172 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



ply water to 1,600 acres easily if operated 24 hours per 

 day at full capacity. The fuel used during 1908 con- 

 sisted of 200 cords of wood and 200 tons of coal, total 

 cost being $1,000. For labor they employed one man 

 for 5% months, and another for six weeks, the total 

 wages paid being $500. There were no interruptions 

 on account of difficulties of any kind or repairs, and 

 the boilers gave no trouble from bad water. The cost 

 of supplies aggregated $100, and the total costs of op- 

 erating for the year $1,600. Although only 500 acres 

 of the total were irrigated, the costs of pumping are 

 apportioned among the whole, making the cost $1.60 

 per acre. When the whole acreage is under water the 

 fuel bill will probably aggregate $1,750, making the 

 cost per acre for all expenses about $2.35. To this 

 must be added the interest charge of 96 cents per acre, 

 making a total cost of $3.31 per acre, or a sum con- 

 siderably smaller 'than the interest and maintenance 

 charge under many reservoir and ditch irrigation prop- 



CIVIL AND IRRIGATION ENGINEERING. 



Carpenters' Work in Colorado. 



The annual returns from the irrigated lands of Colo- 

 rado are double those from her mines. This development 

 of what was a desert until irrigated, has been fostered in 

 every step by the Civil and Irrigation Engineering Depart- 

 ment of the Colorado Agricultural College, of which for 

 over twenty years, Prof. L. G. Carpenter has been the 

 head. 



In this department there are at present four assistants 

 and the force is carrying on work both for the state and 

 for the students. 



Professor Carpenter's first important work was the 

 measurement of the water supplied by the streams and 

 the artesian wells of the state, particularly the Cache la 

 Poudre, the Arkansas and the Rio Grande. The data 

 obtained have been in constant use by state engineers and 

 by the courts in adjusting filings and claims for water. 



The first careful and exhaustive investigation of the 

 duty of water was made by Professor Carpenter and his 



Pump Used by Elgin Company. 



ositions. It will be noted that the system complete 

 cost but $16 per acre. 



The designs and plans of this plant were made by 

 the Irrigation Engineering Department of The Hendrie 

 & Bolthoff Manufacturing & Supply Company of Den- 

 ver. The complete equipment was furnished by the 

 same firm, and the erection carried on under the super- 

 vision of their representative. 



NOTES ON POWER IRRIGATION. 



The Antlers Orchard Development Company of 

 Colorado Springs, Colorado, is getting bids for a 900 

 H. P. water power pumping plant for Silt, Colorado. 

 Water is to be pumped over 300 feet high. 



The Northern Colorado Power Company reports 

 that it has made a number of contracts for electric 

 pumping plants. 



A steam pumping plant is to be installed upon the 

 Orchard Home property at Green River, Utah, contract 

 having been let for the equipment. 



The Palisade Irrigation District has overhauled 

 their plant and is ready for work. A new 20-inch 

 pump and water wheel have been installed. 



force, and was a strong factor in largely increasing the 

 acreage irrigated by the available water supply. 



Professor Carpenter was one of the first to urge the 

 storage of Colorado flood waters in reservoirs. Eight bil- 

 lion cubic feet of water are annually stored in reservoirs in 

 northern Colorado, and twice the area of land is irrigated 

 that would be possible if irrigation were made directly 

 from the streams only. 



The flow of water from the artesian wells of the state 

 was studied for two years and the data published by the 

 United States Department of Agriculture, 



The volume of seepage water and its value for irriga- 

 tion were brought out through careful investigations by 

 this department and today tens of thousands of acres are 

 irrigated in Colorado with this water and the area is con- 

 stantly increasing. 



An exhaustive investigation was made of the under- 

 flow waters of the state. 



Satisfactory methods for the exchange of water be- 

 tween irrigation systems were worked out by this depart- 

 ment and are in general use. 



The trapezoidal weirs used in Colorado were intro- 

 duced upon the recommendation of Professor Carpenter. 



Improvements in canal, ditch and reservoir construc- 

 tion and management have been introduced throughout the 

 state through the investigations of this department. 



Many capitalists will not invest in irrigation projects 

 unless Professor Carpenter has inspected the territory and 

 approved the plans. His endorsement has brought mil- 

 lions of dollars to Colorado to be used for irrigation con- 

 struction. For one project $3,000.000 was furnished on 



