Excerpt from Irrigation a Sketch of Its History and Practice in Various Countries 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 acres now cultivated in this way, and the total length of the canals within the dry belt is put at miles. In the State of California alone, the value of irrigated lands and works is nearly while the value of its yearly product from irrigated vineyards and orchards is more than Colorado has over acres watered by irrigating ditches, and the value of the crops raised in 1884 was over In Utah there are nearly 700 miles of canals costing and 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 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 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. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.