WINDMILL IRRIGATION. 



Ill 



inside of the reservoir because it is 

 desirable to keep the bottom of the reser- 

 voir as high as the surrounding land, and 

 and because the surface of the ground 

 holds water much better than the strata 

 further down. However if there is any 

 sod upon the ground where the embank- 

 ments are to be made, the ground under 

 the locality of the embankment should be 

 thoroughly ploughed, and the sods re- 

 moved as sod is not a proper material for 

 the construction of embankments, and 

 there would always remain a possibility of 

 water seeping through at the bottom of 

 the embankment. 



the embankments are constructed it is well 

 to till the tank partly full with water 

 and allow it to seep out. 



While the bottom is still muddy turn 

 into the reservoir horses and cattle, and 

 drive them around for many hours, thor- 

 oughly puddling and pulverizing the 

 ground. Some invert a scraper, and with 

 two teams of horses drive around upon 

 the inside of the inclosure, riding in the 

 scraper. If this work is done thoroughly 

 you will have a reservoir which is practi- 

 cally water tight. In sandy soil it is well 

 to haul in old t-traw and hay, scatter it 

 around, and tramp it into the mud as 



This is a reproduction from a photograph of an irrigating outfit owned by G. M. Davidson, Lamed, Kan. It 



consists of a 12 foot pumping Aermotor on a 30 foot steel tower with an 8 inch irrigation pump. The 



mill is never turned off and irrigates perfectly 10 acres of ground, which is kept thoroughly 



soaked. The reservoir is 60 feet in diameter, 5V4 feet high and the pump fills it in 10 hours. 



Now, with an ordinary scraper com- 

 mence scraping up soil from the outside 

 of the reservoir to form the embankment. 

 The earth should be thoroughly leveled, 

 pounded and packed, as it is thrown in 

 place. No attempt should be made to mix 

 rock or other material with the dirt com- 

 posing the walls. The embankment should 

 be very wide at the bottom, sloping up 

 very gradually from the inside, as the 

 waves would destroy perpendicular em- 

 bankments. Walls from four to six feet in 

 height are usually to be preferred. When 



much as possible. If the bottom should 

 still continue to seep, it will be necessary 

 to haul in a few loads of earth or clay. 

 Every western farmer knows of the dry 

 buffalo lakes that are found everywhere 

 upon the great plains. Material taken 

 from these lakes is most excellent for the 

 construction of the bottom of reservoirs. 

 Additional hay or straw can be put in, and 

 it will in time make the bottom of the 

 reservoir practically tight. 



There exists no necessity, except in some 

 extreme cases, for the use of cement, pitch 



