FISH AND ICE ON IRRIGATED FARMS. 



PUMPS AND RESERVOIRS EVERYWHERE. 



IT is not at all surprising that farmers in 

 the central Western States are all de- 

 termining to irrigate strips of orchard and 

 garden patches, even if they can do no 

 more immediately. They want the reser- 

 voir because it not only makes the crops 

 irrigated certain and four to six fold 

 greater, but it furnishes fish, and during 

 the winter, a supply of pure ice can be 

 cut that will last all the next summer. 

 The solution of the ice problem alone on 

 prairie farms is a great feature. 



That the reservoir is within the reach of 

 all is indicated beyond a doubt by the 

 figures of M. B. Tomblin, of Kansas, on 

 windmill irrigation on the plains. He 

 says: "My windmill plant consists of a 

 five-inch tubular well, operated by a six- 

 teen-foot steel back-geared wheel, built 

 expressly for this kind of work. The res- 

 ervoir into which the pump discharges is 

 eighty-two feet in diameter at the base, 

 inside measurement. The walls are six 

 feet high on the outside. The bottom, as 

 well as a strip about eight feet wide under 

 the walls, was thoroughly puddled, and 

 the reservoir seems to hold water per- 

 fectly. In a good wind the pump dis- 

 charges about twenty gallons a minute. 

 Everything connected with the pump and 

 windmill is of the most solid and sub- 

 stantial character. A much lighter and 

 cheaper plant could have been purchased, 

 and would probably have done the same 

 work, for a time at least, but the fact that 

 the mill is turned loose to the wind at all 

 times, stormy as well as fair weather, and 

 has cost me less than one dollar for re- 

 pairs during a year, and today is ap- 

 parently as good as ever, convinced me 

 that I made no mistake in choosing the 

 very strongest and best material through- 

 out. The plant cost a little less than $500. 

 " When a farmer can do a great share of 

 the work himself, such as building the 

 reservoir, helping the wall men, etc., the 

 cost can probably be reduced $100. The 

 tract selected for my experiment was a 

 seven-acre orchard of young trees, and a 

 three- acre plat adjoining." 



106 



After reciting the great success of his 

 crops of vegetables, the writer adds: 

 ' ' My reservoir was stocked with fish and 

 now affords me a much better article than 

 the market supplies; another year I can 

 take from it a thousand pounds of fish 

 and still leave it as well stocked for the 

 following year. The reservoir will afford 

 me 100 tons of ice this winter, furnish- 

 ing an abundance for my own use, and 

 some to sell to my neighbors." 



OFFICIAL FIGURES are also at hand from 

 Hon. J. H. Baldwin, State Irrigation En- 

 gineer of South Dakota, which will prove 

 of importance to new beginners in Illinois 

 and other central Western and Eastern 

 States: He says: "Here in South Da- 

 kota we have two distinct classes of arte- 

 sian wells, one of which is deep and the 

 other termed shallow wells, and many 

 people not acquainted with the condition 

 are often mislead as to the value and 

 difference. These shallow wells are being 

 put down in great numbers and are not 

 expensive, yet they are very valuable both 

 for stock and general domestic uses and 

 for irrigating small tracts of land. The 

 cost of these shallow wells runs from $100 

 to $300 as a rule, yet some cost even less. 

 The depth varies from fifty to 300 feet. 

 There are over 300 of this class. Of deep 

 wells, there are about 150 in active opera- 

 tion. The depth varies from 500 to 1,500 

 feet and they cost, with everything com- 

 plete, about $300 per foot. A first-class 

 well will furnish 600 to 800 gallons per 

 minute. The water properly served up 

 and handled will supply 2,000 acres. The 

 number of new wells that will come in 

 use next spring and summer depends on 

 the ability of townships to negotiate their 

 bonds." 



No ACT of the Kansas Legislature of 

 1895 received more commendation in the 

 State Board of Agriculture at its recent 

 session than the one providing for the 

 State Board of Irrigation and the appro- 

 priation of funds to carry on experiments. 



