50 



THE IKRIGATION AGE. 



capacity to assist him. Instances have been known in 

 which windmills have been used in connection with 

 water power, being made to assist in adding to the 

 volume of water in ponds during the periods of drought, 

 such water, however, being conserved for occasional use. 

 And there are hundreds of barns complete with belting 

 which, during favorable winds, are busy with the work 

 of^ several implements that are being operated at the 

 same time. 



There, is one advantage derived from the windmill 

 which is paramount to all others, and that is its low 

 cost. It may be truly claimed that the power costs noth- 

 ing. There may be better sources of power and greater 

 capacity, but the item of cost must always receive the 

 first consideration. The comparison of windmill power 

 with that derived by some other methods must be made 

 upon a standard of cost. And, it may be added, that 

 while the cost of power is nothing harnessing the winds 

 the cost of a windmill itself, owing to invention and 

 improvement, is insignificant, considering the great ser- 

 vice it performs. 



It is not within our province here to describe 

 methods of making reservoirs for the storage of water, 

 but it is not out of place to call attention to the matter 

 of securing water for crops. It is not every location that 

 is favored for irrigating with canals, and the windmill 

 is the agent that must be used by some. As a well- 

 known manufacturer states, how much in water, in 

 addition to the rainfall, is required, has not yet been 

 fully determined for any kind of crop. Taking the 

 generally accepted amount of 24 inches of rainfall as 

 the necessary amount of water to mature a crop, it is 

 only necessary to deduct the average annual rainfall 

 from 24 and the difference will be the amount to be 

 supplied. When the rainfall during the year equals 12 

 inches, then 12 inches more must be supplied ; and where 

 the rainfall is 18 inches, the remaining about to be 

 supplied is 6 inches, and so on. One acre of ground re- 

 quires 27,000 gallons of water to cover it 1 inch deep, 

 and this amount, multiplied by the number of inches 

 necessary to add to the rainfall, so as to make up the 

 required 24 inches, will give the number of gallons per 

 acre of water to be pumped. But due allowance must 

 be made for leakage through the bottom and walls of 

 the reservoirs, and leakage and loss in ditches and evapo- 

 ration, all of which amounts to a great deal in the 

 aggregate. About 250,000 to 325,000 gallons of water 

 will probably mature one acre of any crop when the 

 average rainfall is 12 inches or more. A pump with 

 G-inch cylinder should supply 1,000 to 2,000 gallons 

 per hour, and will probably supply water to irrigate 5 

 to 10 acres. A pump with 8-inch cylinder should sup- 

 ply 1,800 to 3,600 gallons with wind at 15 to 30 miles 

 velocity, and will supply water to irrigate 20 to 40 

 spring crops. 



When general crops are grown, so that the pump 

 works the year round, twice the amount of land can be 

 irrigated. Smaller mills can operate pumps in shallow 

 wells, while it will require mills of larger size to operate 

 the pump as the depth of the well increases. The same 

 mill will operate more than one pump, as the force of 

 wind increases from 15 to 30 or 35 miles velocity, and 

 the added pumps, reinforcing the first one, increases the 

 amount of water pumped, so that a great deal more land 

 can be irrigated than where only one pump is employed. 

 Water supply and how to obtain it is a problem but 

 little understood. Open wells and well points are con- 

 tending for preference. 



Market gardeners are now using windmills, and they 

 find that by the control of the moisture they can pro- 

 duce enormous crops. The beautiful lawns that often 

 become parched during dry seasons are kept green and 

 inviting by being independent of the rainfall. Every 

 country house may have its water from garret to cellar, 

 and any field on the farm may be supplied with an 

 abundance for stock. Eainmaking experiments are no 

 longer a necessity, and future crops may be larger and 

 produced at less cost. The windmill can banish all 

 danger of famine in any section, enable man to store 

 his supply of water when it is most plentiful, and in- 

 crease the comforts of all classes. 



The general use of windmills increases the improve- 

 ments of every department of the farm, and also in- 

 creases the capacity of the farm itself. Larger num- 

 bers of stock can be supported, as greater supplies of 

 water and greater abundance of food can be provided. 

 The moderate cost of a windmill permits of the use of 

 any number of them, as may be required. The pro- 

 tection against loss of crops increases the profit, and 

 leads to the introduction of other implements. Larger 

 crops demand more wagons, plows, cultivators, cutters, 

 grinding mills and other accessories. The wind is made 

 to do .the work that cannot well be performed with any 

 other agent, and Nature's power is utilized for grinding 

 the food and bringing the water from lower depths to 

 be applied where most needed on the surface. There 

 is not a village or town that cannot be benefited with 

 windmills. Every citizen can control his water supply, 

 and free himself from the pollutions of rivers and the 

 dread of disease. Health depends upon the conveniences 

 and facilities for obtaining -pure water. It serves not 

 only as a drink, but is also a constituent of nearly all 

 foods. It can be obtained from open well or deep down 

 below the reach of pollution, through driven wells, which 

 serve as barriers to the entrance of the solutions from 

 the surface. The farmer is not alone the interested 

 beneficiary ot the windmill, for the merchants, the 

 retired manufacturers, the schools, the colleges, asylums, 

 health resorts and the people in general may resort to 

 its use and take advantage of its benefits. Export Im- 

 plement Age. 



THE ADVANTAGES OF A WELL. 



Irrigation by water from a well if the latter yields, 

 even a small flow of 15 gallons per minute at a moderate 

 depth from the surface, possesses certain advantages 

 over that from a gravity supply, in spite of the usually 

 greater annual cost of lifting the water by machinery. 

 The well and the source of water are, as a rule, under 

 the individual control of the irrigator. It is not neces- 

 sary for him to combine with other men and to invest 

 large capital in a complicated and uncertain undertak- 

 ing before he can receive any benefit. 



It is often possible for the farmer to dig or drill the 

 well himself, or have it dug at small cost, and he can 

 purchase, sometimes on credit if "necessary, the ma- 

 chinery, windmill or pump for bringing the water to 

 the surface. 



Being under his own control, he can apply the water 

 whenever in his judgment the plant needs it, not being 

 compelled to wait his turn, or take water at inconvenient 

 times, whether day or night, according as it may be 

 allotted under a large irrigating system. The well should 

 be dug or drilled on the highest point of the land if 

 possible. 



