplNe p'ania
4 HQfN q le.IHWi.0n NIaH esn ne
if0aNlas iNN 'HN|NHN MNH taI
tWNN'eW NNal NJ f4N'n |Hi aNl l4
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