276 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



WHAT CONSTITUTES A GOOD IRRIGATOR. 



JOHN G. HALL. 



With us in Colorado, and I am told the same diffi- 

 culty arises in other localities, when farming is carried 

 on by irrigation, the question of getting a good and 

 efficient man to spread the water is a serious one. A 

 man possessing the knowledge, in the first place, of how 

 to run out the ditches in a field of small grain for 

 instance. Before he can do this he must be a prac- 

 tical irrigator. He must be able to know from looking 

 at the land to be irrigated from what quarter or direc- 

 tion the water will come onto this elevation or that 

 elevation, and be able to run the ditches in the field 

 accordingly. His ditches must be run onto the high 

 places, also hare a fall of at least an inch and one-half 

 to a hundred feet. 



The old saying that water will run up hill in an ir- 

 rigated country is untrue. Water can be delivered 

 from one hill to another by means of a dyke, siphon, 

 pipe or trough, providing the place of delivery is lower, 

 if higher it requires pressure to deliver it to a higher 

 point. 



Great care must be taken to get the ditches where 

 all the ground can be covered with water, also not to 

 plow up any more crops than is absolutely necessary, 

 keeping, if possible, the ditches along roadsides, fences, 

 etc. 



Now with the ditches properly run on a piece of 

 ground the next question is to get a sufficient quantity 

 of water to travel over the land faster than the spot 

 which is being irrigated will consume it. With the 

 water turned on it is customary to run it night and day 

 until the field is irrigated. 



In my experience I find the greatest difficulty is in 

 finding a man that has a disposition to do the required 

 work. What is the required work? Get up at four 

 o'clock in the morning, go out and change the water 

 from the place it has been running all night. Irrigate 

 the short runs in day time, leaving the long runs for 

 the night; shoveling out the ditch; shoveling up the 

 ditch banks; putting in wing ditches to reach a high 

 spot, or doing whatever necessary to improve the condi- 

 tion. Stay with the water until nine or ten o'clock at 

 night, up again at four in the morning. These are the 

 duties required of a good irrigator. A man of this 

 type is worth from ten to twenty dollars a month more 

 than an ordinary man, who is afraid all the time that 

 he is doing too much for his employer. 



The writer of this article has carried his blankets 

 into the field and partially slept for a short time within 

 forty rods of his own house so that the water could 

 be changed every hour during the night in time of 

 scarcity. 



In conclusion I wish to say an irrigator possesing 

 the knowledge of irrigation and the qualities mentioned 

 above is a jewel and a blessing to his employer at al- 

 most any price. 



Send $2.50 for The Irrigation Age 

 I year, and the Primer of Irrigation 



LINING OF DITCHES AND RESERVOIRS TO PRE- 

 VENT SEEPAGE LOSSES. 



BY PROF. B. A. ETCHEVERRY, BERKELEY, CAL. 

 METHOD OF OBSERVATION. 



The ditches were filled each morning to a depth 

 of 2 feet (approximately), the measurements being 

 taken as soon as filled. Measurements were again 

 taken late in the afternoon and also the next morning 

 before refilling the ditches. The instrument used to 

 take the measurements consisted of a wooden post 2 

 inches by 3 inches, which was driven firmly in each 

 ditch at the south end. The top of the post was about 

 3 feet from the bottom of the ditch. A right-angle 

 screw hook, with the shorter arm filed to a point, was 

 screwed into the post. The depth from the bottom 

 of the ditch to the end of the hook was 2 feet. This 

 served as a guide in filling the ditch, each ditch being 

 filled as nearly as possible up to this hook. For an 

 exact measurement a piece of steel about 5 inches 

 long, y s inch thick, and % inch wide, was screwed at 

 the top of the post and at right angles to it. This 

 piece of steel projected about 2 inches beyond the post 

 and its upper edge was beveled. This edge was the 

 index from which the measurements were taken. 

 (Fig. 14&. ) The measurements being taken with a 

 plumb-bob attached to a steel tape, the steel tape was 

 placed next to the index and the plumb-bob lowered 

 until the point of the bob touched the water. Accurate 

 measurements could thus be taken to ~y 2 of a hundredth 

 of a foot (.005 foot). 



Evaporation. The evaporation was determined by 

 means of a galvanized iron tank placed at the north end 

 of the ditches, between ditches No. 6 and No. 7. 

 Measurements were taken in the morning and in the 

 afternoon in the same' manner as for the ditches. 



From the observations taken beginning with the 

 23d and extending until the 28th of July, it was found 

 that the lining of ditches No. 1 and No. 3 were en- 

 tirely unsatisfactory, as the seepage in them was larger 

 than in the earth ditches with no lining. It is prob- 

 able that the water percolated through this lining and 

 was carried away through gopher and squirrel holes 

 under the lining. In the earth ditches gopher and 

 squirrel holes were found, but could be stopped; but 

 this oil and gravel mixture had sufficient strength not 

 to break through where the holes were, and they could 

 not be discovered. 



From the observations during these few days it 

 was found that the seepage in all four earth ditches was 

 almost identical, so it was decided to sprinkle oil on 

 two *of these earth ditches, using in both cases less oil 

 than was used on ditch No. 4. 



The gravel-oil mixture was removed from No. 1 

 and this ditch was used as an earth ditch. Ditch 

 No. 3 was not changed ; measurements on this ditch 

 were continued, but it did not improve. 



The ditches after July 28 were allowed to dry and 

 after the changes were made were in the following 

 order : 



New Order of Ditches. 



No. 1. Earth (no lining). 



No. 2. Heavy oil sprinkled, 2 1-3 gallons per 

 square yard. 



