Excerpt: It is probable that there is no more complicated subject in the whole field of property rights than water rights, yet the practical working of the system is comparatively simple and easily understood. It is believed that a general understanding of the subject is within the reach of all and will be of great value to every farmer in the arid section of the United States and to any who may contemplate taking up farming in that region. The object of this bulletin is to give such a general knowledge of water rights. The bulletin does not discuss fundamental principles and theories, but rather describes those features of water rights with which every person who farms or intends to farm where irrigation is practiced should be familiar.