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Show U. S. FARM NO BED OF ROSES Reclamation Sarvlce Mead Point Out Many Drawback- Irrigated Tract Pay After Hard Work. Life on a government Irrigation farm ia not the bed of roses which many picture It to be. Director Newell New-ell of the reclamation service point out In a paper prepared for the Smithsonian Smith-sonian Institution. "This wakening to the fact that Irrigation Ir-rigation has its thorny side," be declares, de-clares, "aometlmes comes as a startling start-ling shock, sufficient to discourage all but the moat enthusiastic or persistent, per-sistent, and the more fainthearted seek farther for the promised laud. "Those who remain soon learn that success munt be secured by subduing the soil, getting It Into a good condition condi-tion of tilth, applying water day and night and perhaps all night, wading around In the mud or , enduring the heat or the long days of brilliant sunshine sun-shine and tlm accompanying dust of the arid regions, the troubles with neighbors over the division, of waver and the possible seepage, followed by crop losses or ruin from alkali. As a consequence a considerable part of the first settlers on every Irrigation system sell out or relinquish their homesteads and seek other fields. The most difficult problems still remain re-main for the reclamation service, be says. It has successfully solved the engineering and business problems, but those, of "dealing with the set-tiers, set-tiers, giving them sound advice and at the same time collecting from them the cost of the works, the deal Ing with the human as opposed to the physical elements, are far more difficult than those of engineering construction or related business management" |
