RUKAL ENGINEERING. 287 



Ing, and considered in relation to the total agricultural area the total acreage 

 which can be supplied with water will never be more than a very small per- 

 centage of the available land. The general irregularity and torrential character 

 of the flow of streams make it practically necessary to store on the stream 

 beds, and with the small and unsatisfactory supplies that are found on all but 

 1 or 2 of the streams, proper development of sites can not be considered 

 practical. 



High-land pumping plants are being installed in the Arkansas Valley from 

 which the annual cost of water will be in excess of $10 per acre so that for 

 such pumping to be profitable the best agricultural use must be made of 

 the land. The small windmill or other pumping plant with storage reservoir 

 or the small reservoir to store sufficient storm run-off to supply the garden 

 products and trees is the class of irrigation development which is deemed the 

 most promising for this area in general, although attempts to irrigate more 

 than enough crops for home consumption by this method have not been generally 

 successful. The most significant new development now taking place is the 

 pumping from the underground waters on the uplands with lifts of over 100 ft. 



Hydraulic laboratory for irrig-ation investig-ations, Fort Collins, Colo., 

 V. M. Cone (Engin. Neivs, 10 (1913), No. U, pp. 662-665, figs. 5).— A description 

 is given of the most important features of the new hydraulic laboratory, con- 

 structed under a cooperative agreement between the irrigation investigation 

 division of this Office and the Colorado Experiment Station, for the purpose of 

 testing and determining the accuracy of various water-measuring devices and 

 supplying correct formulas for their use. 



Report of the water rights branch of the department of lands (Rpt. Water 

 Rnghts Branch Dept. Lands, Brit. ColumUa, 1912, pp. 120, pis. U, figs. 22).— 

 This report contains the following articles pertaining to water supply and 

 irrigation : Irrigation's Part in the Future Upbuilding of British Columbia, 

 by S. Fortier (pp. 10-14) ; Water Legislation and Administration in British 

 Columbia, by H. W. Grunsky (pp. 15-23) ; Shall Water Licenses be Perpetual? 

 by O. C. Merrill (pp. 23, 24) ; Collection and Filing of Hj^drographic Data, by 

 E. Davis (pp. 25-28) ; Water-power Investigations in the Columbia River Drain- 

 age Basin — Progress Report, by G. G. Donald (pp. 31-40) ; Description of 

 Work at Hydrographic Station near Nelson, by H. F. Meurling (pp. 41-43) ; 

 Suitable Designs for Small Headgates, by F. C. Scobey (pp. 44-48) ; Water- 

 sheds of British Columbia — Characteristics and Possibilities, by H. W. Grunsky 

 et al. (pp. 49-100) ; Forms used under the "Water Act" (pp. 100, 102) ; and 

 Forms proposed by S. Fortier and H. W. Grunsky (pp. 103-105). 



A study of irrigation heads in the Modesto and Turlock irrigation dis- 

 tricts, California (Engin. News, 70 (1913), No. 11, pp. 502, 505).— Studies of 

 volumes of water in second-feet delivered to each individual irrigator and of 

 the time the head is used per acre of land were made by P. C. Berkefeldt in 

 these districts, where alfalfa is the principal crop raised. A summary of the 

 conclusions as to the best practice in both districts is as follows: 



The strip system of checking is the cheapest and most economical of water 

 where the topography will permit its use, otherwise a combination of square 

 and strip checks is best. The best width of strip check is from 50 to 75 ft., 

 the best length about 600 ft., and the best grade from 2 to 4 in. per one hundred 

 feet. Farmer's ditches should have at least G ft. bottom width with gates the 

 same width. For fairly sandy and sandy soils the use of a larger head for a 

 shorter period of time is best for alfalfa ; on the average, not less than 15 

 second-feet head for from 20 to 30 minutes per acre, irrigating one check at a 

 time. For trees, vines, etc., in the same soil about 5 second-feet for an hour 



29663°— No. 3—14 7 



