THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



Size .120,106 2.75 



Feet. 10-ft. Lift. 



10 Sq. ft. Acres. 



12 37,161 .85 



14 66,765 1.53 



16 85,982 1.97 



reach of ever}' farmer, and is one of the most economical 

 aids to irrigation that can be devised. 



It is indeed the simplest appliance for raising water 

 known, and as showing the capacity of a first-class 

 modern windmill, the following table is submitted as 

 founded on experience and positive guarantee. The 

 "size" mentioned in the first column means the diam- 

 eter of the wheel, and the "lift" expressed at the top 

 of the columns refers to the distance of the piston to the 

 point of delivery: 



80,070 1.84 49,742 1.14 



15-ft. Lift. 25-ft. Lift. 



Sq. ft. Acres. Sq. ft. Acres. 



24,775 .57 14,768 .34 



44,510 1.02 26,134 .60 



57,321 1.31 34,757 .79 



The table represents the number of square feet and 

 acres the windmill will irrigate one inch deep per 

 average day's work of ten hours. It is conceivable that 

 a sixteen-foot mill will irrigate at least twenty acres of 

 land, and by running double time, as some do; will store 

 up water to supply deficiencies caused by lack of wind. 

 At the rate of supply indicated, every acre will receive 

 its inch of water on alternate five or ten days, which, 

 during a growing season of ninety or one hundred days 

 means ample to raise almost any sort of crop, provided 

 small furrow or tight trough conveyances are used, and . 

 after cultivation practiced. 



When it is considered that an inch of water on an 

 acre of ground means 27,154 gallons, it will be easily 

 comprehended that such a windmill working out of the 

 growing or irrigating season will store abundant water 

 in a storage reservoir. It means the storage of at least 

 five million gallons that may be used for winter or fall 

 irrigation and furnish an abundant supply for stock 

 and household purposes. 



As to the cost of such an irrigating outfit, exclusive 

 of the cost of the well and reservoir, the following are 

 the ruling prices complete, ready to put up and begin 

 pumping : 



Ten-foot mill, $62 ; twelve-foot, $97 ; fourteen-foot. 

 $133 ; sixteen-foot, $195. 



Of course, the purchaser must first find the water 

 with which to irrigate, and plenty of it. He should 

 avoid doing as did a friend of the author, who dug a 

 well 108 feet deep, with about six feet of water at the 

 bottom. After putting up a twenty-four foot mill, he 

 began making preparations to flood forty acres of 

 ground. In less than two hours his pump ran dry. 

 and on investigating he found that the well was dry 

 and it took eight hours for it to fill up again. 

 RESERVOIR. 



The reservoir should be located on the highest point 

 of land it is desired to irrigate, with the bottom of the 

 reservoir above it if possible. Then plow deep around 

 the line to avoid earth seams under the embankment. 

 The interior should be plowed and scraped toward the 

 line of the embankment and harrdwed until the earth 

 becomes finely pulverized. This bottom should then be 

 carefully and thoroughly puddled. If hard pan or clay 

 can be found, then dig down to it and establish the bot- 

 tom of the reservoir on it as a sure foundation for a 

 water-tight receptacle. 



The height of the embankment depends upon the 

 amount of water capacity, but it should not be less than 

 four by ten feet wide at ground level, and two feet wide 

 at the tip. The inside slope should be gradual, to pre- 



vent washing by ripples or waves, and it may be sodded 

 or seeded down to grass until a stiff sod is formed, which 

 will prevent any washing away of the earth. 



The outer embankment may be steep or nearly per- 

 pendicular, but as there will always be some seepage, it 

 would be wise to make it slope gently and use it for 

 raising garden .truck, small fruits, or whatever else the 

 farmer may fancy in the way of ornament or profit. 



As to size, that must be governed according to the 

 irrigator's needs. An acre of reservoir would not be 

 too much to accommodate a good windmill, and this ac- 

 cording to the measurements already given, may be 

 made to contain half a millign or a million gallons. If 

 the stored water is to be used frequently, then the size 

 of the reservoir may be lessened. 



For stock purposes, a smaller reservoir may be 

 constructed below or away from the larger one, and into 

 this smaller one the water can easily be run as needed 

 for a change or freshening; the excess of unused water 

 may be run upon any plowed ground to soak into the 

 soil, for after all is said, where there is moisture in the 

 soil, the labor of irrigation is easy and the quantity of 

 water required very much reduced. After once filling 

 the reservoir it should never be entirely emptied, for if 

 the bottom is permitted to dry it will surely crack and 

 then, when refilled, the water will drain out. 

 TANKS. 



It is well to have a tank of some kind to provide 

 against sudden dearth of water from lack of wind, or 

 stoppage of machinery for repairs. With a reservoir 

 however, the necessity of a tank is not so apparent 

 unless the water is to be used for household purposes. 

 In many kitchen or truck gardens, it is recommended to 

 sink a barrel or square tank at various places, say, at 

 the head of the beds where gross feeding plants are 

 raised. Beets, carrots, onions, etc., with radishes and 

 lettuce, or salads of any kind, like plenty of water, and 

 when they need it they must have it. It is not always 

 profitable to run water in a furrow over a long stretch 

 of soil to give a few vegetables the trifle of water they 

 may happen to need. The waste is too great to be worth 

 while. Hence tanks come to the rescue and the water 

 may be raised from them by means of a hand pump. 



In large fields, where drainage pipes or tile are 

 laid, and a system adopted which will merge or unite 

 the tile into one basin or large cross drainage tile, it has 

 already been said that by sinking openings through the 

 soil in the nature of wells down to the subterranean 

 tile and stopping up the outlets, the water may be made 

 to rise to the surface or near it and be utilized by means 

 of pumps, or through ditches or flumes if the land below 

 is down grade, or lower than the source of supply. In- 

 stead of a cross drainage system to catch the surplus 

 water, tanks may be sunk and the drainage tile made to 

 end in them. 



For windmill purposes to store water for house- 

 hold uses, tanks may be purchased ready made in cy- 

 press, pine or iron at from about $8 for a 70-gallon 

 tank to $100 for a 5,000-gallon one. These tanks are 

 made all the way up to 100,000 gallons capacity. 



HORSE POWER OUTFIT. 



Pumps are arranged so as to be worked by horse 

 power, using one or two horses. The one-horse power 

 pump is fitted for a 3-inch suction pipe and a 2 ] /i-inch 

 discharge pipe. This will deliver 53.9 gallons per min- 

 ute. The two-horse power outfit is fitted with a 4-inch 

 suction pipe and a 3-inch discharge pipe, the capacity 



