DUTY AND MEASUREMENT OP WATER. 141 



and buckwheat, amber cane and corn still less than the 

 other grains. 



In Colorado, water rights vested on a basis of the 

 low duty assigned to water ten years ago have, in 

 instances, deteriorated lands and reduced their produc- 

 tiveness by a surfeit in application ; while on adjoining 

 lands, through an enforced economy, a higher duty, 

 better condition of the soil and greater produ(5liveness 

 have resulted . Unskilled labor has a penalty of twenty- 

 five to fifty per cent, attached to it in the application 

 of water, and unfortunately this class is too prevalent 

 in the irrigating fields, in many cases no other being 

 obtainable. An abundant water-supply tends to care- 

 lessness in its application and consequent waste. On 

 the duty of water depends the financial success of every 

 irrigation enterprise, for as water becomes scarce its 

 value increases. In order to estimate the cost of irri- 

 gation in projedling works, it is essential to know how 

 much water the land requires. In order to ascertain 

 the dimensions of canals and reservoirs for the irriga- 

 tion of given areas, the duty of water must be deter- 

 mined. 



Numerical Expression. — Before considering the 

 numerical expression of water duty the standard units 

 of measurement should be defined. For bodies of 

 standing water, as in reservoirs, the standard unit is 

 the cubic foot. In the consideration of large bodies of 

 water, however, the cubic foot is too small a unit to 

 handle conveniently and the acre foot is the unit 

 employed by irrigation engineers. This is the amount 

 of water which will cover one acre of land one foot in 

 depth, and that is 43,560 cubic feet. In considering 



