294 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



July 



especially studied in order to ascertain 

 whether a gravity water system would 

 be feasible at that point. 



The location of various manufactur- 

 ing industries has been determined by 

 reports from Survey engineers on the 

 available water supply. Conspicuous 

 instances of this are the construction of 

 the American Beet Sugar Company's 

 plant at Rocky Ford and the erection 

 of the sugar factory at Loveland. 



Jt 



Cuttin g Trees It is reported in the Ger- 

 by Electricity, man press that success- 

 ful experiments have 

 been made in various forests of France 

 in cutting trees by means of electricity. 

 A platinum wire is heated to a white 

 heat by an electric current and used like 

 a saw. In this manner the tree is felled 

 much easier and quicker than in the old 

 way, no sawdust is produced, and the 

 slight carbonization caused by the hot 

 wire acts as a preservative of the wood. 

 The new method is said to require only 

 one-eighth of the time consumed by the 

 old sawing process. 



J> 



Salt River Mr. M. O. Leighton, 



Water. chief of the Hydro- Eco- 



nomic Division of the 

 U. S. Geological Survey, has been mak- 

 ing an investigation to determine the 

 quality of water for irrigation in Salt 

 River above Tonto dam, and to ascer- 

 tain whether the influx of salt is gen- 

 eral, or whether it is derived from one 

 or more isolated points. 



This information is believed to be 

 important by reason of the fact that if 

 it is found that the source or sources of 

 salt are isolated or local in character, 

 steps might be taken to eliminate them 

 from the river by well-known means 

 determined according to the conditions 

 in each case. 



This investigation has been conducted 

 during the period of low water in the 

 river, because at that time the stream 

 contains foreign ingredients in as large 

 a proportion as is likely to be found at 

 any other season, and the results which 

 are arrived at will be typical of the 

 most unfavorable conditions. Deduc- 

 tions made therefrom, therefore, will 



probably err upon the side of safety by 

 a wide margin. 



It was found that the amount of 

 chlorine in Salt River water is very 

 high. At the dam site the results from 

 the main stream were 1,360 parts of 

 chlorine to the million, and at other 

 points upstream for a distance of 53 

 miles it varied from i ,600 to i ,850 parts. 

 The results obtained prove clearly that 

 the salt in Salt River water is not de- 

 rived from any definite source or sources, 

 but is carried in by the general influx 

 throughout the region. At the outset 

 il was believed that the greater part of 

 the salt came from what is known as 

 the salt beds and the salt springs which 

 are located along the river some dis- 

 tance below the mouth of Cibicu Creek, 

 where there is an extensive outcrop of 

 sodium chloride and calcium carbonate. 

 It was found, however, that these salt 

 beds have little or no effect upon the 

 salinity of the water, and Mr. Leighton 

 is inclined to believe that the entire 

 country is underlaid by a deposit of 

 which the salt beds are an example, the 

 only difference being that at the salt 

 beds the saline stratum outcrops upon 

 the bank of the river. 



The amount of salt found in the water 

 along the entire reach of the portion of 

 the river investigated varies surprisingly 

 little. The influx of fresh water from 

 the various creeks does not affect the 

 amount of salt in the river to any ap- 

 preciable degree, although tests show 

 little or no salt in their waters, the 

 amounts varying from 10 to 60 parts a 

 million. 



Probably the effect of the contribu- 

 tions upon the stream from these tribu- 

 taries would be more apparent if they 

 carried any considerable amount of 

 water, but at the present time they are 

 very low. 



A review of the results of the inves- 

 tigation indicates that the salt in the 

 waters of Salt River is derived from no 

 local sources, and that it would be im- 

 possible to change in any relative degree 

 the amount in the stream. Whatever 

 may be done in connection with the im- 

 provement of the water of Salt River 

 for irrigation purposes, it will be neces- 

 sary to accept the water in its original 



