Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume I

IRRIGATION WORK IN THE UNITED STATES. 87 society should be the family living in its own house, owning home and land independently, and no restrictions were placed upon individual enterprise and industry. The first few years of the Greeley colony were full of discouragement and failure for many of the settlers. There were many deser- tions. The country was new ; ^Colon6^ there was a lack of knowledge as to the crops which, could be grown there. After futile and costly experi- ments, it was seen that the hopes of the people for orchards and vineyards could never be realized. This brought about a complete change in the plan of farming and in the crops planted. Diversified crops were culti- vated successfully, and soon the conditions be- came more comfortable for the colonists. It was then discovered that the soil and climate were adapted to the cultivation of potatoes. To-day the Greeley potato is one of the famous crops of the West, and its market is world- wide. This colony is a landmark in the develop- ment of the arid West. Its influence has been far-reaching in the upbuilding of more than one prosperous community in the desert. The success which finally crowned the efforts of these colonists gave a great impetus to irrigation all over the arid region. In the decade 1880 to 1890 there was a “ boom ” of speculative enterprise in irriga- tion canals. Large sums of money were obtained for irrigation works A Boom in , sale g^ocj£S anj bonds Canals. J and great enterprises were pro- jected, canals of upwards of 100 miles in length being planned and in some cases built. Nearly all of these schemes failed financially, though they promoted the extension of irrigation. The statistics of irrigation for 1889 show that there were 3,631,381 acres irrigated on 54,136 farms—an average of 67 acres. During the following decade the irrigated acreage doubled. Since that time the history of irrigation in Steady Growth. cost of the the United States is one of steady growth. The estimated number of irrigated farms in the United States in 1907 was 167,200, and the irrigated area amounted to more than 11,000,000 acres. The total irrigation systems is put down at $148,200,000, and the Department of Agriculture has esti- mated the value of crops grown on the irrigated lands in that year at $250,000,000. The irrigation canals, if joined end to end, would girdle the globe thrice. Railroads have opened the remotest parts of the desert to the markets of the world. The forces of Nature have been controlled and utilized. Problems of water storage and diversion have been worked out to a practical con- clusion. The downward rush of the streams, the huge dams which impound the floods, and even the flow of the large canals, now furnish abundant electric power for manufacturing and domestic uses. The practice of irrigation is being extended to all parts of the country. A TWELVE-HORSE LOAD OF CEMENT FOR THE SALT RIVER PROJECT WORKS, ARIZONA.