368 IRRIGATION PRACTICE 



221. Regulations and records. Irrigation under the 

 best conditions is complex. If the best results are to be 

 obtained from an irrigation system, careful regulations 

 must be established and published, and careful records 

 must be kept. It is a common fault that the farmers are 

 not kept in full touch with the plans under which the 

 system is operated, including the duty, measurement 

 and distribution of water. Full information concerning 

 the rules of the system, including its relation to the 

 farmer, should be printed and distributed to every farmer 

 under the system. The greater the publicity given the 

 operations of the canal management, whether consisting 

 of farmers or capitalists, the less friction will accompany 

 the work. 



The records of the system should be as orderly as those 

 of the best commercial establishments. Water has a de- 

 finite cash value; and it should be traced as carefully as 

 is any other valuable commodity. At regular intervals 

 the flow of water into the main canal and into each of the 

 laterals, and as far as possible on to the farms, should be 

 carefully measured. Excellent type records may be found 

 in Bulletin No. 229 of the Office of Experiment Stations, 

 United States Department of Agriculture, entitled 

 "Delivery of Water to Irrigators," by Frank Adams. The 

 superintendent, water-masters and ditch-tenders should all 

 be taught to make such records, and should be charged 

 with the duty of making such permanent records. In 

 avoiding the characteristic irrigation disputes, such 

 records would be of inestimable value. The keeping of 

 accurate records by irrigation systems would also help 

 greatly to increase the duty of water. Both crop and 

 water records should be kept. The want of record-keeping 

 is largely responsible for our faulty irrigation methods. 



