115 



For separate plants above 20 or 40 horse power, gas producer plants 

 connected to gas engines will furnish the cheapest power. These plants are 

 reliable and easily operated. They consist of the producer in which hard 

 coal is placed and through a process of partial combustion, in presence of 

 air and steam, forms the gas which operates the engine. Gas producers 

 operated on hard or anthracite coal hdve been in successful operation for 

 a number of years and those operated on soft or bituminous coal are com- 

 ing into use, but have not been very successful. The fuel consumption is 

 very low, usually from 1 to 1 % pounds of coal per horse power for one 

 hour, or y 2 to % of a cent, per horse power for one hour with hard coal 

 at $10 per ton. This is from 5 to 7 times less than the fuel cost with 

 gasoline at 24 cents a gallon. Producer gas plants are more expensive than 

 gasoline engines and for smaller plants the fuel economy will be over- 

 balanced by the larger interest and depreciation charges. For very large 

 single plants high duty steam engines will be the most economical form 

 of installation. 



LIMIT OF ECONOMICAL PUMPING. 



The cases previously worked out for gasoline engine pumping plants 

 show that for small tracts of 20 to 80 acres the cost of lifting sufficient 

 water to give a depth of irrigation water of 18 inches will range for a lift 

 of 50 feet from about $12.50 per acre for the larger area to about $20.00 

 per acre for the smaller area, and for lifts of 150 feet the respective costs 

 are about $23 and $35 per acre. These costs may seem high as com- 

 pared with gravity water, but to obtain an idea of the economy and 

 feasibility of developing water by pumping, comparisons must be made 

 with the value of irrigation water in the irrigated districts of British Co- 

 lumbia and also in other localities under the same conditions. In British 

 Columbia, up to the present, gravity water obtainable without pumping 

 has been quite plentiful. For that reason pumping has not been necessary, 

 and very few pumping plants have been constructed. However, water is 

 becoming more valuable and the steps which many irrigation companies 

 in British Columbia are taking to conserve water and prevent losses of 

 transportation by carrying the water in concrete lined canals and in pipes 

 constructed at considerable expense, show that water has become sum- 

 ciently valuable to justify pumping. If a comparison is made with water 

 thus obtained, we find that the cost of construction of a well constructed 

 system may go up to $50 or $60 an acre and even higher. This cost is 

 charged up to the land which is sold to the orchardist and in addition 

 reasonable profit is made on the value of the land. It is probably con- 

 servative to assume that land under an irrigation system will cost at least 

 $100 an acre more than similar land for which there is no gravity supply. 

 The chief advantage of gravity systems is the low annual cost of operation, 

 usually less than $6 per acre, but if to this be added the interest on the 

 difference in cost between land under the irrigation system and land which 

 is to be supplied by pumping, assumed at $100, the total annual cost may 

 be $10 to $15 an acre. This is about equal to the cost of pumping with 

 gasoline engines to a height of 50 feet and about half as large as for lifts 

 of 150 feet. Where electric power is available or for large pumping plants 

 the cost of pumping would compare very favorably with gravity water even 

 for higher lifts than those stated above. There are many contemplated 

 hydro-electric power installations in the irrigated regions of British Co- 



