684 EXPEEIMENT STATION KECORD. 



of stream flow and other data from the gagings and hydrographic surveys of 31 

 drainage basins. 



Appendixes to this report are a Report on the Field Worli in the Wood 

 Mountain District, during 1911, by N. M. Sutherland ; Report on the Winter 

 Conditions in the Banff District during the Winter of 1911-12, by V. A. Newhall; 

 and Description of an Apparatus for Adjusting the Length of the Crest of a 

 Steel Rectangular Weir, by G. H. Whyte. 



Distribution of water, R. J. van Reenen {Agr. Jour. Union So. Africa, 5 

 {1913), No. 5, pp. 721-726). — The author points out the advantages and dis- 

 advantages of 4 systems of distributing irrigation water, viz, the flooding, 

 furrow, check, and basin systems, as applied to certain extreme conditions 

 encountered in South Africa. He states that the checli system, owing to the 

 speed with which it may be used, is the most satisfactory where the source of 

 supply is due to flood, and that for nonflood schemes where the irrigator may 

 choose his own time and period of irrigation the flooding system is cheapest 

 and most satisfactory. 



In conclusion it is stated that distribution by rule of thumb is impossible 

 because of the varying local conditions on adjoining farms, that irrigation 

 should be followed by cultivation to produce an effective mulch and prevent 

 waste, and that on any farm local conditions should be studied and one general 

 suitable scheme of distribution be adopted once and for all. 



Drainage of irrigated soils, V. Mosseri (Ann. Ecole Nat. Agr. Monipellier, 

 n. ser., 12 (1913), No. 3-4, pp. 215-239, figs. S).— This article deals with a 

 system of drainage applied to irrigated alkaline soils on the Upper Egyptian 

 Delta. The principle of this system is to interpose a deep seepage water drain 

 between the land to be drained and the main surface water drain. The seepage 

 drain is from 4 to 5 ft. deep and is fed by small underdrains from the center 

 of each irrigated plat and which are laid between the irrigation laterals. A 

 pumping plant is installed at the extremity of the drain so that the seepage 

 waters are drawn off by mechanical power while the surface waters run off to 

 the main drain by gravity. 



In tests of this system the best results were obtained when the drains were 

 placed at least 3 ft. deep and between 60 and 130 ft. apart, with the length of 

 the plats between main seepage drains not more than 650 ft. Tests on 250 

 acres of rice land showed an average seepage of 400 cu. ft. per acre per 24 

 hours during low Nile and from 540 to 680 cu. ft. per acre per 24 hours during 

 flood. On this basis a rotary pumping plant driven by an internal combustion 

 engine was installed which was capable of removing from 570 to 710 cu. ft. 

 of water per acre per 24 hours. The best success was obtained in rice fields, 

 where conditions permitted, when the fields were flooded with as deep a layer 

 of water as possible at each irrigation, as this, it is stated, brings about a 

 thorough leaching and washing of the injurious salts from the soil. 



Results of soil and drain water analyses show that the drainage water from 

 this system is from 10 to 100 times richer in injurious alkaline salts than the 

 water from the ordinary surface drain system. The results of crop experiments 

 showed a greater indication of the beneficial action of combined leaching and 

 drainage effected by this system. 



It is stated that the actual cost of construction is from $3 to $3.50 per acre 

 more than the cost of the ordinary system, that the loss of ground is from 2 

 to 3 per cent more, and that the cost of maintenance is from 5 to 10 per cent 

 more. The general summary of all the tests of the system indicate that it is 

 applicable in irrigated alkaline soils which have a sufficient fall for good surface 

 drainage, but not for underdrainage from 4 to 5 ft. deep. 



