Irrigating Arid Lands

The United States governraent 3 now making a survey of the arid lands of the west f or irrigation purposes. The tillable public doinain has been nearly all occupied, and if we are to have any more lands open to settlement, it will be in sections where the soil must be watered to make it produce. The last congress appropriated $250,000 to continue the survey, which will include Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, Iduho, Nevada and California. With irrigation, much so called desert land has proved to be very fertile. Tlie government work is divided into three paris. the topographical, the hydraulic and the engineering surveys. It is expected that irrigation can be made by nieans of canals f rom the upper Missouri, the Colorado, the Rio Grande and other rivers. Where the rivers cannot be utilized reservoirs can be constructed in the mountains, whence canals will convey water to desired points. In old mining districts of California abandoned reservoirs and ditches of the former gold diggers still remain and can be utilized. Meantitne a lesson or two on the subject of irrigation can be learned from the French in Algiers. Many years ago the American citizen, John Ericsson, invented a machine called the sun motor. The sun shining upon air conüned in a cylinder heated it and caused it to expand. Ericsson managed to regúlate this expansión so as to constitute it a motive power. But Ericsson was never much regarded in his own America. We had plenty of land that needed irrigation, and plenty of water that needed to be puraped, but we did not pay any attention to the gifted inrentor and his sun motor. The French, ho wever, thought differently. They examiped the sun motor and utilized it in Algiers. Today, throughout that dry country, the Amertcan's machines are lifting water from fcrtesian wells, and thirsty tra velera and parched lands remember with gratitude the name of John Ericsson. A gigantic cantilever railway bridg is to be built at once across the St Lawrence at Quebec. The river here is four and two-thirds miles wide, and the bridge will be nearly six and a half miles long. The largest ocean Bteamers will pass under it. It is to bo 408 feet above high water mark.