vegetables and stock feed.

Evidence furnished by your town, or neighboring towns, during the
war, of the wealth-producing power of vacant lots or unused
backyards.

RECLAMATION OF ARID LANDS

Much of our public land has been nonproductive solely because of
the lack of moisture. In 1902 a law known as the Reclamation Act
was passed by Congress, providing that the proceeds from the sale
of public lands in states containing arid regions,[Footnote: The
states to which this law applies are Arizona, California,
Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico,
North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington,
and Wyoming. See map.] except such as were already devoted to
educational and other public purposes, should be used for the
construction and maintenance of irrigation works. This reclamation
work is in charge of the Reclamation Service of the Department of
the Interior, whose engineers have built great dams and reservoirs
from which the water has been led by canals and ditches into the
desert. By 1916 more than 1,000,000 acres had been irrigated under
this act, the crop value in that year reaching $35,000,000. The
reclaimed land is disposed of to actual settlers in accordance
with the homestead laws, each homesteader repaying the government
in annual installments the cost of reclaiming the land he
occupies. The fund so created is used by the government for
further reclamation projects. The Department of Agriculture sends
its experts to advise with the farmers in regard to the problems
peculiar to the reclaimed regions. "Every effort should be and is,