| Show I THAT DARK PICTURE Doctor Win m Peterson of or the state a colle college e last list week at Ft Duchesne pave have Ine 11 us another of oC those dar dark of which we have hate so soman man many While WIllIe words of caution given gIten by hr a n man of his importance may beju be bo ju justified d I it seems to this paper that right now while a u stress tress anti and strain are upon us te testing the thc courage e and ability of ever every citizen extreme care should be lIe taken in speaking to six thousand people pe-olle as be lie did lid at Ft Du- Du chesne The Record believes belleve that Doctor Peterson made the picture too dark lark and so 80 As Governor Dern said n a few months gao no This Tills is no time to rock th the boat lont The talk in question gave ave us off hand as ns he said a lot of oC data as to Utah's acreage acreage acre acre- age ne its desert condition and the relative relative relative re re- amount that may be made to produce Irli irrigated corps That Is s rath lath rather er Cl old stuff out here in the basin He used a proposed irrigation project project pro pro- out here about acres which he said proved Iro to have hate a water supply supply supply sup sup- ply quite inadequate p per r a study made of it presumably under his di din di- di n We re were ter very carefully advised advised advised ad ad- by him bins that we must not overestimate overestimate overl over over- l estimate te our water supply While Doctor Petersons Peterson's talk was In part justified this paper believes much he said may better have been left out and that he should have told u u-j even een if indefinitely especially when he be nd i advised cl us that his prepared speech had been left at home bright brighter er cr phases of this water supply ques ques- tion I Among the matters he lie H might well r have mentioned are such as these Why is White river rh-er one of Utah's important rivers not used It runs through h about Cort forty miles of good goodsoil oo 1 soil at an n ern average e elevation of feet or Je less and i is almost as ns primi primitive tive th-c as us when E saw it years n ago o. o In mentioning rainfall wh why did he not advise us that all our stations are down in the fry belt viz Duchesne Du- Du chesne- chesne Myton l Ft Duchesne Oura Ouray and Vernal Rain at nt Duchesne and mill at Vernal help a little to increase the lire average hut but the other three are in that most extremely dry r belt and which is now almost unused And Anti that lan large e au audience lence might have been heen advised that the average farm Carm has lots had altogether ether too much flinch water or over irrigated If drainage were not exee excellent lent the dire lire results of this practice practice practice tice would have been far more serious As Craig Harmston sa says s 's we have ha literally literally lit lIt- rall poured it on and und that too In hl those Yer very months Dr Peterson mentioned mentioned men men- April May an and June On our soils folls mostly fand sandy loams barns this practice prat ti tire tice is serious for several goo good reas rear ons oils We Ye have not practiced a conservation conservation conser conser- of our water Wh Why did 11 he not explain wh why the Duche Duchesne Duchene ne river supports about 10 per percent percent cent ent as ag man many farms Canns as the Sevier Seler river river river riv riv- er and yet et the river lher exclusive of the J and ind the Uintah branches is much larger er than the Sevier Revier river ricer We Ve estimate it is twice as large expert stream measurements to the contrary notwithstanding ing It seems to this paper papel that the I speaker could coul well have hae given a little inspiration by telling us lIS such simple facts as these In the Uintah Basin Is 10 40 of ot all the land Utah may ever economically irrigate And nd even now we have about 20 of Utah's Irrl Irrigated crops produced ed under disadvantages an and isolation I and lack of transportation pro produce uce Most of our deeper soils where the tIle season season season sea sea- son for growing rowing crops crollS is longest lonest have not been heen plowed Of the acres l now OW supposedly reclaimed provided with canals and und with water let the critic take off acres to represent gravel bars hals thin soils or for other 1 reasons Yet the remainder is quite quit large e when we remember that Utah docs does not produce one million nel acres o of oC Irrl irrigated crops per year Such simple facts as these would not have weakened weaken weaken- e d c-d his a address and it would surely Liu hu hue have e a helped when help is needed Ve We basin people know w well that in extremely dr dry years ears like this we need needmore nee 1 more water in certain places Yet th the writer would like to show any oily expert alfalfa 7 75 acres acres- doing fairly well that has haR not been heen irrigated this year r Dr AntI And the water table is from 12 to 3 30 m feet feet- below helow the surface Near this alfalfa ul ul- falfa Is corn doing well that has lias had hud no water this year fin and Is sub ed ell Our Om cool nights prevent the scorching scorch scorch- scorch I In ing ng teat heat completing the jo Job and cultivation euRl- euRl holds holdo the moisture I |
