DUTY AND DIVISION OF WATER 341 



water available, the more used. Moreover, varying seepage 

 in different localities causes a varying gross duty of water. 

 In one exhaustive study of the duty of water, it was found 

 that under a given system, 20 acre-inches were actually 

 used for the production of crops; while in another place 

 four irrigations of 2% acre-inches each, or a total of 

 10 acre-inches, produced abundant crops of wheat. 

 Kennedy, who carried on experiments under the Barri- 

 Doab Canal, found that wheat, barley, coffee; Indian 

 corn and cotton required during the season 10.6 inches 

 of water; and sugar-cane 25.7 inches. These results show 

 that the water requirements of crops in India are practi- 

 cally identical with those in America and other countries 

 of the world. 



The loss of water from the main Indian canals varies 

 from 20 to 75 per cent and, consequently, the net duty of 

 water in India is much greater than the gross duty. In 

 one series of investigations it was found that even the lat- 

 erals from the main canal served a much larger area than 

 the whole canal, per second-foot of water, the difference 

 rising occasionally to 30 or 40 per cent. 



Under several of the Indian canals, 160 acres have 

 been adopted as the duty of water for 1 second-foot under 

 the whole system. This compares very favorably with 

 present practices in the United States. 



202. Duty of water in Europe. Irrigation is generally 

 practised in Europe, especially in France, Spain and Italy. 

 In these latter countries, irrigation goes back many 

 hundreds of years, and the methods now followed are 

 based upon the experience of centuries. True, in southern 

 Europe, irrigation is not a matter of life and death, as 

 in the more arid sections of the world, but it has done and 

 is doing much to increase the wealth and prosperity of 



