BANCROFT 
 LIBRARY 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
IRRIGATION 
 
 A SKETCH OF 
 
 ITS HISTORY AND PRACTICE 
 
 IN 
 
 VARIOUS COUNTRIES 
 
 BY 
 
 
 
 o 
 
Ha 
 
H 
 
 LIBRA 
 
 //Zf following papers, with one exception, first appeared 
 in the Arizona u Gazette" and, at the request of many farmers and 
 fruit-growers, they are now presented in pamphlet form. The sub- 
 ject of irrigation has not yet received that attention from the residents 
 of the " dry belt " which its magnitude demands. Yet there is no 
 industrial question of greater importance to the people of Western 
 America; for upon an intelligent mastery of the true principles 
 underlying the control and application of water to the thirsty soil 
 must rest the future growth and prosperity of that region. This is 
 especially true of Arizona, whose grand agricultural possibilities are 
 gradually becoming known and appreciated. 
 
 In this sketch I have aimed to present, in a condensed form, 
 all available facts, with the hope that it may serve to dispel some of 
 the dense ignorance that prevails in Arizona on this siibject. For 
 much of the data in these papers, I am indebted to PoweWs " Lands 
 of the Arid Regions /" the Reports of the State Engineers of 
 California and Colorado ; the Report of Hon. A. Deakin to the 
 Governor of Victoria, N. S. W., and the Proceedings of the Riverside 
 Irriga tion Con ven tion . 
 
 P. H. 
 
 PHOENIX, ARIZONA, April 25, 1886. 
 
IRRIGATION. 
 
 An Outline of its History in the Old World and the New. 
 
 HE cultivation of the soil by the artificial application of water is, without doubt, 
 the oldest system of husbandry known to man. If we accept the Biblical history 
 of the creation, Adam, after that unlucky affair of the apple, was compelled to 
 build irrigating ditches in order to raise a crop on the dry plains of Mesopotamia ; and 
 when that ancient mariner, Noah, found himself high and dry after his lengthy cruise, 
 he planted the vine on the sunny slopes of Ararat, and, by means of irrigation, produced 
 the exhilarating beverage which, later on, involved the old patriarch in that awkward 
 escapade so graphically described in sacred history. So that if antiquity be a badge 
 of honor or distinction, this mode of agriculture is certainly entitled to high consideration, 
 for its progress can be traced through all the ages to the times when Adam delved and 
 Eve spun and " gentlemen " were not so numerous as in latter days. 
 
 The powerful kingdoms of the ancient world owed all their greatness to the practice 
 of irrigation, and the corner-stones of their prosperity and civilization rested upon this 
 system of tillage. Babylon and Nineveh, whose grandeur and extent is attested by their 
 ruins, derived their wealth and magnificence from the elaborate system of canals which 
 covered the valleys of the Euphrates and the Tigris. Those immense waterways made 
 of that region one of the most fertile countries of the earth the seat of the learning, the 
 arts, the sciences, and the splendor of the earlier ages. Both the Assyrians and the 
 Medes were an agricultural people, and carried the art of artificial cultivation to a very 
 high degree. Persia, the mightiest monarchy of ancient times, was then, as now, a 
 rainless region, yet irrigation made of it the seat of an empire extending from the Indus 
 to the Hellespont. The pages of history shine with the achievements of this great nation, 
 and the wealth and dazzling magnificence of the courts of Xerxes and Darius is the 
 theme of the historian and the poet. Yet this vast fabric of empire rested upon the 
 canals which Brought beauty and verdure to the plains and valleys of Iran. Egypt, the 
 seat of our earliest civilization, the land of religious thought and philosophical research, 
 from which many ancient nations derived their sacred and secular ideas of government, 
 practiced irrigation from the remotest ages. The mighty monuments of that early time, 
 whose ruins are the wonder of our modern world, speak mutely, yet eloquently, of the 
 power and greatness of ancient Egypt. But the whole structure of mental progress and 
 material power were dependent upon the network of canals through the Valley of the 
 Nile. A rich and a goodly land it was the granary of the ancient world and, to-day, 
 after constant cultivation for unnumbered ages, this famous valley remains one of the 
 most productive on the globe. 
 
 In India and China irrigation has been carried on since man first tilled the soil in 
 those olden lands. The Oriental magnificence of the potentates of historic Hindostan, the 
 
8 IRRIGATION. 
 
 gorgeousness of their courts and the wealth and beauty of their cities, have tempted the 
 cupidity of successive conquerors. The swarming hive of humanity, who dwell in 
 southern Asia, have made of that portion of the globe a veritable garden, solely by the 
 aid of irrigation. Greece and Italy have practiced the art of artificial cultivation ever 
 since Cecrops laid the foundation of Athens or Remulus chose the site of the Eternal 
 City. The great cities which flourished around the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, 
 including Carthage, the warlike rival of Rome, fostered and encouraged irrigation, for 
 upon it rested their wealth, their power and their very existence. When the Roman 
 eagles were planted in Gaul and in the Iberian peninsula, the Roman law of waters was 
 made a part of the civil polity of the conquered provinces ; and the system of irrigation 
 was perfected and assisted by the establishment of wise regulations and the construction 
 of massive aqueducts, canals and reservoirs. And to this day, the just, equitable and far- 
 seeing enactments of that empire, continue to bear fruit on the fertile plains of Lombardy 
 and Andalusia, and the valleys of Southern France. Thus it will be seen that nearly all 
 the great nations of antiquity rose and flourished in lands where the artificial application 
 of water to the soil was a necessity for the growth of crops. The ruins of dead cities 
 which strew the now desolate regions of Asia Minor, Syria and Northern Africa, were 
 once the centers of wealth and luxury, culture and power. Canals and aqueducts brought 
 beauty and productiveness to the now barren wastes; and dense populations once lived 
 and labored where the jackal's cry is now the only sound that disturbs the ear of the 
 wandering tourist. 
 
 IN THE NEW WORLD. 
 
 Irrigation was carried on by the semi-civilized races of the new world long before 
 the Genoese explorer sighted the shores of San Salvador. The ancient Mexicans and 
 Peruvians brought the art to a high degree of perfection. When that intrepid soldier of 
 fortune, Cortez, conquered the empire of the Montezumas, he found on the plain of 
 Anahuac a large population, and the country under a high state of cultivation by the aid 
 of numerous irrigating ditches. And when his band of daring adventurers first gazed 
 upon the Valley of Mexico and the Aztec Capital, they were enraptured by the lovely 
 panorama of "green meadows, golden fields and blossoming gardens," while, crossing it in 
 every direction like beautiful silver lace work, the numerous water-courses flashed back 
 the rays of bright sunshine. In Peru, the extensive aqueducts, reservoirs and canals of 
 the Incas astonished the Spanish invaders. Such strong and costly irrigating works no 
 nation of ancient or modern times ever constructed. But earlier than the records of 
 authentic history irrigation was practiced by unknown races on the Pacific Coast of the 
 western world ; and the traces of artificial water-courses which Coronado encountered in 
 his expedition through Arizona, in 1540, would show that this system of agriculture dates 
 from pre-historic times in -the new continent. 
 
 With the admission of Texas to the Union, begins the history of irrigation in the 
 United States. The acquisition of California and New Mexico, later on, largely increased 
 the irrigable territory, but Americans did not engage in it to any great extent until the 
 settlement of the Mormons in the Valley of Salt Lake. They found there a barren desert 
 and have transformed it into a blooming garden. Few people have any icjea of the vast 
 territory within the boundaries of the republic that is entirely dependent upon this method 
 of agriculture for the production of crops. According to Maj. Powell, the " arid region " 
 extends from the 100th meridian to the Coast Range, and from the boundary of British 
 America to the line of Mexico, being 1500 miles in its widest part, from east to west, and 
 over 1000 miles from north to south. This vast area contains more than 1,000,000 
 square miles, or 640,000,000 acres being nearly one third of the whole Union. It is 
 five times larger than France, and more than fourteen times greater than Great Britain 
 and Ireland. Nearly one half of Kansas and Nebraska, one third of Texas and Oregon, 
 three fifths of California, the whole of Colorado and Nevada, nearly half of Dakota, a 
 third of Washington Territory, together with the whole of Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, 
 Montana, Idaho and Arizona, are embraced within the " arid region " and must rely 
 
IRRIGATION. 
 
 mainly upon irrigation for permanent progress and prosperity. Of this vast territory 
 it is estimated that not more than four or five per cent can ever be reclaimed and made 
 productive. 
 
 During the last ten or fifteen years this method of tillage has made rapid strides in 
 the United States. It is estimated there are over 2,500,000 acres now cultivated in this 
 way, and the total length of the canals within the dry belt is put at 12,000 miles. In 
 the State of California alone, the value of irrigated lands and works is nearly $200,000,000, 
 while the value of its yearly product from irrigated vineyards and orchards is more than 
 $15,000,000. Colorado has over 1,000,000 acres watered by irrigating ditches, and the 
 value of the crops raised in 1884 was over $7,000,000. In Utah there are nearly 700 
 miles of canals costing $2,500,000 and 650,000 acres under tillage. No reliable data on 
 the subject can be had from New Mexico, but it is believed its cultivated acreage will not 
 fall short of Utah. Nevada is credited with having 80,000 acres watered by 800 miles 
 of canals, while western Kansas has over 300 miles of main irrigating ditches, costing 
 half a million of dollars and reclaiming 600,000 acres. These figures will convey some 
 idea of the magnitude and importance which the irrigating system has already attained 
 in the United States. And the efforts at reclamation thus far may be considered as little 
 more than tentative. Our knowledge of this system of agriculture is yet crude and 
 imperfect, but with that marvelous adaptation to surrounding conditions, so marked a trait 
 of the American character, it is safe to predict that another quarter of a century will see 
 a larger area reclaimed and a more perfect water system in western America than in any 
 other portion of the globe. 
 
 Although the United States cannot show such massive and enduring irrigation works 
 as India, Italy, or Spain, yet marked progress in this branch of engineering is seen within 
 the last half dozen years. Among the States and Territories of the arid belt, Colorado is 
 entitled to first place for the most substantial and elaborate system of artificial waterways. 
 Some of those deserve mention here. The w r eir of the South Platte Canal is 120 feet 
 long, from the cliff on one side to its waste gate of solid masonry, 24 feet wide, on the 
 other. By means of a frame work of timbers, 12x12, which are bolted to the bedrock, 
 filled and planked on the face with six-inch pieces, it raises the water to the level of a 600 
 foot tunnel. This tunnel is 20 feet high, 16 feet wide, hewn out of solid rock at a cost of 
 $60,000. After passing through the tunnel the water enters a flume 2,640 feet in length, 
 28 feet wide and 7 feet deep, which cost $100,000. The waste gate and head gate are 
 protected by a substantial boom 75 feet in length, built of 12x12 timbers. These admit 
 the water through bars below the surface, and protect the works from floating trees 
 during high floods. This canal is 100 miles long. The weir across the North Poudre is 
 a fine piece of engineering skill and has withstood some of the fiercest of Rocky Mountain 
 floods. It crosses a deep gorge, 160 feet wide from w r all to wall, and is in the form of an 
 arch bending up stream. The upper part is composed of cribs filled with stones, while 
 the lower face is formed of three steps of solid masonry so keyed into each other that the 
 pressure wedges them the more firmly. This canal has a mile of flumes, and the cost of 
 constructing its first mile was $50,000. 
 
 A large amount of capital has been invested in irrigating enterprises in California, 
 but, owing to different conditions, the weirs and head gates do not demand such a costly 
 outlay as those of Colorado. The Merced Canal, now under construction, will be 100 
 miles long and will reclaim 300,000 acres at a cost of $1,000,000. This great ditch 
 passes through one tunnel 1,600 feet in length, solid rock. The San Joaquin and 
 Kings River Canal is 78 miles long, and 60 feet wide. The " 76 " Canal in Fresno 
 County is 50 miles long, with a width of 50 feet. At Pasadena the water is carried 
 from the source of supply by 700 feet of fluming, thence through an iron pipe, three 
 miles long and 12 inches in diameter, to a cemented reservoir. From this reservoir 
 pipes convey it to the land to be irrigated. At Redlands, San Bernardino County, there 
 are six miles of iron piping, while at Ontario $50,000 has been spent on a tunnel to 
 develop water. The Dodge City Canal, in Western Kansas, is 90 miles long and 50 feet 
 wide, while the " Great Eastern," in the same State, has a length of 60 miles, with a width 
 of 40 feet. The largest irrigation head work in the United States is that of the Eureka 
 
1 IRRIGATION. 
 
 Canal, in Kansas. It is 1500 feet long, 10 feet high and diverts five feet of water through 
 the banks of the Arkansas into a canal 30 feet wide at the bottom, and 80 miles in length. 
 
 The outlay on some canal enterprises has been large. The San Joaquin Valley 
 waterway cost $1 ,300,000 ; the South Platte Canal, $750,000 ; the North Poudre, $250,000 ; 
 the Salt Lake ditch about the same, while in India it is claimed that the British govern- 
 ment has expended over $100,000,000 for this purpose. 
 
 Reservoirs for the catchment and storage of water have been in use from the remotest 
 times in all irrigating countries. Massive and costly works of this character are found in 
 Spain, Italy, Central Asia, Persia, India, Northern Africa, Mexico and in South America. 
 Although but of recent origin in the United States, their benefits have already been 
 demonstrated and their number is rapidly increasing. In Colorado, several canal com- 
 panies are adding a chain of such reservoirs as an adjunct to their water supply. The 
 largest is connected with the Big Thompson Canal, and covers four hundred and fifty acres 
 to a depth of thirty-five feet, twenty-one feet of which is available. This is sufficient to 
 water 12,000 acres. The largest reservoir now in use in the United States, is in Bear 
 Valley, California, where a wall of strong masonry three hundred feet long and sixty 
 feet high holds 8,000,000,000 gallons of water. This inland lake will give a continuous 
 stream of one hundred and fifty cubic feet per second, for one hundred days, sufficient to 
 supply 50,000 acres. The cost of the work was $60,000. There is a project now on foot 
 in Colorado, for the construction of an immense reservoir in the foothills of the Rockies. 
 It will have a storage capacity sufficient for the supply of 100,000 acres, and will be 
 tapped by a canal eighty miles long and seven feet deep. 
 
 This fragmentary outline may help to give a faint idea of the magnitude and importance 
 of this system of agriculture. To-day, nearly one-half of the human race depend upon 
 it for existence. For the people of Arizona, it is a question of vital interest. The future 
 growth and permanent prosperity of our territory depends mainly upon the successful 
 solution of the irrigating problem in the valleys of Southern Arizona. 
 
 THE "DUTY" AND COST OF WATER. 
 
 k H AT is known as the " duty " of water is that certain quantity required to 
 produce a crop on a given area of land. This quantity varies in different countries, 
 owing to climatic conditions, the nature of the soil and the kind of crop. On 
 the plains of Lombardy it is estimated that one cubic foot of water flowing per second, will 
 irrigate 90 acres; in France, 100 acres; in India, from 150 to 400 acres; in Algeria, 
 from 300 to 400 acres, in Spain, as high as 1,000 acres. At Pasadena, California, the 
 duty of one cubic foot of water reaches 1,665 acres; while at Lugonia, in the same State, 
 by means of sub-irrigation, 8,000 acres have been made productive. At Sierra Madre, 
 580 acres are cultivated by this quantity of water ; at Ontario and Redlands, 400 acres ; 
 Los Angeles and Anaheim, 200 acres; at Riverside, 300 acres; at Fresno, 160 acres; in 
 Utah, from 100 to 150 acres, and in Colorado, from 80 to 150 acres. In the older irrigat- 
 ing countries the unit of water measurement is the flow of a cubic foot per second. This 
 is a reliable and definite standard ; but in nearly all the irrigated regions of the United 
 
IBRIGATION. 1 1 
 
 States, the " miner's inch " is the unit generally used. This .mode of measuring water is 
 a legacy of the early mining days of the Pacific Coast. It is as variable and unreliable 
 as the Roman pace, and according to Mr. Hall, State Engineer of California, is an 
 " indefinite quantity." It varies with the altitude and the temperature of the water all the 
 way from 1,670 cubic feet to 2,680 cubic feet in twenty-four hours. At Columbia Hill, 
 in California, a series of experiments showed that a miner's inch, under a six-inch pressure, 
 discharged 2,267 cubic feet in twenty-four hours, while at North Bloomfield, same State, 
 the results with the same pressure were 2,159 cubic feet, in twenty-four hours. These 
 figures show how variable and uncertain is this measurement, and how difficult it is to 
 determine the exact duty of water in countries where the system maintains. In California, 
 the miner's inch is generally the discharge under a four-inch pressure, while in Colorado, 
 the pressure established by law is six inches. This would give about fifty miner's inches 
 to the cubic foot in the former State, and about forty in the latter. The State engineers 
 of both commonwealths have urged the adoption of the cubic foot as the standard unit, 
 and doubtless their recommendations will be incorporated in the laws of their respective 
 States. 
 
 The quantity of water required to produce a crop on a given area, varies with the 
 nature of the soil. A coarse, sandy and porous soil will sometimes take ten times the 
 quantity requisite for heavy clay or adobe. With a compact and solid soil the floodings 
 should be light and frequent, while with that of a more porous nature, they should be 
 heavier but given at longer intervals. What is known as " capillary attraction " exerts 
 a marked influence on the irrigation of some soils. 
 
 CAPILLARY ATTRACTION. 
 
 The principle may be illustrated by placing a tube of glass, whose bore will admit 
 a single hair and open at both ends, vertically, in a basin of water, with the lower end 
 immersed. The water is observed to rise and stand within the tube at a higher level than 
 the water outside. This action of water is known as capillary attraction. Another com- 
 mon illustration of the principle is shown by suspending a towel so that its lower end 
 rests in water ; in a short time the water will rise in the meshes of the towel to a certain 
 height but no higher. And so a stratum of earth whose base rests in water, will take up 
 the liquid to a certain height no farther. If two tubes of glass be used and one has a 
 smaller bore than the other, the water in the smaller will rise to the greater height. And 
 so it is in soils of different texture the water will rise to the greatest height in the finest 
 grained. On heavy, alluvial soils, capillary attraction is much greater and the water will 
 rise higher than in that which is loose and sandy. It is supposed that heat has consider- 
 able influence on this action of water. In California and in other countries with a high 
 summer temperature, it is much greater than in Colorado and regions with a severe winter 
 climate. 
 
 NATURE OF CROPS AND LAND. 
 
 The duty of water is also very materially affected by the nature of the crops. 
 Small grains and grasses require much more than fruits. In Colorado, where grain is the 
 principal crop, there is a lavish use of water, the average depth of the floodings during the 
 season being fourteen inches. Over-irrigation is practiced in that State very generally, 
 and its injurious effects are shown by the "rust" which very often attacks the crop. In 
 the fruit-growing regions of Southern California, from six to ten acres are now cultivated 
 by an inch of water. Oranges are watered three or four times during the summer. Vines 
 require two or three irrigations during the first year. It is well known that the roots of 
 this plant will penetrate ten or twelve feet, and if moisture is encountered at that depth, 
 they need no surface irrigation. Careful handling of the water can do wonders, and in 
 portions of California, where sub-irrigation prevails, the duty of water has been increased 
 twenty-fold. Winter flooding is also found to effect a large saving, and the plan is now 
 generally followed where cereals are the principal crop. 
 
12 IRRIGATION. 
 
 The quantity of water required for new land is much greater than for that which 
 has been under continuous cultivation. Therefore the duty of water is greater in old 
 irrigating countries than in new. When the Mormons first settled at Salt Lake, there was 
 only sufficient water to cultivate 800 acres from a certain source, while to-day, from the 
 same source, 5,000 acres are made productive. In the Mormon Colony of Bountiful, 
 .where at first only a few 7 families could live, there are now nearly 4,000 people, and with 
 the same water supply. Continuous irrigation closes the pores of the soil with an infiltra- 
 tion of rich silt, so that it absorbs more slowly and retains the moisture much longer. But 
 too much water makes the land cold, injures crops, and eventually destroys the productive 
 .capacity of the soil. This practice of over-irrigation is followed in nearly every portion 
 of the United States where artificial cultivation is carried on. Competent authority has 
 said "there is six times too much water used in Colorado, and four times too much in 
 California." The injurious effects of overflooding is seen in the rust in grain, and the 
 insipid quality of fruit. 
 
 OVERFLOODING. 
 
 The experience of the Fresno Colony, in California, is a striking example of excessive 
 saturation. Fifteen years ago the place was a desert, and water could not be reached at 
 a less depth than forty, and from that to eighty feet. The first canal taken out, with a 
 capacity of 20,000 inches, was so greedily drank up by the thirsty soil that it had nearly 
 all disappeared before it reached the small area brought under cultivation. To-day, there 
 are fifteen canals drawing their supply from the same source Kings River with a 
 cultivated area of more than 60,000 acres. Water can now be struck anywhere on the plain, 
 at a depth of ten feet, and in many places at six feet. The soil has taken up the water 
 like a sponge, until it can hold no more. The once " arid region " is thoroughly saturated, 
 and irrigation by "flooding" has, in many instances, been abandoned, the "seepage" being 
 all sufficient to raise a crop on many farms and vineyards. Where once the competition 
 for water was keen, suits are now being brought against canal companies for excessive 
 saturation ; and in the midst of the once parched plain there are patches of artificial morass 
 from over-irrigation ! One of the largest vineyards has not been watered in two years, 
 and the owner has actually been compelled to dig ditches to a depth of six feet to drain 
 his land ! There is a wide difference in the quantity of water which two neighbors, having 
 exactly the same soils, will use during the season. One will require three times as much 
 as the other ; but the best results are obtained in all lands by the use of the least quantity 
 of water ; and it is also a fact well established by experience, that soils carefully cultivated 
 take much less water than those which are neglected. 
 
 The loss by evaporation and absorption is very large, and presents another difficulty 
 in determining the duty of water. The present system of loose, open waterways, which 
 prevails in the United States, is a most wasteful one, entailing a loss of from twenty-five to 
 fifty per cent, and sometimes much greater. A canal in the San Joaquin Valley took in 
 ninety cubic feet at its head and delivered only fourteen cubic feet, twenty-eight miles 
 away ! The lateral ditches increase this loss and the farmer only receives a small portion 
 of what he pays for. Under the present system it is believed that fully one-half the water 
 taken out is lost before it reaches the irrigator. Too many canals are mainly the cause of 
 this great loss. In the San Joaquin Valley there are thirty-two ditches, where eight would 
 be sufficient; and at Fresno there are half a dozen where two would be enough. A care- 
 ful examination of two of these canals by the State Engineer showed that the water could 
 be carried in one, at a saving of twenty per cent. 
 
 ITALIAN METHOD. 
 
 The highest duty of water is perhaps developed by the Italian Method, which is now 
 practiced in parts of Utah. This is secured by the hour rotation, or time system of 
 distribution, which is more clearly explained by the following table. By this method it 
 is estimated that the capacity of a canal is fully doubled over what it would be by the 
 
 all-at-one-time plan. 
 
 ' 
 
IRRIGATION. 
 
 13. 
 
 Hourly Distribution Table for the Year of the Water of the Ditch, carrying 
 
 Cubic Feet per Second, of which the Period of Rotation is 
 
 Eight Natural Days or 192 Hours. 
 
 Number. 
 
 hH 
 
 8 S 
 
 si 
 
 1* 
 
 te 
 
 Commencement of Horary Dis- 
 tribution. 
 
 Termination of Horary Dis- 
 tribution. 
 
 
 
 
 *4 
 
 ^ 
 
 Hour. 
 
 Day. 
 
 Hour. 
 
 Day. 
 
 1 
 2 
 
 3 
 4 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 8 
 9 
 10 
 
 A 
 B 
 C 
 D 
 E 
 F 
 G 
 H 
 I 
 K 
 
 4 a.m 
 6 p. in 
 10 a.m 
 10 a.m 
 4 a.m 
 6 a. m 
 
 April 1 
 April 1 
 
 6 p.m 
 10 a m 
 
 April 1 
 
 14 
 16 
 24 
 18 
 2 
 
 25 
 30 
 23 
 19 
 21 
 
 April 2 
 
 April 2. 
 
 10 a.m 
 4 a.m 
 6 a.m 
 7 a. m 
 1 D.m 
 12m 
 7 a.m 
 4 a.m 
 
 April 3 
 
 April 3 
 
 April 4 
 April 4 
 April 5 
 April 6 
 April 7 
 
 April 4 
 April 4 
 
 A '1 K 
 
 April 5 
 April 6 
 April 7 
 AprilS 
 
 7 a.m 
 1 p.m 
 12m 
 7 a.m 
 
 Total 
 
 April 8. 
 
 April 9 
 
 192 
 
 
 
 
 
 Rotation then commences the same. 
 
 This table also serves as an agreement when signed by the parties in interest. The 
 system has been practiced in Italy for hundreds of years, and is an example of rigid 
 economy in the use of water. 
 
 COST OF WATER. 
 
 The cost of the quantity of water required to raise a crop is an important consider- 
 ation for the owner of the land. Whether he constructs his own ditch or purchases from 
 a corporation, the outlay on the acreage reclaimed is a steady tariff on his yearly product. 
 Originally, under the co-operative plan of canal construction, where the owners of the 
 lands to be benefited joined their labor and capital, the cost of the water to each 
 depended mainly upon the first outlay for the building of the works and the yearly 
 expenditure for repairs. But as the land continued to be cultivated and valuable crops 
 raised, the price of water largely increased. The value of "water rights" grew in value, 
 and those who desired to purchase from the original owner had to pay a round sum in 
 advance of the actual cost. 
 
 Where large waterways have been constructed by united capital, the price of water 
 to the consumer is often a heavy and sometimes an arbitrary tax, levied without regard to 
 the actual amount of money expended for the completion of the works, or an equitable 
 return of interest on the investment. It is where instances of such unjust and oppressive 
 charges have been made by canal corporations that the law has been invoked to protect 
 the cultivator ; for it is held, and with good reason, that if the State has the power to reg- 
 ulate railroad tariffs, it has also the power to prevent excessive and exhorbitant charges 
 for water. And no doubt its right to regulate the control of water is as truly inherent in 
 its sovereignty as is its unquestioned power to legislate on land. For in reality, in 
 irrigated countries the true standard of value is the water, without it the land is almost 
 worthless. 
 
 In Colorado, which should be a model for all, it has been estimated that the cost of 
 canal construction is from $5 to $6.25 per acre, of the area to be irrigated. In Kansas, 
 where the conditions for building are more favorable, irrigation works have not cost more 
 than $2.50 per acre, of the land brought under cultivation. Again, where extra work, 
 
14 IRRIGATION. 
 
 such as tunneling, fluming, etc., has to be met, or expensive piping, as at Pasadena or 
 the Highland Canal, in Los Angeles County, the course of construction may reach from 
 $40 to $50 per acre. The fact has been demonstrated that the greater the area to be 
 served by water, the less will be the cost per acre for the construction of works. The 
 150,000 'acres at Bakersfield are watered at the rate of $2.50 per acre. The " 76" canal, 
 at Fresno, supplies 20,000 acres at a cost of about $6 per acre ; but if completed according 
 to the original plan to reclaim 180,000 acres the cost per acre will be less than $4. 
 
 The price for " water rights " in the small colonies of Southern California, is much 
 higher than in any other part of the irrigable regions of Western America. At Ontario, 
 Pomona and Etiwanda, a "water right" costs from $75 to $100 per acre; and as one-tenth 
 of a miner's inch is the allowance for an acre, it will be understood IIOAV precious the fluid 
 is where the supply is limited. In Colorado, where large irrigation enterprises are the 
 rule, 80 acres are supplied for $20, and in Utah for $12.50, while in Kansas a "right" 
 for the same acreage is much less. 
 
 Having secured a " water right " the cultivator is then subject to a yearly assessment 
 for maintenance. This is the general rule in all the States and Territories of the arid belt. 
 This ranges from $2 per acre in Kansas to fifty cents in the smaller California colonies, 
 In Colorado the maximum rate is $1.50 per acre; in Utah it is $1, and sixty cents in 
 Fresno. In portions of California there has been much contention about the price of 
 water. Canal corporations have been inclined to make exhorbitant charges, but the law 
 giving the Boards of Supervisors power to fix rates has, to a great extent, regulated the 
 vexed question. The prices are now set with the view of allowing water companies a fair 
 interest on their investment. At Los Angeles water is sold by what is called a " head," 
 which varies, under loose measurement, from two to four cubic feet per second. The cost 
 of this quantity to the consumer is $2 per day or $1.50 per night within the city limits, 
 and twice this price outside the municipality. At Riverside the cost is about $3 for a 
 cubic foot for twenty-four hours. The prices of "water rights" vary from causes other 
 than those named, and a most important one is, whether the owner of the water has land 
 of his own to sell with it. But one main cause of increase in price is the value of the 
 crops which the land produces. 
 
 IN COLORADO AND CALIFORNIA. 
 
 At the formation of the Greely Colony, Colorado, 80 acres, with " water right," could 
 be purchased for $300; to-day, the same "right" is worth $1,000, while the land cannot 
 be bought for less than $3,000. Water in Southern California has risen rapidly in value 
 during the last five years, but as it is generally linked to the land, it is difficult to deter- 
 mine the exact price that is paid for it though in reality water is what the purchaser 
 gives his money for. Land in that region which in its wild state would not bring $5 per 
 acre, is considered worth from $50 to $75 when under a ditch. A study of the " capital 
 value" of water in California, will give an idea of its importance. It has been estimated 
 that a flow of a cubic foot per second, for the irrigating season of all future years, is worth 
 from $75 to $125 in grain land, and $150 in fruit land. This is the price to apply such 
 a stream to a special piece of land as long as the irrigator may think necessary the 
 knowledge that an excess will ruin his crops being the only limit. But if a flow of a 
 cubic foot per second were bought in perpetuity without any limit to the acreage to which 
 it might be applied, or the time or circumstances of applying it, the capital value of such 
 a stream in Southern California to-day, would be $40,000, or $1,000 per inch. This is 
 the calculation of Hon. Alfred Deakin, of Australia, who has given the subject much 
 -tuly. The price of water in the irrigated regions of the Old World, differ as widely as in 
 the New. The average cost of rented water in the dry regions of the United States is from 
 $2.50 to $6 per acre, while in France it is $7 per acre. In Italy the yearly rental of 
 water is from $2 to $3 per acre. The highest figures can be paid when the land is devoted 
 to the cultivation of valuable fruits, such as oranges, limes, olives, raisin grapes, etc., but 
 the farmer who grows cereals must have cheap water if he hopes to realize any profit. 
 
IRRIGATION. 15 
 
 ECONOMY IN ITS USE. 
 
 Irrigation is an art which must be learned by experience, and a thorough knowledge 
 of local conditions. Its history in all lands shows that where water is scarce, and conse- 
 quently dear, the greater is the "duty" it performs and the more lucrative the return 
 which the farmer receives from the soil. When the supply is limited and the price high, 
 the irrigator hoards every drop, and takes only what is absolutely required for the pro- 
 duction of a crop ; but where water is plentiful, and the laws regulating its control and 
 supply are vague and undetermined, the conditions are reversed, and there is waste and 
 extravagance. This is an important matter which every farmer on irrigated lands would 
 do well to study. Careful handling of water and economy in its use means a saving in 
 its cost, and an extension of the irrigable area. When one half or one third of the 
 quantity now used in most of the dry regions of the West is found amply sufficient for the 
 growth of a crop, it will not only be a gain to the farmer, but it will double and treble 
 the productive area, and make homes for thousands on the now barren wastes. On this 
 subject the State Engineer of Colorado remarks that many of the canal companies in that 
 State make contracts for water which are detrimental to the best interests of the common- 
 wealth, inasmuch as no inducement is held out to the purchasers to use it with economy. 
 He recommends that contracts for water should be for absolute quantities, and then if the 
 cultivator can farm with less, by skill and care in the handling of the fluid, the value of 
 his surplus, which can be sold to those who need it, should be placed to his credit. 
 
 The artificial system of tillage in the United States is yet in its crude state, and our 
 rough ditches and brush wingdams are only a slight improvement on the simple water- 
 wheel of the Egyptian fellah. But with the cemented canals, the massive aqueducts and 
 reservoirs of Spain and Italy, the duty of water will be largely increased, and its cost 
 correspondingly diminished in the arid regions of the Republic. 
 
 THE LAWS OF WATER. 
 
 HE " law of waters " is the most difficult and complicated of all the questions relating 
 to irrigation. The control and equitable distribution of an element so shifting and 
 variable has been the study of some of the ablest statesmen and economists of the 
 Old World. And while the "land question" is now recognized as the leading social 
 problem of the age, that of water is of no less importance to a large number of the human 
 family. Throughout the arid belt of the United States it may be said that custom and 
 usage mainly govern. Beyond a general proposition that water is public property to be 
 used for the public benefit, the government has no clear-cut and well-defined enactments 
 upon this important subject. The exception is the Act of Congress, of 1866, which recog- 
 nizes the right of appropriation, for mining, agriculture, or other useful purposes. But 
 the common law of England, which has been engrafted on the jurisprudence of the United 
 States, recognizes and maintains the doctrine of " riparian rights," and it is the law of 
 every State in the Union, with one exception. Divested of legal verbiage, this doctrine 
 virtually means that a riparian owner is entitled to receive from the proprietor above 
 him, and must transmit to his neighbor below, the waters of the stream upon which his 
 land abuts, undiminished in volume and unimpaired in quality. 
 
16 IRRIGATION. 
 
 THE RIPARIAN LAW. 
 
 To put it more clearly : Suppose a man owns the land on both sides of a stream, at 
 it* mouth ; under the application of the law of riparian rights, he would be entitled to 
 receive the entire volume of water in the stream, undiminished or unimpaired. It will be 
 readily seen that the recognition and enforcement of such a law is destructive to irriga- 
 tion. It virtually ignores the right of appropriation and would prevent all cultivation by 
 the artificial application of water. Such a law may be entirely in harmony with existing 
 conditions in England and the nations of Northern Europe where irrigation is hardly 
 known, but it is altogether inapplicable to the rainless regions of Western America, to 
 Southern Europe, and to a large portion of Asia, Africa and Australia ; yet, this is the law 
 recognized by the courts in every State, except Colorado, and whose absurd provisions 
 have done so much to retard the development of the irrigable belt and caused so much 
 expensive litigation. 
 
 In all lands and in all ages since the establishment of organized society, the supreme 
 governing power has exercised sovereignty over water, declaring it to be public property 
 for the uses and benefit of the people. This was the Roman law which was introduced 
 and enforced in the conquered colonies of that empire where irrigation was practiced. The 
 Roman law distinctly recognized the right of " appropriation " for agricultural purposes, 
 and among the Latin nations of Southern Europe that right maintains to-day. 
 
 LAWS OF THE OLD WORLD. 
 
 The Spanish "law of water" is an elaborate and exhaustive compendium. The 
 waters of the kingdom are under administrative control, and appropriations can only be 
 made after due examination by the authorities. The Spanish law distinguishes between 
 waters on private and public lands, the former being under the control of the owner of 
 'the land, under certain restrictions, and the latter the property of the kingdom. The 
 water is held by the Government for the use of the people ; its control and distribution is 
 regulated by local and general laws. No one is permitted to appropriate more than he 
 actually requires, and no diversion can be made from a stream unless the matter is 
 thoroughly examined by the water commissioners, and its effect on prior appropriators 
 clearly shown. There is no such thing as unlicensed diversion or appropriation of the public 
 waters, and no waste or extravagance is permitted in their use. Similar laws prevail in 
 France, Italy and Algeria. There is a complete and thorough administrative system in all 
 those countries, and a man can no more appropriate and convert to his own use large 
 quantities of water than he can large bodies of land. The jurisdiction of the State over the 
 former, and the laws regulating its use and defining its ownership, are as comprehensive as 
 those relating to the latter. In India, the entire system of waterways and works is under 
 control of the Government, and the laws and usages controlling its appropriation and 
 distribution are as perfect as the experience of centuries can make them. 
 
 The miner's customs of the early days in California are the foundation for almost all 
 the legislation on water which at present exists in the arid regions of the West. Except in 
 the Pueblo settlements of New Mexico, where the communal laws of the Aztecs still 
 prevail, our ideas of the appropriation and use of water are derived from the flumes and 
 ditches of the placer miner. In California, so conflicting are the decisions of courts and 
 legislative enactments, that the " laws of water " in that State are in a very unsettled con- 
 dition. The State Constitution defines water as " public property; " but the common law 
 of England, so far as the same is not repugnant or inconsistent with the Constitution of 
 the United States, has been incorporated in the Civil Code. This virtually recognizes and 
 establishes the riparian doctrine, and has been so decided by the Supreme Court of the 
 State. This decision, in direct opposition to the doctrine of " appropriation," has been 
 appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States, but pending a final judgment, the 
 lower courts are filled with litigation. 
 
IRRIGATION*. 17 
 
 IN CALIFORNIA. 
 
 There is hardly a doubt that the opinion of the highest tribunal will be against the 
 enforcement of the riparian law within the arid belt of the West. The right to divert 
 water for irrigating purposes, has been recognized on the Pacific Coast for more than one 
 hundred years, under the laws of Spain and Mexico, and by the state and national govern- 
 ments. For more than twenty years after the acquisition of California, the law of riparian 
 rights was not heard of. The legislation of Congress is in harmony with the law of 
 appropriation ; and the Supreme Court has heretofore decided that " the rights of miners 
 who have taken possession and worked said mines, and the rights of persons who have 
 constructed canals for purposes of 'agricultural irrigation,' in the region where such 
 artificial use of water Avas an absolute necessity, are rights which the government had 
 recognized and encouraged, and was bound to respect." Public opinion, and the ablest 
 jurists of the State are against the riparian doctrine. Its enforcement w r ould be a virtual 
 recognition of a private ownership in an elemental source of wealth, and in direct opposi- 
 tion to the fundamental law of the State, which declares that " water is a public use." 
 
 What is known as the "Satherwhite law," passed by the legislature of 1876, 
 guarantees the water as a " perpetual casement " to the land. This law w r elds together the 
 land and the water, and forever sets at rest the right of the irrigator to his water supply. 
 Next is the " Streeter law " of 1881, which places the regulation of water rates in the 
 hands of the governing powers of counties and municipal corporations. In Los Angeles, 
 the water supply is under control of the city government, who maintain the ditches, and 
 sell the water to those who require it. Beyond this, there is no legislative control or 
 regulation of the public waters by the State of California. With the issue between the 
 riparian proprietor and the appropriator still undecided, the question is in a chaotic condi- 
 tion ; and as the Governor has pertinently stated, " the rights to the use of water are 
 undefined and unproven claims." The laws of Nevada relating to water, are even more 
 indefinite and contradictory than those of California. Following the precedent set by the 
 latter State, the Supreme Court of the Sage-brush commonwealth, upholds the doctrine of 
 riparian rights, and, as a result, litigation about water is of frequent occurrence. In L T tah 
 and New Mexico, the territorial legislatures have no enactments regarding public waters, 
 but the right of appropriation for agricultural purposes is recognized in both. In Salt 
 Lake City, the water is under the control of the municipality, while in New Mexico, the 
 communal system of the Pueblo Indians, and the old Spanish laws, are still recognized. 
 
 THE COLORADO LAW. 
 
 Of all the States and Territories in the arid region, Colorado is the only one that has 
 a well defined and comprehensive code of laws relating to irrigation. The riparian doc- 
 trine is not recognized in that State, and the Legislature has decreed that all the waters 
 of its streams and lakes belong to the people, and are subject to appropriation for irriga- 
 tion, mining or other useful purposes. In 1881 a law was passed providing for the 
 "proving up" and recording of water-right claims, and for the administration of the 
 waters of streams and lakes. It provides that every claimant by appropriation, shall file 
 with the County Clerk a statement of the nature, extent and history of his claim, and 
 further provides that such statement shall be published for a stated period. It next makes 
 provision for a judicial inquiry into the status of the various claims. The dates and 
 extent of the appropriations, and the construction and enlargement of canals, are required 
 to be proved before a court referee. The referee is required to make findings of facts 
 concerning all the water claims in the district brought to his notice, and report them, with 
 the evidence, to the court having jurisdiction. The court then gives all parties a hearing, 
 and is authorized to enter decrees declaring the extent and priority of each claim ; and 
 such decrees form the basis for the future distribution of the wafers of the streams to 
 the canals. 
 
 The State is divided into water districts, with a water commissioner in each, whose 
 duty it is to regulate the distribution of the waters, decide disputes between appropriators 
 
18 IRRIGATION. 
 
 subject to appeal to the courts, and exercise general supervision over the natural and arti- 
 ficial waterways of his district. In times of scarcity he divides the waters among the 
 several canals according to the prior rights of each. The State Engineer has entire 
 supervision of the public waters of the State. He is required to make accurate measure- 
 ments of the volume of water in the streams of each district. This measurement will 
 show the commissioners the quantity available at any time for irrigation purposes. By 
 the system of correct measurement the irrigator is assured that when he purchases a water 
 right from a canal company he will get the value of his money, as corporations are not 
 allowed, as in other irrigating countries, to sell more than they are entitled to receive from 
 the stream. The State furnishes the expert service to keep measurement of the waters in 
 the streams and gauge the canals and head-gates, upon which data and the decrees and the 
 renewed or extended claims made from time to time, the water commissioners act in their 
 distribution work. 
 
 This is an outline of the law now in force in twenty-four water districts of the State, 
 and which is giving general satisfaction. It is a strict account-keeping of the waters 
 available for diversion, in which the State regulates the distribution according to the 
 decreed rights of each appropriator. Since the law went into effect, there has been an 
 almost entire absence of litigation ; and with such a system based upon equity and com- 
 mon sense, the agricultural area of the State is being steadily enlarged. 
 
 The foregoing brief outline will show how loose, vague and undetermined are the laws 
 relating to water in the arid regions of the United States. It also shows the imperative 
 necessity for more perfect legislation on this, the most vital of questions to the people of 
 the great interior basin. Outside of Colorado, no State or Territory within this vast 
 domain has made an effort to grapple with this important problem. The necessity for 
 legislative supervision, and for a clear and comprehensive system of legal supervision, is 
 apparent to all. Vast interests are at stake which are increasing year by year. The 
 growth and future prosperity of an inland empire depends, mainly, upon wise and equit- 
 able laws controlling and regulating its water supply. From an agricultural point of 
 view, the wealth of the rainless region is in its streams and lakes ; and the proper appli- 
 cation of their waters to the thirsty soil, is a question of existence for millions yet to 
 come. The control of this precious element is rapidly passing into the hands of specula- 
 tot's, while the governing power makes no effort to prevent the abuse and monopoly which 
 is every day growing greater. If the land is the birthright of the people, how much 
 more so is the water to the inhabitants of the dry belt their very existence depends 
 upon it. 
 
 The Governor of the State of California has called attention to the unsettled con- 
 dition of the water question in that commonwealth. He has pointed out the magnitude 
 of the interests involved, the vested rights that have accrued, and the necessity for legislative 
 enactments that will set at rest the disputes and litigation about water rights. The last 
 session of the legislature was devoted mainly to this question, and a law modeled after 
 that of Colorado, was presented but failed to pass. The advocates of the riparian doctrine 
 strongly opposed the measure, and set their faces against any compromise with those who 
 favored "appropriation." But if California expects to prosper, she must, once for all, 
 abandon the riparian idea. Its enforcement would virtually paralyze every industry in 
 two-thirds of the State, and would be a death blow to its growth and advancement, 
 
 PROPOSED CALIFORNIA LAW. 
 
 The necessity for State control was ably set forth by Mr. 'Hall, State Engineer, at the 
 convention of irrigators held at Riverside, in May, 1884. There is no man on the Coast 
 who has given to the subject more careful study, or whose opinions are entitled to more 
 weight. In his address before that gathering, Mr. Hall declared that in countries where 
 irrigation was long practiced, it was shown that it must be carried on in conformity with 
 a well-defined administrative system, if the larger percentage of possible results are to be 
 obtained. Thus far, the policy of California has been to leave the distribution of the 
 
IRRIGATION. 19 
 
 public waters to the claimants thereof, and the settlement of disputes to the courts. With 
 equal propriety, the general government might throw open the public domain to appropria- 
 tion, do away with land offices, and require no proof of claims except when disputed in 
 court by some rival claimant. Of course, under such a system (?) there would be no 
 undisturbed titles in land. And yet this is the policy, not only of California but of nearly 
 all the irrigating States and Territories in the Union. The fundamental principles of irriga- 
 tion never have been, and never can be solved by the policy of non-intervention. 
 
 Mr. Hall proposed as a solution of the irrigation problem in California, that the 
 State shall assume control over the waters, and direct and supervise their division from 
 the streams : 
 
 That all existing water privileges should be defined and recorded : 
 
 That a definite standard of measurement for water should be established : 
 
 That water rights should be issued in proportion to the supply in each stream, and 
 that the extent and priority of each claim should be designated : 
 
 That provision should be made for supervising the distribution of water from the 
 streams or sources of supply, to those holding water rights : 
 
 That provision should be made for the care of the beds, the banks, and the waters of 
 the streams : 
 
 That the adjustment of the conflicting interests of the irrigator and the riparian 
 claimant should be provided for as they arise : 
 
 That general regulations should be established from time to time, which will prevent 
 waste, and guard against water monopolies and the careless use of the fluid. 
 
 This plan contemplates State regulation of the sources of supply, and of the waters 
 allotted to each claimant. It also provides for private regulation, under State laws, of the 
 details of distribution from the canals to the irrigator ; and State regulation of the use of 
 water, to the end that none may be wasted. The State is likewise given power to adjust 
 conflicting rights by arbitration, when possible, or by condemnation, when necessary or 
 possible. 
 
 Mr. Hall urged that this plan would not be an attack on any interest, but would 
 bring protection to all. The appropriators would have their rights definitely defined, and 
 would have to prove their claims according to accurate measurements and reliable 
 evidence. When the facts of all claims were made of record, there would be a relief from 
 future litigation, and there would be no obstacle to the acquirement of future rights, 
 under well-defined and equitable regulations. The facts concerning water rights should 
 be as easily ascertained as the history of land titles, yet in Southern California to-day, 
 they are uncertain and undetermined, and are left for adjustment by piece-meal as 
 individual cases come up, which adjustments are merely make-shifts for the time being. 
 
 WATER MONOPOLIES. 
 
 The matter of the corporate control of water was fully discussed by the Riverside 
 Convention. The necessity for organized capital in the construction of large irrigating 
 works was admitted, and the great benefits it conferred was acknowledged. But the im- 
 portance of State supervision of such' enterprises, was clearly pointed out. Railroad, gas 
 and telegraph companies, were all subject to legitimate competition, but in supplying 
 water Nature has, in most instances, prevented competition by rival corporations, by limit- 
 ing the supply. This was urged as an unanswerable argument in favor of State control ; 
 for a monopoly of water in regions where the article was scarce, would place the property 
 of the people in the hands of a corporation, subject to its arbitrary action. Water, being 
 a " public use," no company or corporation had a right to any property in it ; they were 
 entitled to a remuneration for conveying it upon the land and distributing it, no more. 
 The Convention believed that the enforcement of the law giving the boards of supervisors 
 the power to fix rates, should be just alike to the corporation and the irrigator aiming to 
 give the former fair interest on the investment, but preventing it from overcharging or 
 changing established rates. 
 
20 IRRIGATION. 
 
 But while the meeting at Riverside was strongly in favor of equitable laws for the 
 control of "the chartered collectors of water taxes," it was equally strong in its condem- 
 nation of the extravagant and criminal waste by claimants to water rights who, under the 
 assumption of priority of appropriation, wilfully wasted water while the crops of their 
 neighbors were suffering for its use. As one member pertinently remarked, "if a corpora- 
 tion is to come under the ban of the law for bringing water upon land and distributing it, 
 why are other appropriators permitted to uselessly squander it?" It was admitted that if the 
 State had the right to exercise control over private enterprises dealing with an elemental 
 property and a natural source of wealth, it had also the right to prevent its criminal 
 waste. It is a well-settled law in the old irrigating countries that land and water should 
 be " married," and that land titles should include water also. The California irrigators 
 endorsed this doctrine, and resolved that both should be " wedded, sold and held together," 
 and, that after once being united, they should never be separated. 
 
 The Convention condemned the riparian doctrine as detrimental to the best interests 
 of the State ; declared there could be no more property in water than in air, and that no 
 one should have a monopoly of that which was owned by all, and unanimously recom- 
 mended the passage of a law similar to that of Colorado. 
 
 VIEWS OF MR. DEAKIN. 
 
 In closing this paper it may not be amiss to present the views of Hon. Alfred Deakin, 
 of Australia, on this question. Mr. Deakin was commissioned by the Government of the 
 Victoria colony to make a thorough examination of the system of irrigation practiced in 
 Western America. After digesting the facts which came under his observation, he 
 submitted the following outline for an irrigation law in Victoria : 
 
 " The State should exercise supreme control over rivers, lakes, and streams. 
 
 " It should dispose of water to those who may require it for irrigation, on such terms 
 and conditions as may be determined by regularly qualified officers. - 
 
 ." It should establish a definite scale of water measurement in all transactions relating 
 to its use. 
 
 " The State should appoint local water masters to supervise its distribution, settle 
 disputes, and exercise such jurisdiction, under a central office, as shall guarantee preserva- 
 tion of water-courses, and other sources of supply." 
 
 It will thus be seen that the concurrent opinion of those who have made the irriga- 
 tion question a study is in favor of State control and supervision. In no other way can 
 the best results be obtained, and by no other method can security and protection be 
 assured alike to private rights and public enterprises. 
 
 METHOD OF IRRIGATION. 
 
 HE method of conveying water to trees, plants, and cereals is an art to be learned 
 only by experience. A thorough knowledge of conducting the life-giving fluid over 
 the land means a saving in its use, better cultivation, and an increased production. 
 The system varies with the diverse conditions of different countries, from the primitive 
 water-wheel of the Egyptian peasant to the sub-irrigation pipes of Southern California. 
 The earliest, the simplest, and the cheapest method is by " flooding." By this plan the 
 
IRRIGATION. 21 
 
 water is made to cover the whole area under tillage, to the required depth. From the 
 main canal the cultivator conveys the water to his land by lateral ditches. Very often a 
 number of farmers whose holdings lie contiguous, unite in constructing the main " lateral." 
 From this each opens sub-laterals or field ditches, which carry the water to all parts of 
 the farm. 
 
 FLOODING. 
 
 The plan of "flooding" is the most wasteful manner of applying water to the soil, 
 but it cannot be avoided in the cultivation of cereals. With a regular slope the work is 
 trifling, but in most countries some outlay is required for levelling surface inequalities, 
 and providing for the equal distribution of the stream from points of vantage. When the 
 fall is slight, shallow ditches are run from- fifty to one hundred feet apart in the direction 
 of the slope ; when the land is steeper they are carried diagonally to the slope or made to 
 wind around it, and from these, by throwing up little dams from point to point, the whole 
 field is flooded. These ridges or dams must have rounded crests and easy slopes, so as not 
 to interfere with the use of farming machinery. By means of diagonal furrows and dams 
 it is claimed that one man can irrigate twenty-five acres in a day. This is the plan which 
 prevails in Colorado for the raising of grain. 
 
 In the valleys of Southern Arizona the labor and cost of applying water to the soil is, 
 perhaps, less than in any other region of the irrigated area of Western America. The land 
 is almost as level as a floor, with a gradual slope from the foothills to the streams. The 
 farms are checked off into plats by shallow furrows, into which the water from the sub- 
 laterals finds its way and is quickly conveyed to every part of the field. The process is 
 so simple that an inexperienced hand finds no difficulty in soon mastering the details. It 
 may be said that in " flooding " the aim should be to put no more water on the land than 
 it will at once and equally absorb, or can part with without creating a current that will 
 carry off sediment. Where there is a heavy fall and the water has been allowed to flow 
 too freely, the result has been the washing away of all the fertilizing elements. 
 
 BY FURROAVS. 
 
 Irrigation by means of furrows lias been found the most successful for vines and fruit 
 trees, as also for nearly all vegetables. These furrows are generally run from four to ten 
 feet apart, and when the water flows through them it soaks quickly to the roots, whereas 
 by the flooding system the soil is apt to bake if not protected from the sun. When 
 unrestricted flooding is practiced in orchards, it is found to bring the roots to the surface, 
 enfeeble the trees and give to the fruit an insipid taste. Sometimes a small hole is opened 
 in the furrow at the foot of the tree, into which the water slow T ly soaks. A better way is 
 to surround the tree or shrub by small ridges some three feet from where the water flows. 
 To obtain the best results the trees should be carefully looked after, and supplied with just 
 enough water to keep them in a vigorous condition. It is also of the first importance that 
 the soil be kept loosened. By doing this the water is more readily absorbed and there is 
 less lost by evaporation. 
 
 SUB-IRRIGATION. 
 
 Irrigation beneath the surface is considered the most perfect method of supplying 
 water to vegetable life. The manner in which this is done in California is thus described 
 by the State Engineer of that commonwealth : " Pipes, made of a combination of Portland 
 cement, lime, sand, and gravel, with a small admixture of potash and linseed oil, are laid 
 at a depth of one and a half or two feet below the surface, paralleled to the rows of trees 
 or vines. On the upper side of these pipes is inserted a wooden plug, with a tapering- 
 hole in the center about three-eighths of an inch in diameter, through which the water 
 percolates. Each plug is surrounded by a stand-pipe setting on top of the distribution 
 pipe, open at the bottom and reaching to the surface. This, pipe keeps the earth away 
 
22 IRRIGATION. 
 
 from the outlet and leaves it at all times accessible for inspection. The distribution 
 pipes are connected with mains leading from a reservoir, and the labor of irrigation 
 merely consists in turning on the water and shutting it off. The water finds its way 
 through all the outlets and slowly reaches the roots. None is carried on the surface, 
 consequently the ground does not bake, but is kept moist and mellow. In the orchard of 
 the inventor of this system, three acres of fruit were irrigated within half an hour. 
 Water applied twice a month is sufficient to maintain a strong and healthy growth; 
 and the trees attain twice the size of others of the same age and in the same soil, irrigated 
 from the surface. By this system it is estimated that a cubic foot of water will be suffi- 
 cient to supply from 7,000 to 9,000 acres. Three men can lay 1,600 feet of pipe per 
 day the cost of the work completed, being from $30 to $50 per acre." Where water 
 is scarce and high priced fruits are cultivated, this method is fast superseding the old 
 surface system. 
 
 BY PUMPING. 
 
 Irrigation of vineyards and orchards by lifting water from various depths, has long 
 been practiced in California. The motive power, in many cases, is supplied by windmills. 
 These cover but a limited area, but several orchardists have adopted steam power which 
 pump water for extensive tracts. A leading fruit-grower of the southern part of the 
 State, who depends entirely upon this method for the raising of a crop, furnishes the 
 following data : " With a six-inch pump, driven by a twenty horse-power engine, I have 
 raised 1,800 gallons per minute. The price of such a pump, including engine, boiler and 
 all steam fittings, is $1,400. To cover an acre of land one inch deep with water, requires, 
 in round numbers, 23,000 gallons. One miner's inch being nine gallons nearly, it would 
 require to cover 21 acres one inch deep, 2,555 inches, or 480,000 gallons. A No. 4 
 turbine pump will raise in a day's run of ten hours, 480,000 gallons. This would be at the 
 rate of 800 gallons or 80 miner's inches per minute. The total cost of running such a 
 pump, including fuel and wages, will not be over $5 for each .working day of ten hours, 
 which would make the cost of placing the 480,000 gallons on the land, about one cent 
 per 1,000 gallons. This from a depth of 25 feet. To raise the same quantity of water 
 from a depth of 80 feet would cost about $7, or 1^ cents per 1,000 gallons." This system 
 of lifting water for irrigating purposes, is meeting with great favor in many quarters 
 where there is a scarcity of the fluid, or -where canal corporations charge exhorbitant rates. 
 
 Irrigation from artesian wells is practiced extensively in Southern California. The 
 number in Los Angeles County is estimated at 500. The flow from most of them is 
 variable; and while some will supply 100 acres, from 40 to 50 is the general average. 
 It is claimed that over 18,000 acres are cultivated by this method in that county. 
 
 IRRIGATION AS A FERTILIZER. 
 
 The fertilization of the land by irrigation varies according to the nature and quantity 
 of the silty matter which the water brings upon it. The estimate of this gain by culti- 
 vators is from 30 to 100 per cent. There seems to be no products of which the yield may 
 not be increased by irrigation, as there are none that will not be diminished by excessive 
 saturation. The latter acts upon the crop exactly as would too much rain. Careful 
 irrigation brings to the farm, vineyard, or orchard, a steady fertilization which renders 
 any further enrichment of the soil unnecessary. 
 
 The mistake with all beginners is the using of too much water. The irrigator must 
 see that his work is done carefully and thoroughly ; looking after every stream, wetting 
 every inch of the soil, and copying, as nearly as possible, after nature. 
 
IRRIGATION. 23 
 
 IRRIGATION IN ARIZONA. 
 
 rTT RIZONA is one of the oldest of irrigated countries. When the Spaniards explored 
 TgJ the regions now embraced within this Territory and New Mexico, they found this 
 / A system of agriculture practiced by the Pueblo and other semi-civilized Indian tribes. 
 But the traces of irrigating canals in the valleys of the principal streams, would show that 
 this method of cultivation was carried on here centuries before Europeans .set foot on the 
 Western Hemisphere. 
 
 The Pimas are the earliest irrigators in the Territory of whom we have any authentic 
 account. When Coronado led his expedition through Arizona, in 1540, these people were 
 found farming the lands of the Gila Valley by the aid of primitive irrigating ditches, just 
 as they do to-day. The communal system of land and water prevailed amongst them as 
 it does now ; and the centuries which have since come and gone have brought no changes 
 to the Pima nation. They still till the soil and gather the harvests as their forefathers 
 did, and as their descendants will, no doubt, continue to do, until the last of the race shall 
 have been gathered to the happy hunting grounds. 
 
 The Mission Fathers were the first to introduce a more perfect system of irrigation 
 in the region now known as Arizona. The neophytes who gathered around their religious 
 establishments in the valley of the Santa Cruz, were instructed by the pious padres in the 
 arts of tillage, and taught to build ditches and raise crops on the rich bottom lands of that 
 stream. For years the settlements 1 on the Santa Cruz represented the extent of agricul 
 tural effort in Arizona ; and it was not until the Americans established themselves in the 
 valleys of the Salt and Gila Rivers that this method of farming was practiced to any 
 extent in the Territory. Since that time, now nearly eighteen years ago, the irrigable 
 area has steadily enlarged, and within the past year several important canal enterprises 
 have been inaugurated. 
 
 The agricultural resources of the country, so long neglected, are attracting the atten- 
 tion of people abroad, and the question of water supply is of the first importance to the 
 new-comer. And, in passing, it may be remarked that our knowledge of this matter, is 
 most vague, indefinite, and altogether unreliable. It is nearly impossible to secure data 
 in which any reliance can be placed. Men who for years have practiced irrigation in this 
 Territory seem to be incapable of giving intelligent answers to any question relating to 
 the business. They know they have plenty of water and the privilege of using it when 
 they please, but beyond this they have not cared to enquire. As a consequence, the facts 
 relating to the irrigation problem in Arizona are difficult to obtain. The information 
 presented falls far short of what the writer sought ; but repeated enquiries to farming 
 settlements, in different parts of the Territory, have failed to elicit a response. 
 
 CAPACITY AND COST OF CANALS. 
 
 The Salt River Valley has the largest and most costly irrigating works which Arizona 
 can show. The names of the leading waterways, and the length of each is as follows : 
 
 Arizona Canal 
 
 Grand Canal 
 
 Maricopa Canal 
 
 Salt River Valley Canal. . 
 
 40 miles. 
 
 22 
 14 
 
 18 
 San Francisco Canal 
 
 Tenipe Canal, length (estimated) 18 
 
 Mesa Canal 
 
 Utah Canal li 
 
 Farmer's Canal 5 
 
 Total Length of Canals 151 miles. 
 
24 
 
 IRRIGATION. 
 
 There are a number of smaller ditches scattered over the valley not included in the 
 above, which may increase the total length to one hundred and sixty miles. 
 
 The cost of 'these canals is hard to determine. Aside from the first outlay for con- 
 struction, there is to be considered the yearly repairs for breakage of dams, enlargement 
 of ditch, etc. The figures on some canals could not be obtained. 
 
 Arizona Canal (estimated) cost.. 
 
 Grand Canal 
 
 Maricopa Canal 
 
 Salt River Valley Canal. . 
 
 San Francisco Canal 
 
 Tempe Canal (estimated). . 
 Mesa Canal (estimated) . . 
 Utah Canal (estimated).. 
 Farmer's Canal (estimated) 
 
 Total. 
 
 .8400,000 
 
 . 40,000 
 
 . 25,000 
 
 . 40,000 
 
 . 20,000 
 
 . 50,000 
 
 . 40,000 
 
 . 15,000 
 
 . 6,000 
 
 .,$636,000 
 
 It is quite likely that these figures are much too low, and that the actual cost of the 
 irrigating ditches in the valley will not fall short of $800,000. The carrying capacity of 
 the several canals, as nearly as can be ascertained, is as follows : 
 
 Arizona Canal 40,000 inches. 
 
 Grand " : 10,000 
 
 Salt River and Maricopa Canals 6,000 
 
 San Francisco Canal '. 4,000 
 
 Tempe " 6,000 
 
 Mesa " 4,000 
 
 Utah " 2,000 
 
 Farmer's " 500 
 
 Total 72,500 inches. 
 
 Of this volume of water little more than 25,000 inches is now being carried upon 
 the land and utilized. The area reclaimed in the valley by the various canals now con- 
 structed, is not easily ascertained, but the following approximate estimate will not vary 
 materially, from the actual figures : 
 
 Grand ' ' 20 000 
 
 Maricopa " - - 12 000 
 
 Salt River Valley Ca 
 San Francisco 
 Tempe 
 Mesa 
 Utah 
 Farmer's 
 
 nal 15 000 
 
 .... 6 000 
 
 15,000 
 
 10 000 
 
 4000 
 
 1.000 
 
 Total 168,000 acres. 
 
 This is something like the area enclosed, and which could be watered by the present 
 canals. It may be that some of these ditches have not a carrying capacity at present, 
 sufficient to irrigate the acreage they enclose, but all the land which naturally lies under 
 them, will, no doubt, yet be reclaimed by their waters. Of this large acreage, it is believed 
 that not over 40,000 or less than one-fourth of the whole, is under cultivation. Of the 
 400,000 acres of surveyed land in the Salt River Valley, it is believed that 250,000 are 
 susceptible of irrigation. When people learn to use water with that care and economy 
 that is practiced in countries where scarcity makes it precious, there is hardly a doubt 
 that this immense tract will be made productive. At present, but little more than three- 
 fifths of it is enclosed by canals, and less than one-sixth is under cultivation. 
 
 The Pueblo Virjo Valley, on the upper Gila, is one of the richest tracts of agricult- 
 ural land in the Territory. The following ditches have been constructed in that valley: 
 
 San Jose ; seven miles long ; reclaims 2,000 acres ; cost $5,000. 
 
 Montezuma; thirteen miles long; reclaims 5,000 acres; cost $8,000. 
 
 Sunflower; three miles long; reclaims 500 acres; cost $2,500. 
 
 Central; eight miles long; reclaims 5,000 acres; cost $7,000. 
 
IRRIGATION. 25 
 
 Smithville ; five miles long ; reclaims 3,000 acres ; cost $4,000. 
 
 Nevada; three miles long; reclaims 500 acres. 
 
 McMurrin ; four miles long ; reclaims 600 acres. 
 
 These ditches are on the south side of the Gila. On the north side of the river there 
 are six, aggregating twenty-three miles in length and reclaiming about 3,000 acres. Their 
 total cost was near $12,000. 
 
 This shows the total length of irrigating ditches in the Pueblo Viejo to be sixty-six 
 miles. 
 
 Cost of Same $43,000 
 
 Land Reclaimed 19,600 acres 
 
 Of this area, not more than 12,000 acres are now under cultivation. The capacity of 
 the several canals was not given. The total acreage of arrable land in the valley is 
 nearly 40,000; so that less than half of it is enclosed. 
 
 The largest body of arrable land in Yavapai County is found in the Verde Valley. 
 There are, besides, a number of small valleys in different parts of the county, where irriga- 
 tion is practiced, but the area under cultivation is small, owing to the limited \vater supply. 
 Hon. John Davis, an old resident of the Verde, sends the following figures about irrigation 
 in that locality: 
 
 Nine canals have been constructed, aggregating about 30 miles in length, and costing 
 about $20,000. These canals supply water to 2,000 acres their united capacity being 
 about 1,500 miner's inches. 
 
 No data in regard to the condition of irrigation in Final, Apache, Pima, or Yuma 
 Counties, has been received. There are a number of canals in the valley of the Gila, 
 near Florence, and fully 10,000 acres are under cultivation in that neighborhood. On 
 the Little Colorado and its tributaries, in Apache County, it is estimated there are close 
 on to 18,000 acres reclaimed, most of which is under cultivation. In Pima County there 
 is said to be 4,000 acres under the plow, and in the valley of the San Pedro, Cochise 
 County, about the same number. In Yuma County there is said to be 2,000 acres culti- 
 vated. Estimating the cost per acre for reclamation in those counties at $4, which is a 
 low figure, the outlay for canals in each would be as follows : Final, $40,000 ; Apache, 
 $72,000; Pima, $16,000; Cochise, $16,000; Yuma, $8,000. This would make the total 
 cost of the irrigating works already constructed in Arizona, over $1,000,000. The total 
 length of all these waterways cannot be much less than 400 miles. 
 
 "DUTY" OF WATER, 
 
 The " duty" of water in Arizona may be considered an unknown quantity. There is 
 but little data relating to the question worthy of any consideration. The loose and unre- 
 liable system of measurements which prevail, make any definite calculation almost im- 
 possible. The practice, which very generally exists, of taking water at pleasure in such 
 quantities as may be desired, makes the irrigator altogether indifferent to the matter of 
 measuring it. While all the larger canals employ a zanjero, whose duty it is to make an 
 equitable distribution according to the " rights " of each cultivator, yet, so loosely is the 
 business conducted, that very often one man receives much more than he is entitled to, 
 while another receives much less. Throughout the irrigated valleys of the Territory, 
 water is measured by the miner's inch, generally with a four-inch pressure. It has been 
 shown how inaccurate is this standard, and how variable are the results from it. 
 
 Taking the Salt River Valley as an example of the system of artificial cultivation which 
 prevails in the Territory, we find that all the principal canals are owned and managed by 
 incorporated companies. With the exception of the Arizona Canal, all those ditches were 
 constructed by the co-operative efforts of the owners of the land which has been reclaimed 
 by their \vaters. Some furnished teams and tools, others gave their labor, while a few 
 contributed a money consideration. Stock was issued to each according to the amount of 
 money or labor he gave to the construction. This was the origin of the system of " water 
 rights" which prevails throughout the Territory. The first cost of each "right," or share, 
 
26 IRRIGATION. 
 
 was the amount af money or value of labor which the owner contributed to the building 
 of the works, but there has been a rapid increase in value. In all of these canals, each 
 share of stock represents a quantity of water supposed to be sufficient for the irrigation of 
 a quarter section of laud. This " right " is generally 80 miner's inches. The owner of a 
 share of stock has the privilege of drawing from the canal, each season, the quantity of 
 water which it represents, by paying therefor a certain price per inch. If he does not 
 wish to use the water himself, he can sell his privilege, for the season, to whom he pleases. 
 And, again, if this share of stock entitles him to purchase 80 inches, and he finds that 60 
 inches is all that he requires, he can sell his right to the remaining 20 inches to whoever 
 applies for it. If the income from the sale of water is not sufficient for the maintenance 
 of the canal and the pay of officers, an assessment is levied upon the stockholders to meet 
 the deficiency ; and if there should be a revenue from sale of water to parties not holding 
 shares, a dividend is declared. This is the plan that governs in the Salt River Valley, 
 the Maricopa, and the Grand Canals. 
 
 The quantity used per acre under these canals, varies from one-half to three-eighths of 
 an inch, during the irrigating season. Experienced irrigators find the latter quantity 
 abundant to produce a crop. Here, as in all other irrigated regions, it is found that 
 continuous flooding for a number of years, increases the duty of water. Several farmers, 
 south of Phoenix, do not use more than one-quarter of an inch per acre for the production 
 of a crop, and some get along with much less. In the vineyard of Mr. John Montgomery, 
 water is found at a depth of 12 feet below the surface; the roots of the plants have 
 penetrated to the moisture, and he has not irrigated his vines for two years. In the 
 Tempe Canal, which is controlled by a private company, each share-owner takes as much 
 as he requires, and as often as he requires it there being no measurement and no 
 limit, except the supply in the river. Yet, under this wasteful system, it is found that 
 60 to 80 inches is enough to produce a crop on 160 acres. 
 
 There is an extravagant use of water in the Pueblo Viejo Valley. In that locality 
 water is divided into "irrigating streams," each "stream" containing one hundred any 
 forty-four miner's inches, under a four-inch pressure. This body of water is used to 
 irrigate eighty acres during the season. This is, perhaps, the most wasteful use of the fluid 
 that any portion of the arid region can show. In the Verde Valley, the duty of water is 
 three-fourths of an inch to the acre. It is acknowledged that crops could be raised with 
 much less, but as there is an abundance in the stream, each man takes as much as he 
 pleases. The quantity of water used per acre in the farming settlements of Final, Cochise, 
 Apache, and Pima will range from one-half to one inch. Wherever irrigation is prac- 
 ticed in the Territory there is waste and extravagance in the use of water. Ignorance and 
 inexperience in the application of it is, in most cases, the main cause. Where the careful 
 cultivator and experienced irrigator finds three-eighths of an inch per acre entirely 
 sufficient, his neighbor, farming the same character of soil and raising the same kind of 
 crops, will not be satisfied with less than an inch to the acre. 
 
 COST OF WATER. 
 
 The cost of water to the Arizona irrigator is another difficult matter to determine. 
 Water " rights " for the irrigation of a quarter section of land in the Salt River Valley 
 vary from $500 in the Grand, to $1,000 in the Arizona Canals. Having secured a "right," 
 the cultivator has then to pay so much, yearly, for the water he requires. In the Grand 
 Canal the price is $2.00 per inch, in the Maricopa about the same, and in the Salt River 
 Valley Canal $1.75 per inch. Under the rules adopted by the Arizona Canal Company, 
 the farmer is taxed at the rate of $1.25 per acre, for every acre he cultivates yearly. It will 
 be seen that this system is radically different from that which prevails not only in Arizona 
 but in nearly all of the irrigated regions of the West. Under the plan adopted by this 
 company, the water is wedded to the land, neither can be sold separately; while in all the 
 other incorporated canals in the valley the reverse prevails, and water shares pass from 
 hand to hand like any other commercial paper. The danger of the latter policy lies in 
 the opportunity it presents for the control of the stock by unscrupulous speculators. 
 
IRRIGATION. 27 
 
 The Arizona Canal Co. issues no stock to purchasers of water rights, and conse- 
 quently they have no voice in its management or control ; while in all the other companies 
 shareholders have a vote and a voice in the regulation of their affairs. Water owners in 
 the Tempe Canal, which is not incorporated, pay nothing, directly, for the use of the 
 water, but are liable to an assessment each year for maintenance of works and pay of 
 officers. 
 
 The waters of the canal which supplies Mesa City, are rented to the farmers at the 
 rate of $30 per share per year a share being sufficient to irrigate thirty acres making 
 the cost one dollar an acre. In the distribution of water from the irrigating canals of the 
 Territory there is but one feature worthy of any commendation. That is the policy which 
 has been adopted by the Grand, Maricopa, and Salt River Valley Canals of selling water 
 to those entitled to purchase, in such quantities as the irrigator finds sufficient for the 
 production of a crop. With a correct system of measurements and careful supervision of 
 works, this method is a good one. It encourages the consumer to be economical in the 
 use of water, knowing that he can sell what portion of his " right " he does not use, to 
 some one who wants it. It is the only just and sensible policy, as no one should be 
 compelled to pay for more water than he requires. For water corporations to adopt an 
 opposite policy seems short-sighted. The less water required to cultivate a tract of land, 
 the more water rights the company will be able to dispose of, and the larger the area that 
 will be reclaimed. 
 
 TERRITORIAL LAWS. 
 
 Arizona, being one of the oldest irrigated regions of the western continent, a stranger 
 would naturally expect to find here a well-matured legal code regulating the control and 
 distribution of its waters. In this he would be disappointed. The water question is in as 
 unsettled a condition here as in California ; and while the Territory has thus far escaped 
 the flood of litigation which has swept over the Golden State, an increase of population 
 and a greater demand for water gives Avarning that it may not be so fortunate in the 
 future. Our bill of rights declares that " all streams, lakes, and ponds are public property," 
 and that no one has the right to appropriate them exclusively to his own private use. The 
 Territorial statutes declare that all rivers, creeks, and streams of running water "are 
 applicable to the purposes of irrigation and mining ;" and the further declaration is made 
 that " all the inhabitants of the Territory who own or possess irrigable lands shall have 
 the right to construct public or private acequiax, and obtain the necessary water for the 
 same from any convenient river, creek, or stream." This is the gist of the Territorial 
 law relating to irrigation. It merely recognizes the right of appropriation, but makes no 
 provision for the proper regulation of the same. Neither does it make any provision for 
 the control, distribution, measurement, or sale of the precious fluid. Individuals or 
 corporations may appropriate and control large quantities of water, but there is no legal 
 supervision over their acts, nor any safeguards thrown around the consumer, There is 
 nothing to prevent criminal waste, nor is there any check to corporate extortion. And 
 yet there is nothing which should be guarded more carefully or prized more dearly. 
 Arizona's mineral wealth has been called " the jewel of her sovereignty," but her rivers 
 and streams are the arteries through which courses her very life blood. 
 
 Priority of appropriation has been recognized by our Territorial courts, but where 
 rights are so vaguely defined and appropriation so unrestricted, there must be a lack of 
 that feeling of security which should attach to the possession of water as well as to land, 
 in a country where irrigation is a necessity. The greatest evil that can befall such a 
 country is an insecure and undetermined title to water. In arid regions, like Arizona, the 
 values are entirely in the water, without it the soil must always remain a desert. People 
 seeking homes here realize this fact, and desire, first of all, to know that the supply is 
 abundant, and that the titles are secure. Is it not then of primary importance to every 
 one who has the interest of the Territory at heart to have this matter adjusted on a basis 
 just and equitable to all? 
 
 The necessity for wholesome legislative control over the wholesale appropriation of 
 
28 IRRIGATION. 
 
 water, is apparent to every one. Large quantities are being claimed by corporations, and 
 in a short time every inch, available for agriculture, will be appropriated. The possession 
 of the water by those companies, virtually, gives them control of the land. Now, while 
 such reclamation enterprises are of great benefit to the Territory, and worthy of all 
 legitimate encouragement, it is yet the duty of the people of Arizona to see that its public 
 waters are not controlled by monopolies. 
 
 The large canals now being constructed in the valleys of the Gila, as well as the 
 Arizona Canal, in the Salt River Valley, are speculative enterprises, out of which their 
 projectors expect to make money. This is proper and entirely legitimate, and those who 
 have engaged in such ventures deserve to be well remunerated. But while favoring every 
 public enterprise of this character, it is the duty of the people to see to it that such cor- 
 porations do not misuse the powers which the control of large quantities of water naturally 
 gives them. The primary principle that water is a gift from Nature, and as necessary to 
 man's existence as the air he breathes, should not be lost sight of. For the construction 
 of irrigation works and the bringing of water to the cultivator, there should be given a 
 fair and liberal compensation. This is a proposition that will not be disputed. Neither 
 can the right of the people to prevent unjust and extortionate water charges, be denied. 
 If there is no check upon the actions of large canal companies, the farmer and fruit- 
 grower must rely entirely upon their sense of justice. The people of California and 
 Colorado, realizing this danger, have made legal provisions which effectually prevent 
 extortion by water companies. 
 
 The loose system of measurements should be done away with, and wastage should be 
 prevented. In a country like ours where every inch of water is precious, reckless waste 
 ought to be made a criminal offence. The present system of claiming thousands of inches 
 of water, which are not used, is untenable both in law and equity. No individual or 
 corporation has a right to any more water than he or they actually use. This is the only 
 true policy, and is recognized in all irrigating countries where the waters are under 
 legislative control. 
 
 The waters of all rivers and streams in the Territory which are utilized for irrigation, 
 should be accurately measured, and the quantity available at all seasons should be known. 
 This would not only be of great benefit to the irrigator, but would do away with the 
 present system of unchecked appropriation. When the volume of water in a stream was 
 known, and the share of each appropriator definitely determined, it would assure to the 
 farmer a certainty that the water company would be able to deliver the quantity he 
 contracted for. 
 
 Irrigation to Arizona is what the life blood is to man, or the piston rod to the steam 
 engine. The just and equitable control and distribution of the public waters of the Terri- 
 tory assure to our fertile valleys a large and permanent population and a prosperous future. 
 It is a vital question to our people, and one which heretofore has received but little 
 consideration. Yet it is not too much to say that the corner stone of Arizona's prosperity 
 rests upon it. How important, then, is it to the general welfare that our irrigation system 
 should be upon a secure foundation of equity and justice, preserving for all their rights in 
 one of the most precious gifts of Nature, and doing no wrong to vested interests. 
 
 It is for those directly interested, and with the light of experience to guide them, to 
 decide how this important problem shall be solved. It is a matter deserving of more 
 thought and attention than has yet been bestowed upon it. Its satisfactory solution is only 
 a matter of time; but it would be well if the people of these valleys would consider the 
 question from a broader and more liberal standpoint than that of mere self-interest. It i> 
 admitted that law of some kind is a necessity, but what particular laws a people should 
 have on any particular subject, is for the people themselves to decide. In conclusion, it 
 may be said that these papers have been collated and published with the hope that they 
 may prove of some benefit to the Arizona farmer. If the data contained therein shall 
 help him to a better understanding of the irrigation question, and if a knowledge of the 
 laws and regulations governing it in other countries shall assist him to deal intelligently 
 with it here at home, the effort will not have been in vain.