U The Pioneer Irrigation State Still Forward in Applying the Art. Dry Farming Also a Large Factor in Utah's Remarkable Development. Incoming Population Certain to Remold Social and Religious System and Ideals. BY REV. JOSIAH MCCLAIN, SYNODICAL MISSIONARY. TAH enjoys the distinction of leading all states in the work of reclaiming the desert. Her people from the beginning of the settlement of the state in 1847 have been an agricultural people. They were not always expert, for many of the early settlers were foreigners, unaccustomed to farming, but they were industrious. By force of ne from the desert. We have eight hundred thousand acres of desert land producing wheat, oats and barley under dry farming methods, where no water can be obtained save from the snow and rain in the winter and spring. This means struggle behind all of this development. But the greatest work is yet before the people, for we yet have twenty mil This is one of the canals in Millard County. cessity, this arid land was taken up and made Success Through Colonies. Colonies were sent out through different portions of the territory to settle on this land and make homes for themselves and their children. In not a single instance did they fail. With many of these colonies it was a hard struggle, but they won out against the desert. To-day we have one million acres of land under irrigation. This has all been reclaimed lion acres of land within this state susceptible to farming, either by irrigation, or by the dry farming process. The work of reclamation is on to-day in earnest. Up to this date the work has been slow, little settlements were pushing out and opening up small tracts of land, but now we have caught the spirit of the age and great irrigation projects have been formed or are being formed, and water will be brought long distances and distributed on large tracts of land. The Uintah Reservation comes under this head. Ten thousand people are in that basin to-day, transforming This This picture shows the land in the rough and also the land prepared for dry farming. is not far from Levan, in Juab County. In this region dry farming was first tried. that desert region. They are bringing water, some of them, twenty-five miles to use on their lands. It looks good to see the progress made in five years. under dry farming, yielded a crop of wheat, oats and barley this year. The Triumph of Dry-farming Methods. The work of dry farming, a new departure, ten years old, is attracting great attention. Eight hundred thousand acres of desert land For ten years the wheat crop on the dry farms has averaged 23 bushels per acre. This comes from the lands once regarded as absolutely worthless. But the secret of dry farming has been discovered, which is this: the farmer tills, fallows and mulches his land, so Less than ten years ago this was worthless desert land. To day under dry farming it is producing twenty-three bushels that the precipitation for the entire year is retained in the soil instead of being allowed to evaporate. Then hardy varieties of grain must be selected which will burrow deep enough into the soil to utilize this stored moisture. One million seven hundred thousand acres of desert land, adapted to dry farming are now opened to entry in Utah. Each man is, under certain conditions, allowed 320 acres. The Lure of Utah. Pass through this state in any direction of the compass and you will see beautiful farms, large fields of alfalfa, wheat and oats. In other sections new orchards are coming into bearing, in other quarters hundreds of acres are being set out to fruit of all varieties. This all tells the story of man's triumph over the desert, for by him it is made to yield to his necessities, some thirty, some sixty and some an hundred fold. More railroads, more capital and more people from the East will work out the redemption of Utah. Come and see what has already been done and then join with us in this great conquest. I Reclaiming the Desert in the Far Northwest A Pastor-Evangelist in Eastern Washington writes with the Enthusiasm All His Fellow Citizens Share. Visions of a Complete Reclamation of Arid Wastes. The Message of the Ancient East to the Newest West, "Dig a Well.” BY REV. DR. GEORGE HAGEMAN, SPOKANE, WASH. T IS said that a young man once came to Mohammed and asked him what monument he should erect to the memory of his dead friend.. Mohammed gave him this brief answer, "Dig a well.” The people of the East in that far-off day understood the significance of this advice of the prophet, and knew the blessings of water, and to this day the wells dug, and the streams opened centuries ago are watering the earth and the flocks, reclaiming the desert and refreshing mankind. What Mohammed advised the young man to do, we are doing out here in this great Northwest, only on an extended scale. We are using the water God has so bountifully provided, and causing it to flow over the land, and the barren sage-brush country is disappearing, giving place to beauty and fragrance and blessing. Irrigation is no longer an experiment in this Pacific Northwest. It is supplying the land with moisture by artificial means and is becoming so thoroughly established that this vast country is becoming the home of the highest agricultural civilization of America. At this time the national government is spending fifty millions of dollars on reclamation and irrigation in the Pacific Northwest, and dry farming is gaining steadily so that this intensive farming is every year becoming more and more profitable. Where the pioneers of territorial days toiled in the sage-brush obtaining only a small remuneration for their labors, there is to-day a crop-producing, home-supporting area of inexhaustible fertility capable of supporting a large and thriving population. Because of its location, Spokane and the surrounding country is the battle-ground of this great effort to redeem the desert from its arid condition, and place it among the nation's greatest sources of wealth. We have numerous lakes and rivers. The Spokane River, 100 miles long, has a fall of one thousand two hundred feet on which are numerous falls, the greatest of which is in the heart of the City of Spokane. The people from all over the world are coming to this country, strong men and women, are filling up the valleys, and climbing the mountain sides and peopling every nook and corner where it is possible to fix their habitations. The desert is fast disappearing, and sage-brush and forest are giving way to the touch of civilization. The spirit of coercive energy is achieving great things for God and mankind. It tunnels mountains; it turns the waste places of the numerous. We need look ahead only a few years to see the time when there will be no more desert land here, but all will have been reclaimed. These great projects of reclaiming the desert bring many people to this coast, and with them comes great responsibility. For they must be met with the gospel. Christianity must extend to them a welcome and helping hand. We must compel our prosperity to add to our Christian zeal, as well as to our personal comforts. We must open up the gospel streams that all who come may see and drink of the Water of Life. And as this stream flows along it will redeem the desert heart and bring all good, for, with the reclaiming of the heart come happy homes, sweeter music, better friendship and more enduring freedom; heaven will be reflected to us from the waters of salvation as we draw from its wells. Τ Reclaiming the Nevada Desert Agricultural Values Surpassing Mineral. This Immense Territory, the Fourth State in the Union, Already Under the Spell of the New Irrigation Magic. One Presbytery Where There Will Some Day Be a Great Synod. BY REV. S. H. JONES, PASTOR-EVANGELIST, PRESBYTERY OF NEVADA. HE history of Nevada is so closely identified with her mines that it is difficult for anyone not conversant with current conditions, to think of her as a home for the farmer. It was the lure of silver in the Comstock Lode on the slope of Mt. Davidson in the early sixties, that drew to Nevada a large population and carried her name into every land and laid for her the foundation of statehood. Even to-day her mines are exceedingly rich and extensive and bid fair to eclipse the splendor of the "bonanza" days. Agriculture Nevada's Great Asset. It is not, however, for her mines, but for her agricultural resources and possibilities, that Nevada deserves to be mentioned. Her claim to permanency and growth must ultimately rest upon the land. Miners come and go, but the land abides. It is upon her agricultural population that Nevada must base her permanent prosperity. When her hillsides and valleys are dotted with the homes of farmers, and when her fields and orchards begin to yield support for her population, then her prosperity as a state is assured. In Nevada the development of her agricultural interests have waited upon the coming of an irrigation age. It was not until the federal government undertook the construction of great reclamation projects that the interest of the farmers became aroused and in-. quiries began to be made concerning her soil and climate and the range of production. The state of Nevada ranks fourth in point of territory in the Union, having an area of 112,190 square miles, or over 71,000,000 acres. It is a state of vast deserts, of towering mountains and of hundreds of thousands of acres of irrigable land that needs only to be tickled with the hoe to give back to the husbandman an abundant harvest. Nevada has been characterized "as an ash heap with streaks of silver through it," but as a matter of fact farmers and home-seekers are beginning to realize that her desert lands have some of the richest soil to be found anywhere, and that where they can be reached with an adequate water supply the crops are certain, their quality the finest and their yield greater than in many of the humid states. The Faith of the Federal Government. The government is certainly exhibiting its faith in the agricultural future of Nevada by conserving for irrigation, at an enormous outlay, the waters which heretofore have run to waste. It has at present under construction the Truckee-Carson project, involving more than 600 miles of canals and 50,000 feet of dykes and dams. This, when completed, will reclaim 300,000 acres, and the first unit is now ready. The conditions of the government for settlement are such as to invite the confidence and cooperation of every home-maker, and to insure him against extortionate rates for water or monopoly of land. Another matter of interest which has done much of late to encourage our people to see |