LAWS AN') INSTITUTIONS. The development of irrigation in the Western United States has given rise to many complex legal, ecomanie, and social problems. This has resulted from lack of uni form laws regarding ownership, control. and dis tribution of the water.supply and uncertainty as to State and Federal jurisdiction. These coin di•ations become acute, for exainple, when. under State laws, all the water of a stream is for irrigation purposes, and the Federal courts assert the paramount importance of riparian rights and the protection of navigation, regardless of the use of the water in irrigation. Again serious complications arise when a stream crosses the boundaries of two or more States and each claims all the water flowing on its soil. as well as when the sum of the individual claims largely exceeds the amount of water available.
There is a strong popular demand in the West for public aid in the construction of irrigation works too large for private capital and enterprise to undertake. especially for the building of reser voirs for the storage of water. as is done, for ex ample, by England in Egypt and India, where the largest irrigation works in the world are being built by the British Government. Another mat ter of vital importance in connection with irri gation is the protection of the forest growth of the watersheds of the streams, with ,a view to mitigating floods and securing a more uniform flow of the streams. The importance of this mat ter is beginning to be realized. and steps are being taken to protect the forests of these watersheds from the wanton destruction to which they have been subjected in the past. The practice of irrigation has given rise to many interesting economic and social conditions. Among other things it has been productive of small proprietors and diversified and intensive farmilm; It furnishes admirable training in self vernment and encourages cooperation; and has removed the evils of isolation in farm life IT making possible the building of homes in village centres. thus realizing a happy combination of toxin and emintry life.
litan,Arn IN IN lit'AI ID CL1 MATES. S11 pple MOM a I irrigation to carry crops through periods of drought has been found profitable in many ea-es in 1 1 regi;ms. espevially on light, well drained soils and with crops of high value. To what extent the practice may be extended with advantage has not been definitely determined. The rainfall of such regions is a disturbing factor. If a heavy rain occurs soon after a thorough irrigation, more serious damage may he done by of water than would have resulted from drought. especially if tile soil be compact. and poorly drained. Irrigation should therefore I,e attempted in such regions only on soils provided with thorough natural or artificial drainage.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. The more hnportant literature Bibliography. The more hnportant literature relating to irrigation includes publications of the I:nited States l)epartment of Agriculture on water-supply and irrigation papers and other publications of the United StatesGeo logical Survey, Division of Itydrography; Report of a ,‘,'cnoto Committee for Irrigation and rear..
lomation of Arid lands (Washington, 1890) ; Special Reports to Congress on Irrigation in the 1 "noted Mates (Washington, 1891) Hinton and others. Artesian and Under/lore Investigations I Washington. 1892) Chittenden. Report to ('I n press on Reservoir Sites in Wyoming and CO:0 rrtdo (Washington, I898) ; "Irrigation." in the Eleventh and Twelfth United States re ,_ sus lIrprwts (Washington, IS90 and 1(100) : re port* and bulletins on irrigation of the agrieul inral experiment station: hi California. Colora do. Utah. and Wyoming. and the reports of the State engineers of these and other States in the arid regions; American Society of Irrigation, Engineers' Annuals; -lead. Irrigation Institutes INew York. 19031: Dennis, Reports on Irrigation and Canadian Irrigation Surveys (Ottawa, 1894 9fil : Deakin. Irrigation in Western. A 117crira 1885) : llall. Irrigation Derelopment and Irrigation in California ( Sout hern ) ( Sacra ment ISSeeSS) Trough, Irrigation in rtah ( Balt i more. SIN) : Flynn. Irrigation Canals and Other Irrigation Works (San Francisco, 1892) : Wr»-km in India and Egypt (London, 1893) ; Willcocks. Egyptian Irrigation (London. 1899) : Newell, byina I ion in the railed States (New York. 1902) ; Schuy ler, Reservoirs for Irrigation (New York. 1902) : Ross. Notes on Distribution of Water of Upper Egypt I Cairo, ISS2 ) ; Brunhes. L'irrigation duns In peninsulr ibrique et duns l'Afrigne du trout (Paris. 1902) : Baird - Smith, Italian Irrigation (London. I555) : Moses. L'irrigation en Asia eentrale (Paris. I89-1): Parral, Lcs irrigations dans les bonehes rht Moine 18711) : irrigations dr Vaneluse on 1877 (ib., 1S7S) ; Wilson, .1lannal of Irrigation E yinreri g (New York. 18951: Stephens. Tractieal Irrigator and Drainer (Edinburgh, ] 8811 : Stewart. Irrigation for the Farm, Garden, and Orchard (New York, 1877) : Scott, Irriaatio» and Water Supply (Lon don. nouna. Les irrigations (Paris, 1989 90) Salvador, Ilydranlique agricole- (ib.. 1900) ; Llamado, Trahoto dr aquas y rrcgos (Madrid, 1S84) ; Wilcox, Irrigation Farming (New York, 1593) ; King, Irrigation and Drainage (New York, 1899) ; Smythe, Conquest of Arid America (New York, 1900) ; Kinney, Treatise on the Law of Irrigation (Washington, 1894) ; Long, Irriga tion Law (Saint Paul, 1901). Among the periodi cals devoted to irrigation are Irrigation .•tge (Chicago) and National Irrigation (San Fran cisco). Bitliographies of irrigation will 1w found inn the annual report of the Colorado Experiment Station for 1391 (Fort Collins. Col.), and in the Elerenth Annual Report of the United States Cleological Survey, l889-90, part ii., and a bibliog raphy is in course of preparation under the direction of the librarian of the United States Department of Agriculture.
See articles on AQUEDUCT; CANAL; DAMS AND RESERVOIRS; FLUME; HYDROGRApil ; PUMPS AND PUMPING MACLI INERT; SEWAGE DISPOSAL; TUNNEL ; WATER-METER ; WATER- SU ppLY.