58 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
in some parts of the state for $1.25 per cord, laid down in winter. In 
other parts of the state it would cost much more. I believe that one 
of the ways to do this thing is by means of centrifugal pumps run 
by our steam engines. If a man hada large plant he might put in 
an old saw mill engine, and get it cheap enough to run it for this 
purpose. If you have to buy the engine, it adds to this expense, as 
the power is used for such a short time each year. These portable 
engines could be used, if you putin your pump permanently, and 
the same engine could be moved from one farm to another. 
Gasoline power can be used instead of steam power. The fuel and 
attention it requires are less expensive than with steam power. In 
this case you must buy the engine. Weuse a 22-horse power engine. 
I believe gasoline engines would be just what we would want if they 
were to be had at a living price. A 10-horse power engine would 
ptobably cost $700 to $800, which seems altogether out of proportion 
to the cost of making it. It would be possible in a simple way to 
make a little belt elevator, as I have seen them used, and throw the 
water in a large trough. For irrigation in a small way some such 
thing might be put up very cheaply and made to answer the pur- 
pose. Hydraulic rams could be used in some places where there is 
a regular water course. 
Mr. Dartt: Can you tell us anything about the hydraulic ram, 
how it works ? 
Prof. Hays: As I remember it, the hydraulic ram put in a 
stream would raise one-seventh of the water that goes through 
to five times the height of the fall, so if you have plenty of 
water in the stream and much fall, you can raise it to a low 
height. I have never used one, and have never investigated 
their cost. One of the expenses of irrigation is the power. 
The rotary, or centrifugal, pump is not a very large expense. 
Instead of distributing the water with hose it might be well to 
use a box for distributing the water; that has a greater capac- 
ity, and it will carry the water a considerable distance, and by 
running the water through holes in the box, it will answer the 
purpose better than a hose. There are a number of things we 
must consider under our conditions, and one peculiar feature 
is that only occasionally do we need irrigation. On some lands 
irrigation is not needed for years. I want to emphasize this 
fact, the machine side of the question is one of the sides we 
want to hustle. If we can get the machine men interested in 
making a lot of experiments this year, I think we will get along 
pretty rapidly. 
Mr. Anderson: I want to give you a little experiment. Year 
before last we did not get a crop of strawberries, and I thought 
if we were going to have another season like it, I would water 
my strawberries. I went down town here and got me a piece 
