43 



Analyses of the icaters from ten fyjnval irells in the artesian basin — Continued. 

 SOLUBLE AND INSOLUBLE SALTS (parts per 1,000). 



Location of well. 



Yankton 



Armour 



Woonsocket 



Huron 



Iroquois 



Hitchcock . . 

 Redfleld.... 

 Northville . 

 Aberdeen.. - 

 Westport . . . 



rp x 1 : Soluble Infoluble 



salt ^^^^^' ^^'^V- af t^'" evai>- 

 saits. , oration. oration. 



1.6023 

 2. 1.392 

 2. 0088 

 2.03.34 

 2. ia31 

 2.0868 

 2.0.546 



2.o:«o 



2.0909 

 2.5501 



0.5975 

 .9076 

 1.2770 

 1.2890 

 2.1183 

 1.2099 

 1 . 8,S26 

 1.2094 

 1.9027 

 2. 4683 



1.0048 

 1. 2316 

 .7318 

 .7944 

 .0348 

 .8769 

 .1720 

 .8376 

 .1882 

 .0818 



The results attained upon the experiment station plats at the Hun- 

 ter farm near Mellette corroborate Professor SheparcVs conclusions: 



Some have professed a belief that a continued application of artesian water 

 would result in overloading the soil with soluble salts, detrimental alike to the 

 tilth of the land and to the gi-owth of vegetation. Under the climatic, soil, and 

 drainage conditions prevalent this belief has little fotmdation, especially if care 

 be used in the application." 



If anything is needed in the artesian water it is animal and vegetable organisms. 

 This, however, may be obtained by storing water in a reservoir.'' 



RAINFALL. 



3Iany think that the great number of ponds created by artesian 

 wells will have a tendency to increase the moisture in the air by 

 evaporation and that it will result in more rain and greater frequency 

 of showers, thus giving a better distribution of moisture throughout 

 the growing season, and that this alone will obviate the necessity of 

 irrigation. While occasional light local showers have apparently 

 been produced from the vapor arising from some of these ponds, j^et 

 the greater part of the moisture is carried by the winds a long dis- 

 tance, and is precipitated where it does no good to the farmers of this 

 valle3\ On account of the great fluctuation of the amount of mois- 

 ture for the last few j^ears it is difficult to determine whether there 

 has been any actual increase due to this cause. At best, though, 

 this would add very little to the rainfall, and the total amount would 

 still be inadequate during periods of ordinary or extra-dry weather. 



The fact that the present period of favorable rainfall has been 

 coincident with the filling up of these ponds is undoubtedly the basis 

 of the opinion that the existence of the ponds increases rainfall. The 

 rainfall for the last eight years has been very favorable, both in 

 amount and distribution, as is shown hy the following table given 



a South Dakota Sta. Bui. 53. 



h South Dakota Sta. Bui. 28. 



