408 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



water are used, is found on the farm of W. A. Leigh of 

 Thomaston, Conn. This system is described because of the 

 peculiar method used in distributing the water on the irri- 

 gated area. The farm is located in a narrow valley at the 

 base of a cliff, which rises quite abruptly some 300 feet above 

 the fields which are irrigated. Over this cliff pours a small 

 stream which is fed by springs near the top. B} r building a 

 dam across a narrow ravine, a storage pond covering several 

 acres was formed. The water is conducted through a 3 inch 

 pipe laid on the surface of the ground, and is used for 

 furnishing power for a small granite works as well as for 

 irrigating. The pressure is so great — about 125 pounds to 

 the square inch — that a small stream runs a water-wheel, 

 furnishing 7 horse-power. The water is used for irrigating 

 purposes at night. Branch lines of pipe of 1^ and of 1 

 inch in diameter are laid on the surface of the ground, some 

 50 feet apart. Short pieces of hose are attached to these 

 lines of pipe once in about 50 feet, and the water is applied 

 by spraying through % inch nozzles. The pressure is so 

 great that three or four of these % inch streams may be kept 

 "playing" from a single line of pipe at the same time. The 

 water is forced to a great height, and spreads over quite an 

 area, like a heavy shower of rain. While Mr. Leigh has 

 about 18 acres upon which irrigation might be applied, its 

 use has been confined to a few acres of strawberries. Be- 

 ginning in 1887, he has irrigated this crop every year since. 

 In 1895 about 3 acres were under irrigation. The water is 

 applied about the time the plants bloom, and is continued, 

 if needed, till near the end of the fruiting season. 



J. C. Eddy of Simsbury, Conn., is making a specialty of 

 small fruits and vegetables, and severe droughts, which have 

 been quite frequent, have caused much damage to his crops. 

 The farm is located near the western limits of the Con- 

 necticut valley, and the soil is mainly of a light, porous, 

 rather sandy nature, that requires large quantities of water 

 to successfully grow crops. A small stream, within a narrow 

 valley, passes through the farm, and the tillage lands lie 

 mainly upon the slopes outside this valley. As the brook 

 is below most of the cultivated fields, some form of pump- 



