DUTY AND DIVISION OF WATER 349. 



has been done in the gathering of information concerning 

 the relations of soils and crops to water is practically 

 useless unless the knowledge be applied under conditions 

 of carefully measured water. 



211. Who shall measure the water? The company 

 controlling the irrigation system should conduct measure- 

 ments and deliver to each farmer at his own headgate 

 and at certain periods a definite number of cubic feet of 

 water. The complexity of irrigation agriculture, however, 

 makes it evident that a new kind of irrigation engineer 

 must arrive who must stand between the canal corpora- 

 tion and the farmers drawing water from the canal. He 

 must know enough engineering to measure, divide and 

 distribute water and to keep up the system of canals and 

 laterals, and enough of agriculture to define the quantity 

 of water for different soils and crops. A big step onward 

 will be taken when canal owners and farmers insist upon 

 such a trained water-master. However, hi this matter of 

 water-measurement the farmer must be independent. He 

 should understand the simple ways of measuring water 

 accurately. Even when the canal management delivers 

 definite quantities of water, it becomes the business of 

 the farmer to distribute this 'water correctly on the fields 

 of the farm, and this can be done only by employing sat- 

 isfactory measuring devices. 



212. Classes of measurement. Only under the few 

 canals of moderate capacity and early water-right, or 

 from ample reservoirs, can the farmer depend on receiving 

 the same quantity of water from year to year. In most 

 districts the total quantity of water taken in by an irri- 

 gation system depends upon the quantity of water flowing 

 in the river which, in turn, depends upon the varying 

 seasons. Except for certain primary water-rights, or 



