about three-fourths of the material is earth and is hauled from the sides by dump wagons, the output of which depends upon the number of teams employed from time to time. It is not deemed advisable to increase the amount of equipment on this work, so this embankment will probably not be completed before June, 1908, although it may be feasible to turn water into the reservoir before that date.

In addition to the structures on the main canal, which will be constructed by contract (Page & Brinton, contractors), crossings will be provided for the Oregon Short Line and Boise, Nampa and Owyhee railroads. Plans are being prepared for these structures, which will be constructed with the cooperation of the railroad companies, and, on account of traffic, under their general supervision.

DISTRIBUTING CANALS AND LATERALS.

Surveys will be made during the present season of all the main distributing laterals of this system. Main laterals must be constructed from the lower embankment in order to distribute water from the reservoir to the lands extending down the valley between Boise and Snake rivers. These distributaries will cover fully 40,000 acres of desert land. About 8,000 acres of these lands belong to the State of Idaho; the remainder is Government land, practically all of which has been entered under the provisions of the reclamation act and is now occupied by settlers.

An extension of the canal, Boise River to Indian Creek, will be surveyed as far west as the Deer Flat reservoir; also the main branches of the same. This extension and its branches will irrigate about 32,000 acres of land lying south of the Oregon Short Line Railway and extending west as far as the Nampa-Meridian irrigation district. A survey will be made of the extension of the Mason Creek lateral, a part of the Ridenbaugh system, and the property of the Nampa-Meridian irrigation district. This lateral will be extended by the owners of land situated in the irrigation district between the Oregon Short Line Railway and the reservoir. All canal extensions which fix the boundary of irrigable areas must be carefully surveyed, as well as all the principal branches which will have to be constructed before water can be delivered to the land.

RIGHTS OF WAY.

Good progress has been made in the purchase of lands needed for rights of way for the Deer Flat reservoir. The following tables show lands purchased and the status of contracts pending at the close of the present fiscal year:

Agreements for purchase of right of way, Deer Flat reservoir.

Agreements for purchase of right of way, Deer Flat reservoir-Continued.

A few tracts held under the homestead law must be acquired for this purpose. The owners of the remaining deeded lands have been tendered a price of $15 an acre, which was fixed by the Water Users' Association as a reasonable one for such lands. This offer being refused, condemnation proceedings have been begun in the Federal district court of Idaho, proceedings being instituted in the case of Silas Wilson. The hearing of this case has been set for the September term of court at Boise.

OPERATION OF THE NEW YORK CANAL.

Under date of March 3, 1906, the United States entered into a contract with the New York Canal and the Idaho-Iowa Lateral and Reservoir companies, providing that the United States should be permitted to enlarge and extend the New York canal as a part of the reclamation plans of this project. The contract also provides that the present users of the New York canal shall receive their water from the new canal when completed, paying their proportional part of the cost of maintenance, etc.

Work was begun at the close of the irrigating season of 1906 at several points on this canal. The beginning of the season of 1907 found it in an unfinished condition at most places and several sections still in the hands of the contractors. The plans of the New York Canal Company for the season of 1907 contemplated the abandonment of the section of their canal between the point of diversion and the Boise River dam, but the noncompletion of this dam. necessitated the operation for another season of the canyon section.

In view of the status of the construction work and the consideration which was due the irrigators under this ditch, it was decided, upon request of the New York Canal Company, that the Reclamation Service would assume the management and operation of this system during 1907. The canal is at present capable of diverting about 240 second-feet and irrigates about 10,000 acres of land. Notwithstanding the interference due to the construction then in progress, water was turned into the canal April 18, 1907, and it has been carrying a full head with practically no interruption since that date.

EXPENDITURES.

The expenditures on the Payette-Boise project are summarized in the following tables:

Expenditures according to physical features, on Payette-Boise project to June 30,

Total expenditures, according to purpose and nature, on Payette-Boise project

DUBOIS PROJECT.

Surveys and investigations of this project, the largest in the State, were practically completed in 1904. It provides for the reclamation of from 200,000 to 250,000 acres of land west of Dubois on the north edge of the Snake River Valley, at the western end of Fremont County, the land lying chiefly between Mud Lake and the lower end of Big Lost River. The main canal will head on the North Fork of Snake River near St. Anthony, and will cross the Oregon Short Line Railway near Dubois. Practically every storage basin on the North Fork and its tributaries will have to be utilized in connection with this project. A detailed description of the Dubois project is contained in the Fourth Annual Report, pages 151 to 160. The net expenditures on this project to June 30, 1907, were $15,846.44.

KANSAS.

GARDEN CITY PROJECT.

GENERAL STATEMENT.

The principal facts relating to the Garden City Project are summarized below:

Summary of principal data relating to Garden City project.

County: Finney.

Latitude: 38°.

Longitude: 101°.

Townships: Townships 22-24 south, ranges 32-35 west.

Irrigable area: 8,000 acres.

Kind of headworks: 23 pumping stations to recover underground water.
Duty of water: 2 acre-feet per acre per annum.

Average rainfall: 20 inches.

Range of temperature: Maximum, 105°; minimum, -20°.

Average elevation: 2,925 feet.

Principal products: Sugar beets and alfalfa.

Nearest railroad: Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe.

Nearest station: Garden City.

Principal market: Garden City.

Land office: Dodge City.

Ownership of lands: Private.

Character of soil: Black, sandy loam; fertile.

Value of irrigated land: $75 up.

Date of completion: 1908.

IRRIGABLE AREA.

The land entitled to water under the Finney County Water Users' Association amounts to 8,000 acres. It lies at an average elevation of 2,925 feet above the sea level. The soil is a rich prairie loam, characteristic of the rich plains of western Kansas. The annual range of temperature is from a minimum of 20° below zero to a maximum of about 105° above zero. The average annual rainfall is about 20 inches. The minimum rainfall observed at Dodge City, 50 miles east, during the past thirty years, was 10.12 inches; the maximum rainfall at Dodge City observed between 1875 and 1904 was 33.55 inches. All the land under this project is in private ownership. The total area entitled to water rights comprises 8,600 acres, the size of the farm units being 160 acres each. The irrigable land under this project is valued from $75 to $125 per acre. The principal products are sugar beets, alfalfa, wheat, melons, sweet potatoes, and similar products. There is a beet-sugar factory located at Garden City. The average crop can be grown in the best manner on these lands with 2 acre-feet of water per acre per annum.

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