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Show - - .--..-,--, .. .1 ....... .. , - - ! I IRRIGATION IRRIGATION PROBLEMS. ( Comparative Practice of the United ,, States and Canada. 1 It is a common saying that the farmer farm-er is the most really independent of Jtmorals that he can always secure a i Hiving from his lalbor, even if he can- fnot always obtain the luxuries of life. In one sense this is true; in another lamentably false. With the knowledge knowl-edge of modern methods of farming, , and with the results before him of the magnificent work of the Department ;of Agriculture in -so many directions, the intelligent farmer can control most of the conditions of his work as well as, if not better, than the business busi-ness man can control the conditions of business and competition. "Every ' bug has its poison," and the danger of widespread devastation of crops over large areas by the ravages of insects J or bacterial growths has been greatly J reduced by agricultural research, and 2 may, eventually, almost disappear. r With the increasing growth of population, popu-lation, and the larger number engaged in trade, manufacture arid other professions, pro-fessions, whose food and clothing have to be furnished by the agricul- Itural class, the danger of falling prices or excessive competition among farmers need not be greatly feared. In one important respect, however, the farmer is seriously dependent upon up-on a condition quite beyond his con-S. con-S. trol, and that is rainfall. The severe drought which has afflicted a large section of the eastern United States during the past summer, while by no means &o serious as other droughts - of the past, has certainly been important import-ant enough in its effects to exemplify the need for a source of water supply '.for crops independent of occasional rain clouds. In many a farming section, sec-tion, some old, practically abandoned mill dam, or natural water power exists, ex-ists, which can be purchased and diverted di-verted into irrigation ditches at comparatively com-paratively small expense by individual or neighborhood co-operation, and the interest on the cost of the necessary neces-sary investment may easily prove to be cheap crop insurance for the farmw , er. Be that as it may, it is, of course, well known that large areas of our great West have been, and are now being, reclaimed from sterile, arid or semi-arid conditions and made into fertile, food-producing lands by the simple intelligent application of water in tho various public and private irrigation irri-gation projects which arc now forming form-ing so important a -part of development develop-ment work in the West. It is unfortunate, unfor-tunate, however, that these enterprises enter-prises have been, in so many cases, hampered by unwise and conflicting laws, and that the real benefit to the farmer intended to be brought about by them has partially, if not largely, failed in the realization. Private irrigation irri-gation companies have, in many cases, "been formed to carry out ambitious projects in connection with colonization coloniza-tion plans, only to collapse -before the completion of the necessary ditches, leaving tho unfortunate colonists who have been induced to invest upon the brilliant promises of the promoters stranded and helpless. Other projects, pro-jects, both public and private, have been carried through to a (conclusion and irrigation commenced, only to find after a year or two of successful irrigation that the water supply has been overdrawn or diverted into other channels and no one can be found financially responsible for the disappointments disap-pointments caused by poor engineering engineer-ing or rascally promotion. Even the great irrigation, works of the United States government in certain of the western sections have not gone quite far enough to bring about the largest degree of benefit to the sections ready for irrigation, because of the fact that the government constructs, as a rule, only the main and secondary canals; placing the responsibility upon the individual in-dividual farmer,, or a group of farmers, farm-ers, to bring the vatcr from the secondary sec-ondary canals to their own farms, often of-ten at very large expense. Furthermore, Further-more, the government does not guarantee guar-antee a permanent, continuous supply of water, nor does it have any responsibility respon-sibility whatever for the individual farm canals or ditches; and it often happens that quarrels arise among the farmers of a, group or neighborhood who have built a tertiary canal, as to the proper division of the water. Add to this condition the conflicting laws of the various states, and you have a condition that is neither pleasant nor profitable to contemplate. Our Canadian friends and neighbors have planned the development of their groat West by irrigation more scientifically than we loath as we may be to admit it. Doubtless profiting profit-ing by our experience, they have avoided many of the difficulties and conflicts which have afflicted us, and have worked out, in several sections, an exceedingly comprehensive and satisfactory irrigation theory and plan la plan embodying laws declared by resolution of an American Irrigation congress to be far in advance of similar sim-ilar laws of this country. The Canadian Cana-dian law is based upon the following broad principles: (a) That all the water is the property prop-erty of the crown, and can only be acquired for irrigation by making-proper making-proper application to the government and obtaining authority to divert it; and that any person diverting it with out first obtaining such authority shall be sulbjcct to a heavy penalty. (b) That applicants for the right to construct irrigation works must complete com-plete them within a stated time, and to the satisfaction of inspecting government gov-ernment engineers; that they must use the water for irrigation and sell the same at rates approved by the gov-ernment. gov-ernment. (c) That no streams can be burdened bur-dened with more records (permits) for water than there is water to sup ply the land to be irrigated; this being be-ing prevented by refusal of the government gov-ernment to grant any further records after the debit side of the ledger account ac-count opened by them for each stream shows that the credit of water supply, as indicated by yearly government gaugings, has been exhausted by permits granted. (d) That the duty of water, or the amount to be supplied for any given area (at present one cubic foot per second for 150 acres), and tho irrigation irriga-tion season (May 1st to November 1st), during which period such water must be supplied, shall :bc fixed by the government, and not be left to the power of any irrigation company or person selling water for irrigation to change. (e) That all agreements for the supply sup-ply of water for irrigntion must be registered with the government, so that they may have notice of the contracts con-tracts entered into by irrigation companies. com-panies. (f) That any disputes regarding the division or distribution of water are settled by a government official with- out the necessity of any appeal to tlie courts or bill -of costs to parties mak- ing the complaint. H (g) That parties complying with' the H provisions of the law, and being H granted right to divert water, obtain H a patent for it direct from the crown, which they can carry in their pocket. H if they wish, as prima facie evidence H of their title and an assurance .that H any attempt to interfere with such title will be prevented by government I officials without cost to owners ofthe H water patent. Perhaps the largest and most ambi- I tious irrigation project ever initiated I on this continent is that of the Oana- I dian Pacific Railway company, operat- I ing under the Canadian law in South- I cm Alberta. This project is not one I primarily intended for money making I by irrigation alone, but has in contcm- I plation the colonization of a vast area of three million acres tributary to the I railroad and available for the develop- I ment of traffic upon its lines. It has (been determined by government and H railroad engineers tlvat about one-half H of this vast -empire of land is capable of direct irrigation, and the remainder H is suitable for tho growing of wheat and other crops not requiring so much H watcr. The Canadian Pacific Railway I ' company has gone far beyond Amcri- can practice in not only building main H and secondary canals for the diver- B sion of water from the Bow river to the general area to be irrigated, but H in also throwing out from the sccon- dary canals a complete system of dis- H tributing ditches that will bring the water to every quarter section (160 H acres) of land to be irrigated. This H removes entirely from the farmer the H burden of building anything other H than his own farm -distributing ditches, and in buying his farm he re- iccivcs from the company a map show- H ing exactly where the latter agrees to deliver water to him, and exactly H what portion of the farm is capable H of irrigation. lie is charged oi cer- H tain sum per acre for the non-irri- H gable land in his farm, and a larger H sum (about $10 more) for the irri- H galblc land. He receives not only his H land title, but also a deed of water H supply guaranteeing a certain mini- H mum of water per annum (or for the H season), and there is back of this M guarantee the double responsibility o! fl the Canadian Pacific Railway com- M pany and the Canadian government M itself. Success. j"kb4 M |