Salt Lake Tribune | 1919-07-09 | Page 17 | Losses by Drouth in Utah Continues

LOSSES B! DROUTH IN UTHITI1ES Although records for more than half a century have already been broken by the drought, there is si ill no immediate hope of relief, according to a report made yesterday yes-terday by J. Cecil Alter of the loral weather bureau. The forecast for today was given out as "Fair and warmer." Information arrived yesterday from TTanksville Hint the Fremont or LMrty Pevll river, which runs across the San Rafael, a ml past Tlanksvilie, has dried up, a condition said to he very unusual. The river crosses eastern Wayne ami Oa rfield counties and empties into t he Colorado river, through deserts covered with such deep sand that travel to and from UanksviUe must be made by horse-i horse-i back. I Reports from the north are that the Snake river has shrunken to dimensions of a creek, ami streams elsewhere are shrinking rapidly. It continues hot in the sou tiier n part of the state, 90 degrees being registered at Modena in the last report. K. F,. Davis, chairman of the state board of land commissioners, has for the past nifmth been traveling over the seven northern counties of Ctah from Uich to lioxelder, including Salt Lake and Summit, Sum-mit, and reports that he considers a conservative estimate of tho loss by drought in that section places it at fully Sl.oon.O'io. Mr. Pavls baa had a lifelong experience in pinning and canning business. liay and beets, he says, will run about 7". per cent of a full crop. Irrigation of bpets has already been necessary for some weeks, although usually it is not necessary neces-sary until about July l. Irrigation water fur this purpose is scarce. The wheat emp. In Mr. Pavis's opinion, will be about 7.ri per cent of normal, and h re ma rkably good showing, considering conditions under which it was grown, nine Crook and Hear River vallevs and the west side of Taehe valley, all large dry la th.1 wheat districts, ha.ve come through the drought remarkably well. 'Die warm weather Is ood for the to-mafoes. to-mafoes. and the pea crop also is looking well, so far. Considerable damage to the fruit crop is forecast, on account of scarcity scarc-ity of water when time comes to irri-cm irri-cm lo heavily. ( icorgo V. Mo Con agio, state en cinder, savs roports in his office indicate something some-thing like a fii per cent amount of moisture mois-ture available. The shortage of rains dur; ng the growing soasnn of tiie crops k.is cans-sl the use of irrication water earlv. with the result that the storage sappiv will jirobably not run through the sea S' n. Mr. McConai; savs that unless havy rain come do stored waters In the Sevier Sev-ier bri'iire dam will be exhausted bv ji'iout ' S-'Pte;rber 1. for some of the canals soon- 1 er. and for some later. The state's stor- 1 ace water, in the I'iute dam. wi'I Ji;pt ' a 1m1-; t last t h rou 5i the irrica tion sen von, ; Water has airoadv boon slnt out of canals ca-nals on the upper Weber, with the re-iH t'-at a'mi:t half a rron of hay and grain will bo barvostod on tho lands und-T t'ioso . cana's. The old cor.traot with t'- Ctah ; Cower S- l.lch; co;npnnv is saving tNo li-ar river sstenw;. whl'e there is sMM so mi water in the reservoirs along the I Crovo, it is said. , 1 Strawberry water is proving a boon to' reside;! is of sou thorn Vtah oountv, sup- 1 ! phe.l fro:u th.at svstem. ' 1