This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1984.
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After describing the Central Valley of California the book focuses on the flood plain of the Sacramento River where most of the lands adjoining the river were a series of Mexican Land Grants. These grants were broken into private holdings after statehood and the challenging effort to reclaim the overflow lands began. The book covers the political and natural challenges in reclaiming these lands together with the introduction of a new crop, rice, and the development of new machines, primarily the Caterpillar tractor, that aided significantly in making the reclamation efforts successful.
Excerpt from Ground Water for Irrigation in the Sacramento Valley, California The price Of land is based on its anticipated value under irrigation and not on its value for dry farming. When subdivided, it is sold for two to three times its value for grain-raising, and for many tracts the purchaser must provide the means Of irrigation. The colonizing Of subdivided lands has become a business and is in the main con ducted by reputable firms. A large block Of land is purchased and surveyed into small tracts with provision for roads and perhaps for a town site. Irrigation works may be provided or a demonstration well and pumping plant installed with the intention that the settlers should install private plants, using wells for Obtaining water. Pur Chasers are attracted by agents and advertising. Charges of fraud have been made and doubtless in some cases are justified, but wide publicity and Cooperation among real estate men are eliminating false and exaggerated statements. Intending settlers should exercise cau tion, view the property, compare it with Similar Offers, and be sure that they are getting good land well situated for a fair price. The value of farm land rests primarily on the quality of the soil and the value Of the crops which it will produce, but the price Of similar land varies with proximity to market, towns, and schools, with danger of floods and assessments for reclamation, with the kind of irrigation feasible, and with many other local factors. The formation Of an intelligent judgment will be assisted bya study of reports of the United States Bureau Of Soils, covering large parts Of the valley, which are given in the following list. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
"Of late historians have become increasingly interested in the vast re-ordering of the environment involved in the creation of America. Nowhere was this more true than in the Sacramento Valley where re-ordering edged into folly. Battling the Inland Sea is a powerful evocation of the losses and gains involved in battling the mighty Sacramento River. But more than this, it is an exploration of the national will as it sought to rearrange nature herself with such mixed results. Here is history dealing with the most elemental forces of land, water and engineering as they are shaped by public policy. Here is the profound drama of value and symbol which occurs when Americans come into conflict with forces over which they can exercise, as Robert Kelley shows, only the most transitory and pyrrhic victories."—Kevin Starr, author of the Americans and the California Dream "Robert Kelley's research into the origins of California's first great flood control system has already helped to inform the shaping of the state's water laws. Now he opens up the benefits of that work for the average reader in a wonderfully clear and engaging story that manages, among other things, to show that water development in the United States hasn't been just a matter of engineering but a cultural and intellectual achievement as well."—William Kahrl, author of Water and Power "A vividly written narrative of one of the major transformations of the physical world we inhabit. Robert Kelley draws upon his rich store of learning and insight to set the struggles over the Sacramento Valley into a broad context. His book contains important lessons for those who would understand the American economy, environment, politics, or culture."—Daniel W. Howe, author of The Political Culture of the American Whigs
A vivid, searching journey into California's capture of water and soil—the epic story of a people's defiance of nature and the wonders, and ruin, it has wrought Mark Arax is from a family of Central Valley farmers, a writer with deep ties to the land who has watched the battles over water intensify even as California lurches from drought to flood and back again. In The Dreamt Land, he travels the state to explore the one-of-a-kind distribution system, built in the 1940s, '50s and '60s, that is straining to keep up with California's relentless growth. The Dreamt Land weaves reportage, history and memoir to confront the "Golden State" myth in riveting fashion. No other chronicler of the West has so deeply delved into the empires of agriculture that drink so much of the water. The nation's biggest farmers—the nut king, grape king and citrus queen—tell their story here for the first time. Arax, the native son, is persistent and tough as he treks from desert to delta, mountain to valley. What he finds is hard earned, awe-inspiring, tragic and revelatory. In the end, his compassion for the land becomes an elegy to the dream that created California and now threatens to undo it.
Richtlijnen voor de werker in het veld om problemen te ondervangen ten aanzien van de waterkwaliteit voor irrigatie-doeleinden. Tenslotte worden praktijkervaringen uit diverse gebieden vermeld