The acting Governor, in his annual report to the Secretary of the Interior, under date of September, 1890, gives the following totais: .587,460 Areas under ditches, in acres... Areas actually irrigated, in acres. 293,200 Miles of canals... 8454 These are estimates made in the acting Governor's report for 1890. The Governor estimates the total area reclaimable at 5,550,000. Lieutenant Glassford, United States Signal Service, and others, estimate it as high as 10,000,000 acres. Captain George M. Wheeler, E. C., put the possible area at 25 per cent, or over 26,000,000 acres. The latest estimates given, gathered by Government agents, are as follows: Acres under ditch... .669,440 Acres to be reclaimed by works in progress. Miles of ditches. Miles of ditches in construction. .245,000 1,064 300 The development has mainly been in the slow progress of enterprises that were already under way when the year began; in the reorganization or consolidation of enterprises; in the establishment of several colony movements-one of which is described elsewhere in this report; and in the growing evidence of the capacity of large areas within this Territory adapted to the production of the finest variety of semi-tropical fruits and vines. There is no doubt that the ensuing year will see a more definite policy and a more determined effort, in Southern and Central Arizona at least, to inaugurate irrigation for the cultivation of the soil on a large scale. The prosperity of the Salt river valley is an ample inducement to that end and an argument for its success. In Montana the Senate committee report for 1889 gives an area under ditch of 986,000 acres; actually about 350,000. Considerable activity has prevailed, and with the increased area of cultivation the total will reach at least 400,000 acres. Work in progress and partly constructed will make 1,100,000 acres a not unreasonable estimate for the area under ditch. The area cultivated may be estimated at 8 per cent, or about 160,000 acres. The increase in 1890 in cultivated area (beyond forage plants and pasture) will not be less than 15,000 acres, making in all 175,000. No increase in ditches or mileage is rereported. The Black Hills in South Dakota is at present the only section irrigated by surface works; the area under ditch is estimated at 100,000 acres and that under cultivation at about 20,000 acres. Elsewhere small experiments by artesian welis reached an area of about 2000 acres, and have clearly demonstrated the possibilities of that supply. In Western Kansas, Nebraska and Texas some increase in area of cultivation and a large addition to that "under ditch" has been noted. The estimates are as follows: Western Kansas.. Western Nebraska.. Western Texas.. Under unten. Cumvated 1889. 1890. 1890. Acres. Acres. Acres. 300,000 350,000 120,000 50,000 65,000 10,000 |210.000|340,000|160,000 The area indicated as cultivated is, of course, largely used for forage plants, as well as cereals and roots. The figures, when summed up, present the totals that follow. This office, says Mr. Hinton of the Agricultural Department, has been scrupulous in its endeavors to obtain exact statistics. That it has not yet been as successful as is desirable is due to inability to send agents out and to the fact that the States and Territories, with the exception of Colorado and Wyoming, have not as yet made any direct effort to secure a full account of the important interest under review. Probably from this date, however, this difficulty may not be met with, as in addition to the systematic efforts making under law by the department through this office the United States Census Office has also made a minute inquiry. LANDS UNDER DITCH IN THE ARID AND Arizona. Kansas Montana..................... New Mexico.. 800,000 625,000 191,000 150,000 100,000 15,000 200,000 125,000 700,000 413,000 75,000 50,000 It may safely be assumed that there are very many small irrigated areas scattered Idaho. throughout the arid region which are not included in these estimates. There are also larger areas, not many in number, Nevada........ perhaps, in which the use of water for irrigating natural and cultivated grasses is of considerable importance. No estimate is attempted of the small irrigations of house gardens, lawns and fruit trees, which prevail in every city, town and village west of the ninety-seventh meridian. Altogether it will not be unreasonable that the area actually cultivated in 1890 reaches at least 8,000,000 acres. It will be difficult to state in figures and acres the actual amount of irrigation progress accomplished in the semi-arid 9,974,419 and arid States during the year 1890. The Area under ditch and irrigated..... 8,307,000 conflicting discussion of this subject has The largest activity has prevailed dur had, of course, to some extent, the effecting the past year in the States of Califorof delaying investment. It had, however, one more beneficial, in that it has created a great interest in the whole subject. This has been manifested in a large variety of ways, causing, wherever there was no land policy to intervene, a very considerable degree of preparatory activity, whose effect will be seen during the ensuing year. The report of the Senatejects and forms of enterprise that are Committee on Irrigation presented the following tabulated estimate of the actual and approximate areas under ditch (1889) within the region of its investigation: nia, Colorada, Idaho and Montana. In the territories of Arizona and New Mexico there has been some considerable progress made. In portions of South Dakota and in western Nebraska and Kansas the necessities of the people as well as the discussion that has arisen have crystallized into practical channels various prolikely to be of great service in the near future. The beginning of great activity has already been indicated in Washington and Oregon east of the Cascade range, while in Nevada there is a growing feeling original investigations upon importan that the security and maintenance of their by the several courses of study purs State organization depends upon the good opportunity for stating, in a clea efforts that are to be made in the direction of reclamation. IRRIGATION DISTRICTS. The following table shows a list of the irrigation districts of the State-thirty-three in number-their location, names and postoffice addresses of their secretaries; acreage, amount of bonds voted and sold, and the cost of supplying water per acre: |