WATER SUPPLIES FOR IRRIGATION. 



11 



there are but two objections that can be 

 made to tilling the ground in winter. 



The first is that it chills the soil too 

 much. For oranges, lemons and a few 

 other things ripening at this time, care 

 should be taken against applying water 

 too cold. But for grain, deciduous fruits 

 and all crops not planted until warm 

 weather, such as corn and beans, it can do 

 no harm. In California most deciduous 

 fruits are all the better for being held 

 back by cold ground, as is shown by the 

 superior quality of the mountain fruit 

 over that of the lowlands. Some, such as 

 cherries, apples and some varieties of 

 plums and pears, actually demand a soil 

 cold in winter. Probably such is the 

 case in all the lands of sunshine. 



The second objection often made is that 

 if the season turns rainy toward the end, 

 you then have the soil too wet. The win- 

 ter of 1883-4, above referred to, proved 

 that in California there is little in this 

 objection. On all ground well enough 

 drained to be fit for oranges or lemons 

 at all, the quality of the fruit was not in- 



jured by the excessive soaking of that 

 winter. On low ground, trees of many 

 kinds were killed, and some of the raisins 

 grown on them were too watery, but there 

 was no trouble with anything on the up- 

 lands. While there is in some places a 

 possible danger of having the ground too 

 wet, there is more of having it too dry. 

 And while the quality of fruit may be 

 impaired by over-irrigation, the danger is 

 seldom alarming. Men do suffer from over- 

 work, but there is much more suffering 

 from under-work. It is the same with 

 spoiling flavor with too much water. And 

 if you are working the ground for lucre 

 instead of glory, it may even pay to sacri- 

 fice flavor to size. For, deplore it as we 

 may, man is still the master fool of the uni- 

 verse, and first, last and all the time he 

 grabs for the largest fruit, whether fresh, 

 canned or dried, and gladly pays for looks 

 what he will not pay for merit. 



NOTE. Owing to the fact, that our offer to allow 

 editors to use T. S. Van Dyke's articles, provided due 

 credit was given THE IRRIGATION AGE, and also pro- 

 vided the articles were not used consecutively, lias been 

 grossly abused in many cases, the offer is now with- 

 drawn, and the copyright will be fully protected. 



WATER SUPPLIES FOR IRRIGATION. 



STORAGE RESERVOIR SITES AND CANALS. 



BY F. C. F1NKLE, C. E. 



VERY frequently good reservoir sites 

 are found without any adequate water- 

 shed which is directly tributary to them 

 and from which they can be filled. In 

 such cases, of course, the reservoir sites 

 are valueless as such, unless water from 

 some adjoining watershed can be conducted 

 into them. Before a reservoir site is con- 

 demned and rejected pn account of not 

 possessing a watershed sufficient to fill it, 

 an examination should be made to deter- 

 mine the practicability of filling it from 

 some other adjacent watershed. Surveys 

 for this purpose should be made of the 

 watershed under contemplation in the same 

 manner as has been recommended in the 

 case of a watershed directly tributary to 

 the reservoir site, with the following addi- 

 tions: A suitable point or points of diver- 

 sion should be selected at a sufficient ele- 

 vation above the proposed reservoir site to 

 permit the carrying of the water to be di- 

 verted from the point of its diversion into 



the reservoir site at a point not lower than 

 the top of the dam. 



The survey of a line suitable for a canal 

 or other conduit for carrying the water 

 from the watershed to the reservoir site 

 should be made with sufficient accuracy to 

 give its length, grade, cross-section and 

 other data necessary for estimating its 

 cost. A canal of this kind is called a stor- 

 age reservoir supply canal, as it is used to 

 perform the function of supplying water 

 to a storage reservoir. 



Storage reservoir supply canals partake 

 of the nature of other canals used for car- 

 rying water for irrigation purposes, and 

 their construction must be carried out in 

 accordance with the same principles which 

 will be laid down for the construction of 

 irrigation canals in one of the succeeding 

 chapters devoted to that sxibject. There 

 are a few differences, 'however, arising 

 from the fact that their use is confined to 

 the rainy and cold season of the year, 



