CONTENTS.
Irrigation in California, by Wm. Hammond Hall, State Engineer of California
Round about Asheville, by Bailey Willis
(Illustrated by one Map and Profile.)
A Trip to Panama and Darien, by Richard U. Goode
(Illustrated by one Map and Profile.)
Across Nicaragua with Transit and Machéte, by R. E. Peary, Civil Engineer, U. S. N.
(Illustrated by one Map and three Views.)
October, 1889.
THE
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE.
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA.
Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Society:
When I was invited to address this society I had no material at hand onthe subject. I have come to the east without any notes or memorandawhatever, from which to prepare a lecture or address, no statisticaldata which would make a paper valuable, no notes of characteristicfacts to render an address interesting, and no time to write anythingto guide me in any way to a proper treatment of the subject. Some ofyour members have thought that I have written something worthy of beingread, and hence this invitation to address you. But, even if they areright, people who can write cannot always talk, so if I fail in thisaddress, I shall hope, on the basis of their opinion, that you willfind in the reports I have written something worthy of reading. Thesubject has been announced as the "Problems of Irrigation in the UnitedStates." I should like very much to speak broadly on that subject, butI am unable to do so, for the reasons I have given, and shall have tospeak rather of irrigation in California, trusting that something whichis said, may, perchance, be valuable in relation to the subject atlarge. Irrigation in the far west, generally, is attracting a vast dealof attention. This is particularly the case on the Pacific Coast—thefield with which I am specially acquainted. I apprehend that althoughmany gentlemen present have a far-reaching and definite appreciation ofthe subject at large, many others do not appreciate the value andimportance of irrigation. In the arid parts of California (for we donot admit that California is as a whole arid) it is a vital matter.There it is a question of life, for the people. Not more than one-sixthof the tillable area in the State can sustain a really densepopulation, without irrigation; two thirds of it will not sustain evena moderate population, without irrigation; while one third will notsustain even a sparse population, without such artificial watering.Think well over these facts. They are very significant. I doubt whetherthey are generally appreciated in California itself.
I have no doubt many persons are familiar with the geography of theState, but, doubtless, some are not. California has a coast line of 800miles and a width