126 KANSAS UNIVEKSI'l'V IJUAKTERLV, 



Kansas, and is designed to irrigate the upland. It is 99J2 miles 

 long and has 75 miles of laterals; it is 24 ft. wide at bottom, 4 ft. 

 deep, has a grade of 2^2 ft to the mile, and a carrying capacity of 

 400 cu. ft. per sec. The head-works, which are located 3^ miles 

 west of Hartland, consist of a wing dam, head gates and waste gates 

 similar to those of the (harden City canal. The cost of the canal 

 and head-works was ^325,000. It commands an area of 34,000 

 acres, 2000 of which are irrigated. 



I'he lower Alamo canal was constructed in 1878, the upper one in 

 1890. The lower one leaves the river on the north side about 4 miles, 

 and the upper one about 8 miles west of Syracuse. Their combined 

 length is 30 miles and they have 70 miles of laterals. The top width 

 of one is 24 ft., of the other 16 ft., the depth is 3 ft., grade 2^^ ft. 

 or more to the mile, and their combined capacity is 3C0 cu. ft. per 

 sec. The head-works are designed on a different principle from that 

 of the other canals of Kansas. There is no wing dam but instead, 

 the canal is extended a mile or more up along the river as in the case 

 of an underflow ditch, and the water taken into the canal with a 

 drop, thus giving the canal a "draw" on the river. Into the head 

 of each canal is built a large box, the fall width of the canal, which 

 has partitions in the direction of the canal. To the front end of each 

 partition are nailed vertical pieces, forming grooves into which 2-inch 

 planks are dropped horizontally, thus enabling the water to be taken 

 into the canal at any desired height above the bottom of the river. 

 The total cost of these canals and head-works was ^35,000. They 

 command an area of 15,000 acres, 2000 of which are said to be at 

 present irrigated. 



Irrigation from wells is of recent origin and rapid growth in Western 

 Kansas. Mr. I. L. Diesem of (larden City, who began irrigating 

 from his jjlant Jidy. 1890. was the first to put in a large pump for 

 this purpose in Finney Co., and so far as I can learn the first in this 

 region. There was one five inch pump in Finney Co. prior to 1890. 

 There are now more than 125 of these plants in this county. 



In this method of irrigating it is necessary to pump the water into 

 a reservoir, first, in order to warm the water before applying it to the 

 soil, and second, in order to apply it to the whole area as quickly as 

 possible, thus distributing the water evenly over it, and reducing the 

 evaporation loss. The depth of the reservoir is necessarily small 

 because the bottom of it should be high enough so that the water 

 will flow from it by gravity onto the land, and so that the distance 

 the water is raised, or the power expended, shall be the least possible. 

 The area of the resirvoir will depend on the volume of water the 

 irrigator wishes to have at his command at any one time. 



