Ki'EL Oils for Pump Irrigation 399 



to include sonic laiuls where the Hft is a hundred feet and more, and it 

 is probable that the average pumping lift for Arizona is now over fifty 

 feet, with consequent large power requirements and heavy investments 

 for wells and machinery. If gas oil suitable for the type of pumping 

 engines now in use ceases to be available at moderate cost, hundreils 

 of pumping plants will be put out of service, at least until some other 

 and cheaper form of power can be obtained. If pump irrigation be- 

 comes impracticable from any cause, it will result in the abandonment 

 of hundreds of improved farms. 



THE PRICE ADVANCE OF FEBRUARY, 1920 



Until the present year, tops or gas oil has been obtainable from Cali- 

 fornia refineries in ample quantity, and at very low prices. In Decem- 

 ber, 1919, CLUtracts were being made for gas oil of 38° to 40° B. grav- 

 ity at 53/4 cents i)cr gallon. As late as January 22, a twelve-month 

 contract was made at 6J/2 cents. About the end of January, without 

 warning, gas oil was withdrawn from the market. Those communities 

 which had not arranged contracts for the year's supply became alarmed 

 and made strenuous efforts to protect themselves. In March one coin- 

 ;nunity sent a representative to California to find oil. After a long 

 search he contracted with a jobber for 60 carloads at 11 cents a gallon : 

 only seven carloads were obtained on this contract, however, and by 

 mistake they were billed as kerosene, making the freight charge about 

 six cents per gallon. 



Thus the price was practically doubled in one advance. Additional 

 advances during the summer brought the price to 14^2 cents in August. 

 But the seriousness of these advances is not measured in cents. A 

 motorist uses only one or two gallons of gasoline per day, and lience 

 a slight advance in price of gasoline is not a crucial matter. A farmer 

 with a lOOO-gallon pump requires from 50 to 150 gallons per day. 

 depending on his vertical lift, and an advance of eight and a half cents 

 per gallon in price means an additional expense of $4 to $13 per twenty- 

 four hours. Allowing the freight charge of 343/< cents per 100 pounds 

 and allowing a vertical lift of 60 feet, the cost of gas oil per acre irri- 

 gated, for land in alfalfa or any double-cropped land, is increased from 

 $6.75 to $13.40 per year. The cost of pumped water is necessarily high. 

 To the cost of fuel there must be added the fixed charges of deprecia- 

 tion, interest, and taxes ; also, the cost of lubricating oil, attendance, 

 and repairs. There are many ranches from which the net returns in 



