| Show SAGEBRUSH WASTES NOW WAVING FIELDS Reclamation Work Sees Des Desert Desert Desert ert Vanish as Settlers Appear on Scene A quarter of a century ago any mention of the Great American desert called up visions V of ot a region of ot limit limitless less lese extent sunbaked parched and desolate A country associated always with tales of suffering and death of unfriendly savages and deadly reptiles for years ears ea it was passed over by b Con Congress I gress gresa as worthless The marvelous transformation which has been wrought in two to decades in this land landof lor of silence and sunshine furnishes one of ot the moat interesting and inspiring pages page in the annals of ot our republics development The greet great gr At American desert is ia vanishing from the map Its boundaries have hae shrunken and anti It no longer presents a formidable barrier to the growth and nd progress of ot the far west Twelve million acres of ot this rainless country have been subdued by means menna of agriculture and Irrigation and are producing bountiful and assured harvests har harvests vests etta every year A quarter of ot a mil mu million million lion families are residing on farms and as many more have found homes bomes and aBd occupations in the cities towns townsand townsand and aDd villages village which have sprung up in inthe Inthe Inthe the midst mid of ot the agricultural areas area Great dams have been constructed to Impound the floods and through 70 50 0 00 miles of canals and ditches the water has been turned upon the dusty dust desert Streams Are Arc Harnessed The streams have bave been harnessed for power and an era of ot manufacturing manufacturing manufacturing turing Is dawning In which all an of or the raw products of ot the farm tho tiro forests and the mines will twill be prepared for the markets of the world orld The TIle comforts and aDd luxuries hereto heretofore heretofore fore tore unknown in agricultural regions already alreed are obtainable In many of or the western valleys The farmer lights and heats his home with electricity and his heavy work Is done cheaply by the same potent force I Trolley lines bring the farm and town too close together In a majority of the irrigated districts the farms are small not more mor than 40 to 0 acres each With II to 60 10 farm families to the tho square tulle mile isolation l Is eliminated and life in the country becomes more morene nearly ne urban ur n than rural While pioneering pio plo pioneering in this new country calls for fora a good deal of ot grit and not a little hard work the compensation is sure and abundant Xo No Childs Chads Play Carving out a home in the desert rt is la no childs play piny It Is a mans work but there are few places where na nature nature nature ture responds more quickly to Intelli Intelligent intelligent gent industry than Ulan the irrigated coun country countr country try tr On the government projects the past year has ha been a conspicuously prosperous one The success et o of the average farmer In many man instances has been remarkable On several of the projects the crops on individual farms this year have yielded enough to enable the owners to repay repa the government every dollar of ot their obligations If It they the were so inclined As the payments s to the gov government gO extend over a period of ot ten years without interest there la ls no ob oh object obJect In meeting the same in advance and most of ot the farmers therefore are devoting their revenues to Improving their homes and anti In purchasing live livestock livestock stock and implements On Ol of the most Interesting Int features of the of ot these pew new com communities communities Is the large number of settlers set settlers s t who have come from the cities 0 and towns Their success is all the themore themore themore I more notable because they had little or no previous experience In farming especially farming by irrigation Un tn Under ender der del these the e circumstances the call of the open Olen country u i likely to appeal to I others who have grown tired of the stress and aud fume of ot city life Ute and the struggle to make income j I 1 and arul outgo balance The west is la filling up so rapidly and the really choke choice location are so few fen I that It Is ie only a question of ot time no now when the increase of land values alues there will make It as difficult for tor the poor poorman poorman poorman man to get a foothold as It Is today in inthe Inthe inthe the east Letters Letten are pouring In to t the clan olan of ot the reclamation service at Washington D C for Information about the lands which are ready read for tor settler OB on the several reclamation projects Approximately farms are now no open to entry under the homestead a act with water ready read for tor irrigating |
