706 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



The water escaping from canals is not, however, all lost, as is shown by the meas- 

 urements of return seepage reported. A large number of measurements of the gain 

 in the flow of the South Platte and its tributaries is summarized. The measure- 

 ments on the South Platte itself are divided into two groups, representing 7-year 

 periods, showing a large increase in the rate of gain in the second period over that 

 in the first. 



A series of measurements made in 1903 show the gain of 727.61 cu. ft. per second 

 in the flow of the river in 232.75 miles, or 3.3 cu. ft. per second per mile throughout 

 the course of the stream. Measurements for the months of July and August, 1903, 

 show gains between the mouth of the canyon of the South Platte and the Colorado- 

 Nebraska line of 307 and 344 percent, respectively. Similar measurements for a large 

 number of other streams are given. 



The cost of preparing land for irrigation, including removing sagebrush, smooth- 

 ing or leveling land, and building laterals is given as ranging from $3.50 to $35 per 

 acre, varying with the original condition of the land. 



A large part of the report is devoted to pumping investigations throughout the arid 

 and semiarid regions. The summary of results shows that the pumps tested gave an 

 average efficiency of 41.17 per cent, while the fuel cost of raising water varied from 

 1.6 to 25.3 cts. per foot-acre-foot, the larger cost being for plants requiring less than 

 1 horsepower, and the smaller cost for large steam plants, using cheap erude oil for 

 fuel. The descriptions of the plants in use are of great value for bringing out the 

 good points as well as those which should be avoided. 



The average annual cost of raising water with windmills, including interest on the 

 investment, is given as $9.50. per acre. From this high cost the conclusion is drawn 

 that windmill pumping, except for the irrigation of high-priced crops, will not be 

 found profitable. 



The drainage work reported on includes the reclamation of swamp and alkali lands 

 in the arid region, the protection of bottom lands from overflow, the drainage of farm 

 lands, and protection of hillsides from erosion by means of underground drains. The 

 methods of laying out and constructing drains for all of these purposes are discussed 

 and the results obtained are given. 



Duty of water, B. P. Fleming ( Wyoming Sta. Bid. 67, pp. 20).— This bulletin 

 contains summaries of all of the measurements of duty of w T ater made by the Wyo- 

 ming Station from 1893 to 1903. 



The average depth of water applied to different crops per year at the station dur- 

 ing that period w r asas follows: Alfalfa 1.97 ft., barley 1.53 ft., oats 1.73 ft., and wheat 

 1.62 ft. Concerning the length of the irrigation season for these crops the conclusion 

 is that a water supply should be available from June 1 to September 15. 



In addition to measurements of the quantity of water used in general practice, 

 experiments have been carried on to determine the relation between the quantity of 

 water applied and the yield. These experiments have included potatoes and oats. 

 Potatoes yielded the largest return per acre when receiving water to a depth of 16.29 

 in. and oats with 43.59 in. The largest returns per inch of water applied were with 

 potatoes 16.29, and with oats 16.59. 



These measurements show that with oats at least the largest return per unit quan- 

 tity of water does not coincide with the largest return per acre. "Consequently 

 when a man has a large area of land and a small water supply he will probably find 

 that he will be making the best use of his available supply when he spreads that 

 amount over a larger area than it is the common practice to do." 



The Winterton Irrig-ation Settlement (Notes on Agriculture in Natal, Akiritz- 

 burg: Dept. Agr., 1905, pp. 9-20). — In 1904 the agricultural development act was 

 passed for the purpose of securing rural settlement in Natal. A board was created 

 which is authorized to make loans to settlers, limited to £60 for the first year, for the 

 purchase of live stock, implements, food, etc., to be repaid in 3 years and bearing 

 4 \ per cent interest. 



