636 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



deleterious effects of too much water on crops and land. With the 

 restricted supply in many localities, the wasteful or unskillful use of 

 water by one farmer often means that the crops of some other farmer 

 must suffer because of it, or that land must remain uncultivated. The 

 area farmed, the yield of crops, and the continued productiveness of 

 the soil all depend on knowing how to use water aright, and on the 

 establishment of laws and regulations to compel this when men know 

 and refuse to heed. 



The report states that during the past two years methods and appa- 

 ratus which are the result of many years' study have been installed 

 tor carrying out original investigations to determine, with greater 

 accuracy than is now known, the factors which influence the quantity 

 of water needed, and to determine just what amount of water and what 

 method of application under given conditions will give the best results. 

 In explanation of this work it may be stated that about thirty different 

 methods of applying water to field crops are now employed in this 

 country, these being moditications of four systems, i. e., flooding, 

 furrows, checks, and basins. In some experiments on a large scale 

 water has been made to go nearly twice as far by more economical 

 methods of applying, at the same time causing the roots of the crops 

 to go deeper into the soil in search of plant food. Investigations of 

 the method and time of applying water, the water requirements under 

 various conditions of soil and cropping, and related questions are 

 being carried on in a number of different localities. 



The promotion of correct methods in new irrigation districts has 

 received considerable, attention. New districts are being settled by 

 people inexperienced in irrigation who may be spared an expensive and 

 often discouraging experience by working out some of their problems 

 in advance, determining the cheapest method of preparing their land 

 and the right method of applying water to it. Such pioneer work has 

 been carried on with success in several districts, notabl} T in California, 

 and has brought very high commendation. 



The best authorities agree that not over ten per cent of the arid 

 region can be irrigated from streams. The development of the 

 remaining ninety per cent depends in large measure upon obtaining 

 water from some other source. Improvements in machinery have so 

 lessened the cost of pumping that many farmers are now resorting to 

 it where it is impossible to obtain water from gravity canals. The 

 pumps employed range all the way from those operated by windmills 

 pumping stations costing over $100,000 and discharging a stream up 

 to 4 feet in diameter. 



The pumping investigations carried on by the Department have- 

 included the collection of information regarding the actual results of 



