this 24th day of September, 1890.

JOHN G. KNOX, Clerk.

By T. W. HOLDER, Deputy Clerk. The proceedings for the formation of the district, the issuance and sale of bonds, have been thus examined, approved and confirmed by the court. The time for appeal has expired, no appeal has been taken, and the decree of the court quoted above has thus become final. The status of the bonds is thus irrevocably fixed, and as an investment they certainly cannot be improved upon.

river consists of two spans, 90 feet each, altogether 450 feet of trestle and bridge, to carry flume, including 250 feet of approaches. This bridge is built of iron and wood in combination resting on cylindrical piers of iron filled with concrete. bridge supporting the flume that have a There are six of these piers under the diameter of three feet each. The two on the north bank stand on a solid rock foundation. The two in the middle stand on a foundation made of piles driven as far The present financial status of the dis- ble. The other two have hardpan foundown in the bed of the channel as possitrict is good; it is on a solid basis. Indations and are so protected with piles cluded within the boundaries of the district are 36,719 acres of land, the city of Tulare being also within the limits. For 1890-91 the assessed valuation of the district was $1,468,153. The actual cash value of the real estate is over $3,500,000, and there are at present 1100 names on

the assessment roll.

After the necessary legal formalities had been complied with the next step was the commencement of actual work on the canal system, by which water was to be diverted from the Kaweah river, the source of supply that had been chosen.

Work was commenced on the main canal March 1, 1891, and there are now 34 miles completed. The material encountered in building the canal consisted of earth, hardpan and solid rock. The I completed work was done in one contract divided into three sections, as follows: Section 1, composed of earth and hardpan; section 2, composed of earth, hardpan and solid rock; section 3, composed principally of earth. Twenty thousand cubic yards of hard pan were removed from sections 1 and 2, 9300 cubic yards of solid rock were removed from section 2 and 40,000 cubic yards of earth were removed from section 3. In the three sections there were removed 118,000 cubic yards of earth, 9300 cubic yards of rock and 20,000 cubic yards of hardpan, making altogether 147,300 cubic yards of material removed in building 34 miles of the main canal at a cost of $30,000. The hardpan required blasting, but afterward scrap ers and plows were used to complete the work. In taking out the 9300 cubic yards of solid rock the work was very hard and expensive, $1 a cubic yard being the price paid.

The main canal will have a capacity of 500 cubic feet of water per second, or more than sufficient for the entire area of the district. The portion now completed is 64 feet wide on the bottom and 84 feet on

top, with an average depth of 6 feet. The average fall of the canal per mile is 11⁄2 teet. The side slopes of the banks are one-half to 1 and 2 to 1, and they are neatly trimmed. In fact the entire work done is the personification of neatness. The maximum grade is 3 feet per mile and the minimum 1 foot per mile. Numerous check weirs are required in order to regulate the velocity, so as to prevent too great an erosion of the banks. There have been five miles of canal built in the district, all earth ex avation, no other material hav: ing been encountered. One hundred thousand cubic yards of earth have been removed at an expense of $8000.

Two bridges carrying flumes, as shown in the accompanying illustration, have been built. The one across St. John's

and rock that they cannot be disturbed by high water or floating debris. The flume is lined with dressed red wood lumber and is 9 feet wide and 4 feet deep. The enr tire structure is substantially built.

pile bridge 352 feet long, carrying a flume
The bridge across the Kaweah river is a
which is 10% feet wide and 4% feet deep,
bridges, flumes, head gates, two drops and
and built similarly to the other one. The
sluice gate were built at an expense of
$13,000. The bridge work reflects great:
credit on the builders, the San Francisco
charge, George E. Field.
Bridge Company, and on the engineer in

Eight and one-half miles of main canal
remain to be built to complete the system
to the district. It will be all valley work
and will be excavated at a minimum cost.
canal 11 miles. There will be no dama
This makes the entire length of main
in the river, as it is not necessary. The
river will be tapped by the canal at a point
where the canal bed is lower than the bed
of a great item of expense.
of the river. This will effect the saving
built of timber 10 feet high and 60 feet
A head gate,
wide will be built in the canal 100 feet
down from the mouth. This gate will
be a sluice gate built one-quarter of a mile
govern the flow of water. There will also
below the headgate to carry off the sand
which may accumulate in the canal.
There will be seven lateral canals, varying
in width from 10 to 40 feet, covering a dis-
tance of 40 miles and carrying water to all
parts of the district.

A storage reservoir will be located near the head of the main canal, at Paige's ranch, having a depth of twenty-five feet at its lowest part and an area at the surface of the water of 880 acres. It will contain 576,000,000 cubic feet of water. At twenty-seven feet in depth it will contain over 635,000,000 cubic feet. The reservoir will be less than a half-mile from the

river and only a short distance from the main canal. It is a natural basın, and another such site would be difficult to find. A separate canal will be constructed to carry the water from the Kaweah river to the reservoir, and it will be built similarly to the main canal with headgate and will run through a smooth country which will. minimize the cost. A small dam will be built at the head of the reservoir to prevent the back flow of water, but this dam will be so located that it will have to maintain but little pressure of water. At the outlet of the reservoir a cut twenty to twenty-five feet through a ridge or hill of solid rock will have to be made, thereby necessitating but a small expense for a dam. Almost the entire pressure of water, when the reservoir is full, will be against lofty mountain sides, solid as the eternal