No. 4.] IRRIGATION. 409 



ing appliance seemed to be the only feasible moans of mak- 

 ing the water available, and a ram was adopted, as the 

 most practical. For the first two or three years only one 

 large ram was used, but the advantages of irrigation became 

 so apparent that another of equal capacity was added. In 

 order to get the necessary fall for forcing the ram, a canal 

 about 40 rods in length was dug along the outer edge of the 

 valley. From the lower end of this canal the water makes 

 a fall of about 7 feet, through 6 inch drive pipes, and thus 

 operates the two large rams located near the centre of the 

 valley. 



At quite an elevation above the cultivated fields, on a 

 heavy, clayey soil, was a small pond that usually became 

 dry in summer. This pond was enlarged by dredging and 

 by building an earth dam on two sides. A storage pond 

 was thus formed, with an area of about l^ acre and with an 

 average depth of about 4 feet. This pond is located about 

 80 rods from the ram and at a height of 70 feet above it, 

 and there is a good fall from the pond to most of the cul- 

 tivated fields. Connections can be made with the pipe 

 leading from the ram, at various points between the ram and 

 the storage pond, and the direct How of water can thus be 

 used for irrigating certain areas. 



Most of the irrigated fields on this farm are watered from 

 lines of pipe extending from the storage pond. The fall 

 from the pond is sufficient so that strawberries have been 

 watered by sprinkling from 2 inch condemned fire hose, a 

 flow of about 30 gallons per minute being obtained in this 

 way. A more common method of distributing the water 

 has been to use a series of troughs along one end of the 

 rows of crops. The water was conducted into these by 

 means of gates, and was allowed to flow doAyn between the 

 rows in little rills. 



Mr. Eddy has made a specialty of strawberries, generally 

 growing from 4 to 6 acres. The first year after his irriga- 

 tion plant was installed he had 2 areas on high ground 

 which he could not irrigate and 2 acres on lower ground to 

 which pipes were laid for conducting the water. Early in 

 June a drought began, which seriously injured the straw- 



