AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERS ;. 207 



powerful alcoholic mixtures are more active than a 4 per cent solution of boric acid 

 or a 2 per cent solution of zinc sulphate. 



AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING. 



Water resources of the Salinas Valley, California, H. Hamlin ( U. S. Geol. 

 Survey, Water-Supply and Irrig. Paper No. 89, pp. 91, pis. t2,figs. 30). — "This report 

 is based on investigations made by the United States Geological Survey, cooperating 

 with the board of supervisors of Monterey County and the California Water and 

 Forest Association, in Monterey County, Cal., during 1900, 1901, and 1902. The 

 work was done under the supervision of Mr. J. B. Lippincott, resident hydrographer 

 of the United States Geological Survey. 



"The report relates particularly to that portion of the Salinas Valley that lies within 

 the boundaries of Monterey County, and describes the topography, hydrography, 

 and economic geology of a portion of the region. It also discusses the extent of the 

 underground water, the methods of irrigation, the irrigation systems, and the pos- 

 sibility of extending irrigation by the utilization of surface streams and by impounding 

 flood waters." 



Geology and water resources of part of the lower James River Valley, 

 South Dakota, J. E. Todd and C. M. Hall ( U. S. Geol. Survey, Water-Supply and 

 Irrig. Paper No. 90, pp. 47, j>ls. 23). 



Review of irrigation investigations for 1903, E. Mead {11. S. Dept. Ayr., 

 Office <>f Experiment Stations Rpt. 1903, pp. 469-502, pis. 6). — A resume is given of 

 irrigation investigations during the year in various States in the arid, semi-arid, and 

 humid portions of the United States, with brief accounts of drainage investigations 

 in different parts of the United States and of studies of laws and social institutions 

 of irrigated regions in the United States and Italy, a statement regarding the collec- 

 tion and publication of information as to methods employed in the practical opera- 

 tions of irrigation farming, and a list of publications issued during the year. 



Preparing land for irrigation, R. P. Teele ( U. S. Dept. Ayr. Yearbook 1903, 

 pp. 239-250, pis. 2,fiys. 5). — A description is given of methods actually in use in the 

 irrigated region for removing sagebrush and stones, smoothing and leveling land, 

 locating and building farm laterals, and preparing land for irrigation by the check 

 system and for the use of metal pipes and canvas hose. 



Irrigation in the valley of Lost River, Idaho, A. E. Wright ( U. S. Dept. 

 Ayr., Office of Experiment Stations Circ. 58, pp. 24). — The results of sinkage measure- 

 ments during August, 1903, at different points on this river, which sinks in its bed 

 and rises again to the surface several times in its course, are summarized and dis- 

 cussed with reference to irrigation practices and water rights. 



Railway embankments and irrigation, K. A. Widegren (Ayr. Jour. Cape Good 

 Hope, 25 (1904), No. 1, pp. 43-46, fig. 1). — The possibility, advantages, and means of 

 utilizing railway embankments as dams for storage of water for irrigation are briefly 

 discussed. 



Seepage investigations in the valley of the Laramie River, B. P. Fleming 

 ( Wyoming Sta. Bui. 61, pp. 32, figs. 3). — The nature, extent, and means of prevention 

 of seepage losses are discussed. Seepage measurements on the Laramie River as it 

 passes through the Laramie Plains, on several canals which divert water from the 

 river, and on Sand Creek, are reported. The results are summarized as follows: 



" (1) The Laramie River throughout its length gains a varying, but always appre- 

 eiahle, amount of water by seepage from adjoining lands, the gain averaging 0.42 

 second feet per mile, the highest gains being 1.00 second foot per mile, near Woods 

 Landing, and the lowest 0.06 per mile, below Reservoir No. 2. 



"(2) All the canals investigated show large losses by seepage, the largest losses 

 occurring on the highline canals, the smallest on the canals in the river bottoms. 



