27:2 IRRIGATION FARMING. 



while the machinery is running, or the tube is being ro- 

 tated. A pump is operated by steam, which forces water 

 down the tubing to wash out the cuttings. Expansion 

 drills are without doubt the best thing that can possibly 

 be used for sinking wells, as they cut a large hole below 

 the casing so that the casing can be inserted more easily 

 than can be done by any other means. 



The most substantial outfit, and one that must be 

 used in very deep borings, is the old-fashioned Pennsyl- 

 vania oil derrick. This rig is of a more permanent char- 

 acter than the portable machine, and in setting it up the 

 posts must be well anchored. A walking beam is neces- 

 sary and this is operated by crank power. A bull wheel 

 must be set in position to raise and lower the tools, a 

 sand pump is necessary, and the drilling is done by a man 

 who attends to the temper screw which rotates the drill 

 bit, and prevents it from striking twice in exactly the 

 same place. 



The Uphill Siphon. Sometimes farmers own- 

 ing water in reservoirs are desirous of using the water in 

 places which would necessitate what would be called 

 "draining uphill." Provided the land to be irrigated 

 lies lower than the surface of the water in the reservoir, 

 this can be performed without any great effort by using 

 the principle of the siphon. A tile layer once agreed to 

 drain a pond which at that time wits full of water, by lay- 

 ing the tile drain from the pond over the hill, no atten- 

 tion being given to the grade of the drain, nor to the 

 fact that the hill was three feet higher than the water in 

 the pond. He laid his line of tile about three feet (Ice]) 

 through the hill, or about on a level with the water in the 

 pond, covering the tile thoroughly as he went along until 

 he arrived at the pond. To the surprise of many, the 

 water, which was two feet deep in the pond, all ran out. 

 Another similar proceeding is related of a drain made by 

 a mole ditcher, which is forced through the soil by a 



