It did not come into general use in the manufacture of wall plaster until about fifteen years ago, and it is only during the past five years that its use has increased rapidly. In 1890 there were 182,995 tons sold; in 1898 this had increased to only 291,058 tons, while in 1903, 1,000,000 tons were sold. As there are 6,000,000 tons of wall plaster used annually in the United States, and as the gypsum plasters are now conceded to be equal if not superior to any others on the market, we may reasonably expect the consumption of gypsum to continue to increase rapidly. There is, therefore, at the present time much interest in the location of extensive gypsum deposits, and in the securing of favorable mill sites.

One of the most extensive gypsum deposits in the world extends from northern Kansas to Central Texas. Oklahoma occupies a central position in this region. Its supply of gypsum is almost inexhaustible.

In his report on the gypsum of Oklahoma, in the second biennial report of the Oklahoma Geological and Natural History Survey, Prof. Charles N. Gould has described the gypsum as occurring in four regions: (1) The Kay County region; (2) the main line of gypsum hills extending from Canadian County northwest through Kingfisher, Blaine, Woods, and Woodward counties to the Kansas line; (3) the second gypsum hills, parallel with the main gypsum hills, and from 50 to 70 miles farther southwest, which extends from the Keechi Hills in southeastern Caddo County northwestward through Washita, Custer, Dewey, and Day counties; (4) the Greer County region, occupying the greater part of western Greer County and the extreme southeastern part of Roger Mills County.

The following estimate, by counties, from the same report, will probably give a clearer notion of the location and extent of these deposits:

In this estimate the Kay County gypsums are omitted. These deposits are local and widely scattered, and no attempt has ever been made to estimate the amount of material in the locality.

With this enormous amount of gypsum actually in sight, means of transportation is the only thing lacking to make this region the center of the gypsum industry.

Mills are in operation at Peckham, Kay County; Okarche, Canadian County, and at Watonga and Ferguson, Blaine County.

Accurate statistics as to the total output are not at hand. The mill at Ferguson, which is owned by the United States Building Material Manufacturing Company, has a daily output of 120 tons.

The United States Gypsum Company has made extensive leases of territory and is already manufacturing gypsum products on a large scale.

One not well acquainted with this part of the Territory might infer that the great areas of gypsum would make it a poor farming country. Nothing could be further from the truth. The counties mentioned are among the most extensive in the Territory, and were previously noted for their extensive and rich pasture lands.

TIMBER AND GRASSES.

The native timber of Oklahoma consists of the usual western varieties several varieties of oak, elm, ash, hackberry, hickory, pecan, cottonwood, willow, walnut, cedar, etc.

In the western portion of the Territory the timber is found, for the most part, skirting the streams. In the central, southern, and eastern portions there are quite extensive areas of timber of the varieties mentioned.

The so-called black jack covers a large part of the southeastern portion. This furnishes a fine quality of fuel, and the land when cleared is very fertile, this being the best cotton belt in the Territory.

An investigation of the native grasses has revealed a surprisingly large number of varieties. More than 100 are on record, and it is very probable that the list is not complete. Many of these make excellent pasturage and hay. It is this abundance of summer and winter pasturage, together with its mild climate, that has made Oklahoma famous as a stock country.

From its geological position Oklahoma must be regarded as primarily an agricultural country; but with an abundance of coal, oil, and gas just on her eastern border, and with its immense deposits of gyp sum, salt, and building stone, it is one of the most favorably located districts in the whole west.

IRRIGATION IN OKLAHOMA.

[Gererd H. Matthes, district engineer, United States reclamation service.]

During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1904, surveys were made by engineers of the reclamation service of proposed projects in different parts of western Oklahoma. The localities visited include portions of Beaver, Woodward, Wood, Day, Washita, Greer, Roger Mills, Kiowa. and Comanche counties. Only one project worthy of consideration by the Federal Government has been encountered, including portions of Kiowa and Comanche counties. It contemplates the storage of the waters of Otter Creek, near the small town of Mountain Park, where the conditions are very favorable for the construction of a rock-fill dam about 75 feet high. The reservoir which would be so created would cover 4,275 acres, all of which is in private ownership and would store approximately 43,000 acre-feet of water. The land to be irrigated lies south of the dam site and covers portions of western

Kiowa and Comanche counties. The drawbacks to the project, as at present viewed, are: The cost of removing settlers from within the basis to be flooded; the removal and rebuilding of about 44 miles of railroad track, and the doubt as to whether or not the available water supply will be sufficient to fill the reservoir every year.

In conjunction with the above project, surveys have been made for a reservoir on the North Fork of Red River, contemplating the construction of a dam 65 feet high at a suitable point near Lugert. This reservoir would flood about 3,800 acres and would extend up the river to within the neighborhood of Granite, Okla. Its capacity would be about 80,000 acre-feet. A canal survey was made from this reservoir in an easterly direction across the undulating country, tapping the flow of Elk Creek and emptying finally into the Otter Creek reservoir at its northern end. A large section of land lying below this canal line could be irrigated. Among the serious difficulties encountered is the sandy nature of the North Fork of Red River, which will tend to shorten the life of any reservoir constructed on this stream by rapid deposition of silt; the capacity of the reservoir is further limited by a low divide on the east side; an expensive tunnel through rock, about about 3 miles long, will be required to draw the water from this reservoir.

It is estimated that approximately 110,000 acres could be irrigated from the two reservoirs, the estimate being based on a duty of water of 12 inches during the irrigating season, which it is believed will be sufficient to supplement the rainfall in order to produce crops. The project involves the construction of 25 miles of main canal, including 3 miles of tunnel from the reservoir on North Fork of Red River to the reservoir on Otter Creek. Also a canal about 27 miles in length from the Otter Creek reservoir to the irrigable lands.

A study of the topography of the west side of North Fork of Red River in Greer County reveals that it would be impossible to irrigate lands on that side of the river with water from the reservoir at Lugert, the land lying mostly too high for any diversion project.

The

The plans for these projects are as yet incomplete so far as information relating to stream flow is concerned. A study of the discharges of Otter Creek and the North Fork of Red River has been made based upon daily observations of the height of the water on gauges established in these streams near Mountain Park and Granite, respectively, and upon actual measurements of discharge made at intervals. summer flow of these two streams is not sufficient to offset the evaporation from the reservoir surfaces, and the flood discharges must, therefore, be depended upon to fill the reservoirs. That these flood flows are exceedingly indefinite and variable quantities requires no comment. Not until sufficient data have been obtained concerning their magnitude and frequency, such as will satisfactorily establish the régime of these streams, can any definite conclusion be reached regarding the practicability of the projects, and any final recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior must be withheld until then.

The farmers of western Oklahoma are taking a more or less active interest in prospective irrigation schemes in their respective counties. From the many letters and requests for information received by the Department in Washington and by the district engineer stationed in Lawton, it can readily be judged that there is a desire on the part of many to see a portion of the reclamation fund placed to the credit of

Oklahoma Territory utilized for the construction of irrigation works by the Federal Government in the arid and semiarid portions of the Territory. So far as it has been practicable to do so information has been furnished to those requesting it regarding the provisions of the reclamation act, by correspondence as well as by personal interview and public addresses. An effort has been made to look into the nature of all proposed irrigation schemes brought to the attention of the district engineer, which seemed to warrant investigation. Surveys and investigations of this kind have lately been conducted in Beaver and Washita counties, but in most instances the projects have been found to be either impracticable owing to too great a cost involved, or to physical disqualifications, such as lack of proper foundations, too great a width at the dam site, the sandy and unreliable character of the stream, shortage of water, etc. The surveys made have further disclosed the fact that many of the projects, if developed, are such as would benefit a few individual farmers only, and could best and most economically be undertaken by the investment of a limited amount of private capital. Such small projects can hardly be considered to come within the scope of the reclamation act of June 17, 1902.

Generally speaking the topography of western Oklahoma presents few good opportunities for the storage of flood waters, there being a lack of natural dam sites. At a few points irrigation by the use of wind-mills and wells has been undertaken, and the results while necessarily of a limited character, have been satisfactory. The depth to underground water throughout western Oklahoma is variable and uncertain, and this method of irrigating can, therefore, be practiced in certain localities only.

Taking the above into consideration, and also the fact that the great majority of farmers in Oklahoma are not familiar with irrigation methods, coming as they did principally from adjoining States to the north, east, and south, it may be concluded that the possibility of raising crops by the artificial application of water in western Oklahoma is at this date by no means assured.

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION.

[John Fields, director.]

The work of the station during the year has been a direct development of that which has been in progress for several years. The growth of the Territory and its closer connection with Indian Territory has resulted in increased demands upon the station and prevented the extension of its work so as to cover many matters equal in importance to those now being investigated. Some of the experiments which have been in progress for several years are now about completed, and others are being taken up as the resources of the station will permit.

In the veterinary department the germ of hog cholera is being studied for the purpose of determining if it can be attenuated so as to be used to produce immunity. Immunity has been produced in rabbits and white rats by using cultures attenuated by growing at a high temperature, but it has not been found possible to produce the disease in pigs by using virulent cultures of the germ. It may be that the germ under ordinary conditions is not the cause of hog cholera. In connection with this the action of toxins filtered from cultures of various bacteria on the growth of the hog cholera is being studied.

Bacterial analyses of drinking water are being made. Samples were collected during the dry weather of the winter and again after the heavy spring rains for the purpose of ascertaining what per cent of wells show surface contamination.

The cultural characteristics of the tubercle-forming soil bacteria are being studied and experiments in inoculating soil for the growing of alfalfa and cowpeas have been started.

The manufacture and free distribution of vaccine for the prevention of blackleg in cattle has been continued, an appropriation for this purpose having been made by the last legislature. Abundant evidence has accumulated showing that the vaccine is entirely safe and effective in the hands of farmers. Unfortunately, many fail to avail themselves of this certain method of preventing losses from this disease. The use of vaccine, however, is quite general, and losses from blackleg are becoming less frequent.

The following are the lines of investigation in progress in the Agricultural Department:

A series of steer-feeding experiments was started in the winter of 1899-1900, and from 20 to 25 steers have been fattened every winter since then. These steers have been divided into lots of 5 each, and fed on different rations. The following feeds have been compared and used in different combinations: Shelled corn, corn meal, Kaffir meal, wheat meal, cotton seed, cotton-seed meal, alfalfa hay, Kaflir stover, prairie hay, wheat straw, and oats straw. All of these feeds and the rejected feed have been weighed and sampled as fed or collected and have been analyzed by the chemical department. The object of these feeding experiments has been to study different combinations of these feeds as to their efficiency and economy in producing gains. A bulletin, now in preparation, will report the results of three years' experiments comparing alfalfa with Kaffir stover and corn meal with Kaffir meal. The results of one experiment with cotton-seed products have been published in Bulletin No. 58. Other work with cotton-seed products is planned to be carried out during the winter of 1904-5. This will make three years' work with these and give fairly complete results. It will probably be necessary to discontinue steer-feeding work for a time after next winter so that more pressing work in horse, pig, and sheep feeding may be taken up.

For the past five winters from 20 to 25 yearling steers have been roughed through with the common roughage raised on the farm. This feed has been supplemented with cotton seed and cotton-seed meal. In the summer these steers were turned on pasture, and in the following fall were divided into lots and put into the experiment pens for fattening. The steers were weighed at regular intervals, and all of the feed given to them was weighed and recorded. This work has been done for the purpose of studying the individual gains and behavior of the steers before putting them into the fattening experiments, and of ascertaining in a general way the gains made and the feed required under

such conditions.

Work in pig feeding has been carried on in connection with the steer feeding. Each lot of steers has been followed by hogs for the purpose of ascertaining the value as pig feed of the droppings from the different lots of steers. The study of the effect of cotton seed meal on pigs has been continued with the college swine herd.

Experiments have been started for the purpose of determining the