THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



1G9 



people who are law-abiding, and want to put in their 

 time improving their homes, and not "cussing" the gov- 

 ernment. 



No one realizes more fully that there is little to be 

 gained by scolding than the writer, but this condition 

 needs correction, and I am of the opinion that if one 

 could ever get beyond that barrier of bureaucrats there 

 might be a chance of reformation. As heretofore, it is 

 my purpose not only to point out the errors of admin- 

 istration, but to offer remedies. In this respect, I am 

 of the opinion that very few, if any, of the recent en- 

 tries of public lands contain fraud, but if you will go 

 back ten, twenty or more years you may find more 

 ample grounds for detective work. And do not pass 

 up some of the biggest ones because they are personal 

 or political friends. 



POWER IRRIGATION 



BY E. C. REYBOLD, JR. 



Another suggestion to President Taft is that he 

 select an envoy of unquestioned integrity to investigate 

 and report direct the acreage of agricultural lands now 

 held in forest reserves, which it is not intended to re- 

 forest, and that is suitable for home-making, and take 

 measures which will restore this area to entry. I say 

 this for the reason that there are, to my knowledge, 

 several tracts which are suitable for irrigation, and the 

 water supply is available, and people are ready to take 

 hold if the government will let them. 



It is not fair to settlement and development that 

 the Reclamation Service and the Forest Service should 

 have these projects withheld to force homeseekers to 

 take up the projects developed by federal irrigation, for 

 there are some things in the way of management of 

 such projects that are, in our opinion, entitled to criti- 

 cism. 



We are presenting in this issue the first of a series 

 of articles on Spraying, by Mr. E. H. Stiver. It is our 

 intention to publish an article on Spraying in each of 

 the forthcoming issues of THE IRRIGATION AGE for the 

 year, which should prove both interesting and instruc- 

 tive to our reader?. 



Send $2*50 for The Irrigation 



Age one year and 

 The Primer of Irrigation 



The Steam Pumping Plant of the Elgin Power and Water 

 Company. 



This plant was installed in the spring of 1907, and 

 was designed to ultimately irrigate 1,000 acres of fruit 

 land lying on the east side of the Green Eiver in Utah, 

 just to the north of the tracks of the Denver & Eio 

 Grande Railroad (Rio Grande Western), about one hun- 

 dred miles west of Grand Junction. The town of Elgin 

 is situated at the intersection of the river with the rail- 

 road, and the town of Green River lies to the west one 

 mile. None of this land had been irrigated before, but 

 for many years previous there were some 500 acres of 

 land of similar character planted to fruit trees just 

 across the river, and splendid crops secured. It was 

 therefore known that this sandy loam would produce 

 first-class orchards if water were brought upon it, and 

 the owners personally advanced the money for the in- 

 stallation of the plant and ditches. That they were 

 right in their assumption is shown by the good stand 

 of trees now growing upon the 350 acres that have been 

 planted. After the plant was completed and everything 

 in good running order an issue of bonds was made 

 amounting to $16,000 and bearing 6 per cent. The 

 proceeds of the sale of these bonds were used to re- 

 imburse the owners of the land for their original ad- 

 vances. These bonds are redeemable in eight equal in- 

 stallments, beginning in 1917, and are secured by not 

 only the pumping plant, but also by the land that is 

 irrigated. 



The altitude of Elgin is the lowest upon the Rio 

 Grande Railroad, being about 4,080 feet, and frosts are 

 not frequent visitors. In the spring of 1907, when 

 there was was very little fruit in either Colorado or 

 Utah, this section suffered to some extent, ,but the 

 frosts of 1908, which did great damage to manv sec- 

 tions, scarcely touched the Elgin-Green River Valley. 

 A number of the owners of this land had been raising 

 fruits near Palisade, Colorado, for many years, and 

 were perfectly familiar with the methods of planting 

 practiced there. Knowing, also, that it would be poor 

 economy to install a piimping plant that might not be 

 perfectly reliable, they specified that everything must 

 be first clasp. Coal was to be used for fuel, and as it 

 was to cost as much as $4 per ton, it was essential that 

 the efficiency of the whole plant be good. The original 

 data upon which the plant was designed is as follows : 



Fuel, coal, costing $2 to $4 per ton. 



Land to be irrigated, 1,000 acres of sandy loam. 



Quantity of water required, 10 cubic feet per sec- 

 ond, or 4,500 gallons per minute. 



Kind of water, frequently muddy during flood sea- 

 son. 



Height of lift, 51 feet at low water (falling to 45 

 feet at high water). 



Length of discharge pipe, 588 feet. 



Length of suction pipe, 70 feet. 



Feedwater for boilers, same as used for irrigating, 

 frequently muddy, and often containing much mineral 

 matter. 



The equipment installed is as follows : 



