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';' ~' . - , - .- . " 200 REPORT OF SECRETARY :", 85', It is bounded on the North by the breaks of the Platte River which are irregular, more or less sandy, and unirrigable; on the South it is bounded by a highly dissected and eroded. plain, locally known as Canyon larid. OJ) the East it expands into a comparatively level plain 'of rather. heavy textured soil. .It is approximately 65 miles in length, east to west, and from 10 to 20 miles in width,and contains some 500,000 acres' of irrigable land.' . Topography. The project lies on an extensive unpland table, the SUrface of which is flat. to very slightly undulating.' Natural'drain- age is fairly well ~stablished in the eastern portion of the area, but in the western" portion the riaturat drainage is toward depressional' areas or basins, which' as. yet have established no drainage' outlet.. . Elevation. The elevation is from 1900 feet above sea level in the eastern portion of the area to 2600 feet above - sea level _ in the western portion of the area, the slope J;o the east being approximately: 8 feet per mile, with a less abrupt slope southward, to the Republical1 River Valley. Present De-velopment. The land under the proposedf.projectis noW and has been for many years under private ownership. The famers are already on the land which is held in units largely ranging from 160 acres to 320 acres in size. Probably 90 per cent. of the land is under cultivation. It is generally quite- well improved.,~s_ to.building3, . .~ - ...). _..' - fences, etc. The ~armers have the;. h._orses and machinery necessary for farming the land under the present system. . There ;~s -already. ..in- . vested in this area a tremendous amount of capital, largely resting with- . ,. . ----- the 'farm owners. . . '. .'.' ". - ,-/- . The area has sfllendid ~transportation facilities-,':.bctil..,as to rail- roads-. and highways. There is a- highway on almost! every section line', generally kept in fairly satisfactory condition. Shipping .points are close,.. ria farm' having.' mar;; than a few miles (to. deliver it, products to a shipping point. The area lies relatively. close to sever- al important primary markets. It is within 200 miles of: Omaha; with- in 700 'miles of Chicago; and -within less than 400 mile~r of St. Joseph and Kansas _ City. These primary mm;kets afford a rerdy oQtlet for all agricult.ural products.,. ... , . CLIMATE. \ I '1 I I I I I .i \ The project lies in what is knqwn as the sub"hum~? area of the United States, betwee~ the humid, and arid districts. . -r.f the seVeral climatic factors that influence crop P,rodtiction the- rainflll alone thru- out this area makes crop production hazardous. Drought, resulting either from ap insufficient total supply of rainfall, or f1lom.-a-very un-. "-."'_' favorable distribution of the rainfall that does come, lis of frequent occurrence. These' periods of' drought, . coupled withl. the -loss of a considerable portion of the virgin fe'itility of the so il, combine to