74 SECOND THOUSAND QUESTIONS IN AGRICULTURE 



Shut out the salt water, of course, and give the fresh water a chance 

 to get out when the tide recedes. This is usually done with a levee 

 with gates in it, at the lowest points, which close as the inflow begins 

 and are pushed open by the outflow. These can be made to work auto- 

 matically. It sounds easy, but it isn't always easy or cheap. 



Behavior of a Tight Soil. 



// I bore fifteen feet and strike water, which rises to within five 

 feet of the surface, is my water table five or fifteen feetf I cover an 

 acre of land with water, and I find that it goes into the ground at the 

 rate of one-eighth inch a day. Under the above conditions, do I stand a 

 fair show of washing alkali out of the soil? 



Your water table is practically at five feet unless you have broken 

 an impervious hardpan in boring which, if not broken, might hold down 

 water below it. Under the conditions you describe the water-movement 

 is too slow to wash out alkali. You will have to dig deep, open drains 

 or lay tile to move away the water faster. The one-eighth inch of which 

 you speak is partly lost by evaporation, probably. 



Preventing Flow of Waste Water. 



Has the man below a legal right to build temporary dams on his own 

 land, to prevent waste irrigation water flowing in storm-water channels 

 during the irrigation season when there is no storm water? Can the 

 man above be legally restrained from making use of storm-water 

 channels to get rid of his waste irrigation water where such use will 

 lead to damage of the land below at a time when there is no storm water? 



It is well settled in California that the owner of upper lands has 

 a right to the discharge of surface or rain water as it is accustomed to 

 naturally flow. He, however, has no right to change the natural mode 

 of discharge to the injury of the lower land owner. The upper land owner 

 can, therefore, be restrained from discharging waste irrigation water 

 (that is, not natural waters) into storm-water channels, if such discharge 

 damages the lower land owner. As the lower land owner has this 

 right of injunction, he may also throw temporary dams across storm-water 

 channels on his own land to prevent said waste irrigation waters from 

 doing injury to his land. 



Draining Low Places. 



/ have a large depression in my land where I lost about 100 vines 

 and when we irrigate the water makes a lake for several days. In another 

 place there is a squirrel hole and ivater runs into this hole for several 

 days with no sign of filling it up. If I could put a large hole in the 

 low spot and keep it open would it not take care of the water? I put 

 a hole down in this place last March; we struck mud at 12 feet. Later 

 the water came up about eight feet more and remained at that level 

 for a long time. 



