PULSE OF IRRIGATION. 



DEEP WELLS. 



Mr. S. L. Gary writes from Louisiana to 

 the Rice Industry: '' Irrigation com- 

 menced in southwest Louisiana six or 

 seven years ago with canals, and these are 

 being improved year by year. Three or 

 four years ago a deep well was put down 

 at Mermen tau at 148 feet; it proved to be 

 a flowing. Since then one to two hundred 

 deep wells have been put down, water ris- 

 ing to or near the surface. The difficulties 

 of construction were many; the price of 

 tubing has doubled and we are experi- 

 menting with substitutes. Glazed and 

 perforated tiling may do, and will lessen 

 the cost considerably. We are now pay- 

 ing two dollars a foot for six inch wells. 

 The average depth, 150 to 180 feet, with 

 five inch pipe and stationary engine will 

 cost, say $1,200, and will flood one hun- 

 dred acres, possibly two hundred, experi- 

 ence will tell. Larger plants will be more 

 economical. Such wells are being put ten, 

 twenty and fifty feet apart, united just be- 

 low water level, say ten feet, making any- 

 where from ten to thirty feet below the 

 surface. Then a large pump and engine 

 can be run by one set of hands night and 

 day as cheaply as the canals for the same 

 lift and capacity. The supply of water is 

 seemingly inexhaustible, the temperature 

 for use for flooding or drinking, generally 

 soft for washing, and mineral enough for 

 a tonic-. 



The experiment so far seems to be a 

 practical success. The why we want wells 

 is very easily answered. Water is one of 

 the three essentials to successful farming, 

 and a vital essential like the soil, moisture 

 or heat, the successful farmer must own or 



control. We want wells to make success- 

 ful farmers and freeholders. Their success 

 is the success of all, and their success de- 

 pends largely upon the farmer's control of 

 the elements upon his own farm. The 

 length of his growing season, the value of 

 his crops per acre, and his control of the 

 crop conditions on the farm are the great 

 factors in his success, and the success of 

 the rest of the community depends upon 

 his. Here in this prairie region every- 

 thing seemed to favor the agriculturist, 

 except that at times in the growing season 

 there might be a time too dry for rice, 

 which must be flooded to get best results. 

 A deep well on each farm fills the bill, and 

 will give to Southwest Louisiana the most 

 prosperous farmers in the country. 



Wells are used for irrigation in many 

 countries by different people and with 

 varying success. The depth of well, the 

 lift to be made, the quantity and quality 

 of the water, its temperature and the char- 

 acter of the soil and subsoil must all be 

 considered in successful irrigation. Na- 

 tional Encyclopedia says: "Many such 

 wells exist in London. Those which form 

 the fountains in Trafalger square descend 

 into the upper chalk to a depth of 393 feet. 

 The most famous artesian well, perhaps, 

 is that of Crenells, in the outskirts of 

 Paris, where the water is brought from 

 the Cault at a depth of 1,798 feet. It 

 yields 516} gallons of water a minute, 

 propelled thirty-two feet above the sur- 

 face; temperature 81i degrees fahrenheit. 



"A well in the course of construction at 

 Pesth yielded at a depth of 3,100 feet 

 17,500 gallons of water a day of a tempera- 

 ture of 161 degrees fahrenheit, projected 



