large trees. This woodland area is but 20 feet above high water, has a sandy loam soil, and is very rarely covered by water during ice gorges. Twenty feet above this lies a well-grassed flat of 1,200 acres, and still higher, perhaps 80 feet above the river, is a terrace containing about 2,000 acres. Lignite outcrops frequently in the vicinity. Directly across the river, at high-water level, 34 feet of lignite were exposed on July 8, 1903, and the bed was reported by the superintendent of the agency to be 10 feet thick. It has supplied coal for the agency during the winter, when the river is low and crossing on the ice is possible. Several other large outcrops occur in this vicinity. OLD FORT BERTHOLD AGENCY FLAT. This flat is about 12 miles below the present agency and contains about 4,000 acres. Its elevation is from 20 to 80 feet above Missouri River, which bounds it on the south. It is well grassed. In the bluffs just east of the flat a 5-foot bed of good lignite is exposed about 50 feet above the river. On the opposite side of the river a 5-foot bed is mined by stripping. A 4-foot and a 3-foot seam outcrop in the bluffs a mile south of this mine. FORT STEVENSON FLATS. These beautiful flats, which include about 7,000 acres, lie on the north side of the river, a few miles northeast of Coal Harbor. Their elevation is from 30 to 70 feet above the Missouri, and the slope from the bluffs to the river is gradual and uniform. For many Coal occurs abundantly in the bluffs just back of the flats. years lignite was mined here for use at the fort and Indian school formerly located here. The exact location of the mine was in the SW. sec. 35, T. 148, R. 85. A seam, said to be 14 feet thick, was mined by stripping. On the opposite side of the river seams 3 and 4 feet thick are nearly continuous in outcrop for 10 miles. APPLE RIVER FLATS. Just south of Bismarck are extensive flats, which have the form of a triangle, Missouri River lying on the west, while Apple River and the bluffs back of Bismarck form the sides on the east and north. These flats include about 5,000 acres, 2,000 acres being only from 20 to 30 feet above the stream and partly wooded, while the remainder is from 80 to 100 feet above river level. No coal outcrops in the immediate vicinity, but the expense involved in bringing lignite from the thick beds outcropping directly on the river 60 miles above, at Mannhaven and Coal Harbor, should not be great. It may be more practicable to control the water of Apple River and use it for irrigation purposes, for the stream drains a considerable area and could doubtless furnish all the water needed if it could be properly stored. On account of their situation on the outskirts of a city of consider able size, and on the Northern Pacific Railroad, gardening should prove remunerative, and a rather high cost per acre to secure irrigation may be justified. SMALLER MISSOURI RIVER FLATS. The following table gives information with regard to the smaller flats on Missouri River, showing the acreage of each, the elevation above water surface, the general location of the flat, and the location and quantity of lignite that may be available: Smaller flats on Missouri River in North Dakota and the lignites in the vicinity. No coal showing in immediate 6 feet thick in bluff 1 mile 12 feet thick in "Sliding Bluff" South side of Missouri River, at edge of old Fort Berthold Reservation. On Little Muddy Cut-off, 10 miles below Williston. At Bakers Bend. Heavy beds in Spanish Point, Opposite Nesson Flats. 3 miles distant. Three lignite beds in bluff just Opposite mouth of White Eartn behind. Creek. 4-foot vein in bluffs just be- Opposite mouth of Little Knife hind. 4-foot vein just across river.... 4-foot vein in bluffs 8-foot vein on the river at 4-foot vein in bluffs behind Three 7-foot veins in bluffs just River. Indian village of Independence. Five miles below mouth of Lit tle Missouri, east side. Just below Fort Berthold Agency, on opposite side of river. Just above town of Mannhaven. At Hancock. 2 miles above Stanton. | Opposite Washburn, 5-foot vein on opposite side of Painted Woods Lake, near LITTLE MISSOURI FLATS. Terraces are well developed along the Little Missouri at nearly every point in its course. In a given locality their number may be 5 or 6, while few localities have less than 3. Their elevation varies from 20 to 200 feet above the river. No single tract is large, on account of the meandering of the river, but the total area at an elevation moderate enough to make pumping from the river practicable is considerable. A rather careful estimate of the area lying not higher than 30 feet above the river places it at more than 30,000 acres, cut up into tracts ranging in size from 50 to 1,000 acres. The topography of the country is diversified, consisting of the Little Missouri Valley and its terraces, the "breaks" in the vicinity of the river, and the rolling country back from the river which furnishes an unequaled summer range for cattle. Lignite outcrops almost continuously even in the shallowest of coulees, as well as along the creeks, and on the main stream itself, these outcrops being from 6 inches to 40 feet in thickness. Ranchmen seldom find it necessary to go far for fuel. Some mine it, but many consider it easier to go to the river in winter and break up great blocks of coal that the stream has washed out. There are a number of small flats on this stream south of Medora, which lie well for irrigation by pumping. Between Medora and the mouth of the Little Missouri there are several small flats, ranging in area from 50 to 500 acres, which lie from 15 to 30 feet above the water surface. Lignite is abundant all along this portion of the river, and is of good quality. KNIFE RIVER FLATS. The Knife River Flats are very like those along the Little Missouri, just described, differing mainly in not being so much shut in by high bluffs, for the slope to the upland is here comparatively gradual. For 15 miles from the mouth of the river the flats are extensive, often reaching a width of a mile, and including in all about 4,000 acres, which lie from 15 to 25 feet above the river. Lignite is found all along the bluffs at the mouth, and outcrops in nearly every coulee. HEART RIVER FLATS. Attractive flats, each containing a few hundred acres, may be found. all along Heart River and its tributary-Green River. Lignite outcrops along both streams, and some of the largest mines in the State are located near them. CANNON BALL AND CEDAR RIVER FLATS. Terraces of different elevations that include considerable areas occur along the course of the Cannon Ball below its union with the Cedar and along both streams for 60 miles above their junction. On account of the meandering of the rivers, and the rather limited width of the terraces, more than 600 acres are rarely found in a single tract. With the data now at hand it does not seem practicable to irrigate areas larger than this by pumping from a single fixed station. However, detailed study may show that two or more of these tracts may be connected by ditches and treated as one. The elevation of the Cannon Ball Flats varies from 10 to 80 feet. The soil is generally fertile, and many of the terraces are well grassed. Some appear to be gumbo, while others are too sandy to be desirable. for agriculture. Taken together they present a considerable area, perhaps 30,000 acres or more, with soil and topography favorable for irrigation. Lignite is not abundant on the Cannon Ball below Wade post-office, where the Cedar unites with it. A careful search made along the bluffs where good exposures occur brought to light only beds a few inches thick, till the upper Cannon Ball was reached. Forty miles east of New England post-office heavy lignite beds outcrop and appear continually from this point for 50 miles up the stream. On upper Cedar River lignite is said to be abundant, and, to judge from observations on the adjacent tributaries of the Cannon Ball, the reports are probably correct. The same statement can be made for upper Grand River in South Dakota. RECOMMENDATIONS. Opportunities to reclaim arid lands appear to exist in the larger flats on Missouri River. Much of the land in these flats is, however, already in private ownership. The flats that lie within the Fort Berthold Reservation form the only exception to this statement. In choosing among the Missouri River flats for one where reclamation by pumping may be tried under most favorable conditions, a number of factors must be kept in mind. Nearness to a railroad and a market are as essential as an abundance of cheap fuel and good land. An active interest on the part of the resident owners is necessary where the land is already in part or wholly private property. With these conditions in mind, the flats at Buford and Trenton and the Nesson-Hofflund tract deserve first consideration. The former lies directly on the railroad. Lignite is not abundant here, however, and will cost about $2 a ton, whether mined in the vicinity or hauled from Williston. The Nesson-Hofflund Flats are 14 miles from the railroad, and are wholly in private ownership. Lignite is very abundant, and should be laid down at the pumping plant for $1 a ton. It may be possible to locate a pumping plant within a few hundred yards of an extensive outcrop. From an engineering point of view, the Buford-Trenton tract appears to offer simpler conditions. The Yellowstone Flats in North Dakota form the most attractive single area for irrigation in the State. Since the fall of the Yellowstone is somewhat greater than that of the Missouri, it may be practicable to divert water from the river by starting well up in Montana. If this should prove too expensive, water may be moderately elevated by pumping at Sidney, Mont., where heavy beds of lignite are reported to exist. From this point the water would be of constant service, both in Montana and North Dakota. INVESTIGATIONS IN OKLAHOMA. This Territory for the most part is within the humid or subhumid region, and irrigation is practiced only to a limited extent. The western prolongation of the Territory, known as Beaver County, extends from the one hundredth to the one hundred and third meridian, and includes country which is arid, but which has a very limited water supply. The benefits to be derived from an artificial application of water to the soil have been discussed in a general way in Oklahoma, but popular interest has not been aroused, and, in fact, the statement that irrigation is needed in Oklahoma is frequently resented as an imputation against the climate of the country. The fact, however, that money is available for the reclamation of arid land has awakened a new interest in the subject, especially on the western margin of the Territory. In order to carry out the objects of the reclamation law careful and thorough investigations have been made of all possible projects, under the general charge of Gerard H. Matthes and under the immediate direction of Ferdinand Bonstedt. Particular attention was given at the outset to the localities described in the First Annual Reclamation Report, page 267 et seq. In general, the conditions were found, after careful survey, to be not so favorable as they were at first assumed to be, and the cost was found to be practically prohibitory. The most serious feature, however, of any such proposed development is the improbability of making constant and profitable use of the water in irrigation, as much of the country to be benefited is capable of raising a crop by dependence solely upon rainfall and careful cultivation. In considering the irrigation question in western Oklahoma proper discrimination should be made between the opinions of the landowners whose interests center chiefly in speculative enterprises and those constituting the farming contingent. The former are unquestionably adverse to irrigation, for the reason that the advertising of a lack of sufficient water for the maturing of crops, which the word irrigation would seem to imply, would of necessity be injurious to their business. On the other hand, the average farmer who desires water for irrigation is not familiar with irrigation practice, and in nine cases out of ten has never been in an irrigated region. Next to planning a practicable and rational irrigation scheme, the question as to whether those who are to be benefited are competent to |