RURAL ENGINEERING. • 385 



pp. II+25-40, pi. 1). — This paper reports on the occurrence, distribution, and 

 quantity of underground water of the area and deals with the possibility of 

 its development for irrigation and other purposes. 



" The thick body of sand and gravel underlying the wide bolsons of Luna 

 County contains a vei-y large volume of water, most of which is within 20 to 

 150 ft. of the surface. The depth and volume of water vary from place to place, 

 but there are extensive areas in which the depth is not too great for profiUible 

 pumping and the volume is ample for irrigation." The deposits underlying 

 the area are said to vary greatly in their watei'-holding capacity and to include 

 many strata or beds of sand some of which attain locally a thickness of from 

 40 to 50 ft. The few deeper borings made are said to show relatively few beds 

 of water-bearing sand below 200 ft. 



The water from the wells in the county is in general considei'ed to be of 

 excellent quality, suited to all uses. There are about 280 wells of various 

 kinds in the county, many of which are equipped with pumps capable of de- 

 livering from 500 to 1,500 gal. a minute. "At some of the ranches considerable 

 irrigation has been done already, with very satisfactory results as to products 

 and cost. The wells for this service are mostly from 100 to 200 ft. deep and 

 have water from 20 to 50 ft. below the surface. Naphtha is the fuel at most 

 of the plants, but crude oil has been employed at some and found much 

 cheaper." Deep borings for artesian flows have not been satisfactory. The 

 results of tests of five typical pumping plants in the county are given in tabular 

 form showing the cost of distillate fuel used per acre foot of water per foot 

 of lift to be in two cases 2 cts. and 2^ cts. at average dischai'ges per minute of 

 G03 and 555 gal. and average total lifts of 73.0 ft. and 30.9 ft., respectively. 



To what extent is irrigation practicable and profitable in Germany? 

 Gerlach (Landw. CentU., Posen, No. 5 (1913); ahs. in CJiem. Ztg., 88 (1914), 

 No. 68, Repert., p. 320). — It is stated that the profitable results from irrigating 

 rye and potatoes in Germany are on the whole few. The total area of profitably 

 irrigated lands in Germany is also relatively small, owing mainly to the scarcity 

 and high price of water. 



Road laws of Minnesota (State Higli/way Com. Minn. Bui. 12 (1914), pp. 

 62). — The text of the laws is given. 



Report of the State Highway Commission for 1912—13 (Rpt. Highway 

 Com. Minn., 1912-13, pp. 36, pis. 2, figs. 16). — This report includes tabular data 

 on the amount, kind, and cost of work done in the different counties of the 

 State. Several illustrations of bad and improved road and bridge conditions 

 are also given. 



Rules and regulations for the maintenance of state roads, 1914, G. W. 

 CooLEY (State Highway Com. Minn. Bui. 13 (1914), pp. 3, figs. 2). — This pamph- 

 let describes briefly the road patrol maintenance and road drag systems. Per- 

 spective views of the so-called Minnesota road planer or road drag are also 

 given. 



Stump-pulling machine for clearing land (Engin. News, 72 (1914), No. 13, 

 pp. 642, 643, figs. 2). — A stump-pulling machine is described and illustrated 

 which consists of a frame of 15-in. steel I beams mounted on a pair of longi- 

 tudinal 9-in. I beams which form the runners. At the front end there Is a 

 steel A frame 16 ft. high to which are attached the guy lines of the 36-ft. boom. 

 At the rear end is a double-cylinder 3-drum engine and a vertical boiler. The 

 front drum carries the pulling cable and is geared for two speeds. For pulling 

 a stump it exerts a pull of 145,000 lbs, with a speed of 30 ft. per minute, while 

 for skidding or hauling in the stump it has a speed of 350 ft. per minute. The 

 middle drum carries the piling line which is led over the boom, and the hoisting 

 capacity is 10 tons. 



