THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



285 



besides yielding a handsome revenue to 

 the State. Germany and France both have 

 extensive forestry departments, and Spain 

 controls all irrigation works. The general 

 government is always the logical manager 

 of both class- es of such work, for successful 

 irrigation development depends not only 

 upon proper supervision, but likewise upon 

 a comprehensive forestry system which 

 will protect this important source of irri- 

 gation supply." 



Machinery for ne adoption of pefroleum as 



Irrigating. a fuel by some of the western 

 railroads and the discoveries of the vast 

 California oil deposits direct special atten- 

 tion to this question of fuel in the western 

 States where coal is such an expensive 

 commodity. It would seem that the Cali- 

 fornia and Texas oil fields may supply the 

 West with motive power, and the discov- 

 ery of oil is hastening the adoption of oil- 

 using engines. 



In many of the smaller irrigation sys- 

 tems power is employed extensively in get- 

 ting the water to the land. Where coal 

 and wood are expensive it is often ad van, 

 tageous to use engines operated by gosoline- 

 distillate, kerosene, or crude oil. 



A recent visit to the large Chicago ware- 

 houses of Fairbanks, Morse & Co., showed 

 a great number of types of engines and 

 pumping machinery used in irrigating 

 petroleum engines, and those using gaso- 

 line, kerosene and distillate, steam engines, 

 boilers, windmills, etc. 



"If a considerable quantity of water is 

 desired, but it is necessary to raise it only 

 a short distance, "explained the sales-man- 

 ager, "then a centrifugal pump would be a 

 desirable type. If, however, water is to 

 be taken from a greater depth than would 

 be available for an ordinary suction pump, 

 a good machine would be a combined en- 

 gine with gear and box forming a part of 

 the engine, the base being extended and 

 arranged to carry the gearing. A special 

 form of clutch is used for disengaging- the 

 gear to facilitate starting, or so that the 

 engine may be used for other service with- 

 out disconnecting the pump. 



"Another interesting method of pump- 

 ing from a well is seen in the work of a 



Money for 



Irrigation. 



combined engine and air-compressor. The 

 water is literally blown out by the air 

 forced into the well. A pipe is placed 

 within the well casing and as the air is 

 forced into that pipe the water is forced 

 out in a continuous stream. 



"This particular engine," remarked the 

 manager, pointing to a modest-looking 

 machine, "will pump out 42, 000 gallons per 

 hour. 



"The development of pumping machin- 

 ery in the United States within the last few 

 years has been remarkable. We have 

 reached a high degree of perfection in this 

 as well as most other classes of machinery, 

 and American pumps and engines easily 

 lead the world." 



The creation of an arid land 

 reclaimation fund, from the 

 proceeds through the sale of western pub- 

 lic lands, to be used in the construction of 

 irrigation works, is a proposition which 

 will commend itself to every interest. The 

 people of the West should, of course, sup- 

 port it to a man, while there can certainly 

 be no opposition from Eastern Congress- 

 men. 



Irrigation and When the President said in 

 Immigration New Mexico that irrigation 

 meant immigration he struck a responsive 

 chord in the breasts of Western people. 

 We have paid out an enormous sum for 

 our outside expansion the past three years, 

 and shall have to pay out more yet. We 

 have borne the burdens of expansion with 

 scarcely a knowledge that a burden ex- 

 isted. To provide for home expansion by 

 irrigation of the arid lands of the West 

 would entail no burden whatever. The 

 sum required would scarcely make an ap- 

 preciable difference in the annual expenses 

 Of the Government. 



For years we have been appropriating 

 vast sums of money upon the theory that 

 the improvement of rivers and harbors is 

 a natural and proper task for the Govern- 

 ment. There is just as much reason for 

 the Government to render habitable and 

 productive its millions of acres of waste 

 land. We are dyking the Mississippi, and 

 millions of dollars have been expended to 

 keep that wayward stream within its nat- 



