THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



855 



at all for a period. Hence, the second way of stating it, 

 which is in acre feet per acre, is usually the best way. 



A second foot of water running for 24 hours delivers 

 approximately two acre feet. (To be exact it delivers two 

 acre feet in 24 hours, 12 minutes.) Let us say the irrigating 

 period is 120 days, and one second-foot would deliver in that 

 time approximately 240 acre feet. If this were applied all at 

 once to 100 acres, it would cover it to a depth of 2.4 feet, 

 and we would say that the duty of water in this case, is 2.4 

 acre feet per acre. 



The duty of water, then, in acre feet per acre, is the num- 

 ber of acre feet of water applied to each acre of land, during 

 the entire season. It varies the country over, from one acre 

 foot per acre, to 10 or 12 acre feet per acre. 



Why not make an experiment, then, Mr. Farmer, and see 

 what duty you are getting from your water. It will pay you. 



The suggestions in the above article are timely and im- 

 portant to every man interested in irrigation, for if the same 

 amount of water formerly required for 40 acres can be made 

 duty for 80 acres or more, it means a tremendous stride 

 forward. 



THE IRRIGATION ACE welcomes every suggestion in the 

 line of true economy, and will spare no efforts to assist in 

 this direction. A better knowledge of the principles of 

 hydraulics is, however, essential and we are in a position to 

 give that to our readers in a few months. We feel that the 

 Colorado Agricultural College is doing a good work in the 

 publishing of its news notes and we are glad to co-operate 

 with it in the purpose of improving the results of general irri- 

 gation. 



my of Nature. 



It is not strictly true that the total amount 

 Transforma- o f wa ter on this earth is a constant quan- 

 tions of Water tity, for the reason that water will tem- 

 in the Econo- porarily enter into combinations where its 

 function as water is lost. This is particu- 

 larly true regarding crops which require a 

 large amount of water for their growth trans- 

 forming it into sugar, starch and other substances. 

 Of course, when such crops, fruits or vegetables, 

 reach their final stages in consumption the bound 

 water will be released and finally find its way into the 

 general storage reservoir of nature which is the ocean. Thus 

 the mechanics of nature's water supply are easily understood. 

 The motive power of lifting the water from the ocean to the 

 top of the mountains is, of course, the sun. It is a fact 

 that the power of the sun's rays evaporates thousands of 

 tons of water per second from the various oceans in the 

 form of an invisible vapor which rises in the air on account 

 of its lightness ; on reaching higher altitudes where the tem- 

 perature of the air becomes cooler the air is unable to carry 

 as much water vapor and a portion of the latter is condensed 

 into fine drops which form the familiar clouds in the sky. 

 As these clouds undergo farther reduction in temperature, 

 more vapor is condensed and the clouds become finally so 

 heavy that the air no longer can carry them and precipita- 

 tion is the result either in the form of rain, hail, snow or 

 dew. The air is never completely free of moisture as it 

 would be impossible to live in air devoid of water vapor. 

 There is, however, a point beyond which air will not carry 

 water vapor and this is called the point of saturation. This 

 point varies with the temperature of the air ; the warmer 

 the air the more vapor it will absorb. Thus when winds 

 carry the warm air from the tropical zone into colder regions 

 formation of clouds takes place because the colder air re- 

 fuses to carry the excess of moisture. 



On the Island of Hawaii these phenomena may be ob- 

 served to very good advantage. There is a mountain range 

 running from north to south through the island ; the north- 

 east trade winds blow for about nine months in the year 

 carrying a balmy air saturated with water vapor which has 

 been taken from the water of the Pacific ocean; when the 

 winds strike the cooler highlands and mountains of Hawaii 

 condensation sets in and clouds form causing abundant pre- 

 cipitation ; but this just happens on the east side of the 

 mountains; the west side of the range is entirely barren as 

 the air having been robbed of its moisture by the eastern 

 slope refuses to give up any more moisture in the shape of 

 rain or dew. Thus the island of Hawaii presents on its 

 eastern slope the features of a paradise, while its we^t coast 

 has the aspect of a desert. 



It is seen thus that the water supply which nature has 

 provided for instance for these United States, has its power 

 house in the sun, its boilers in the lakes of the United 

 States and the surrounding oceans and its natural storage 

 in the vastness of the Rock Mountains. The travel of the 

 water is thus : From the ocean in the form of vapor or 

 cloud to the mountains where it is precipitated either as rain 

 or snow. Hence the rain by the force of gravity first form- 

 ing little brooks which finally gather into rivers and travel 

 down, down to the ocean, where Old Sol remains busy to 

 keep the process agoing. 



The water in the form of snow is a wise provision in 

 nature as this is kept, so to speak, in cold storage until the 

 hot sun of the summer months does some more necessary 

 work in melting the snow at a time when natural precipita- 

 tion is at its minimum, and the melting snow in the mountains 

 thus provides a means of feeding the brooks and creeks and 

 supplying the life-giving and life-sustaining fluid to man, 

 beast and plant. This shows also the necessity of keeping 

 the mountain slopes well timbered to prevent the erosion 

 of the soil by the rapid flowing waters. 



Another factor in the characteristics of water must be 

 reckoned with, especially by the "irrigationist" if we may 

 coin that word with the definition that it means everyone 

 who is interested in irrigation problems. This is that a heavy 

 percentage of water is lost on its way from the mountains 

 to the ocean by following subterranean passages. Thus al- 

 though the water itself is not lost, for there is nothing lost 

 in the economy of nature, it fails to do any useful work on 

 its way down to the ocean and may be stranded by getting 

 boxed up in subterranean basins. These are tapped frequently 

 successfully by wells and the water thus obtained will do 

 duty in various ways, but it is seen that by the water being 

 Allowed to escape below the natural surface of the ground it 

 will have to be lifted from its hiding place by pumps which 

 is expensive, while the force of gravity is free. Hence it 

 will be a wise move to watch the more important rivers and 

 irrigation channels and reduce this leakage to a minimum. 



Harmon 



Governor Harmon, of Ohio, would do well 

 Personal Rep- to call off some of his simple-minded 

 resentatives friends who are talking about his candi- 



of Governor dacy for the presidency. One individual in 

 particular who poses as special agent of 

 the United States Census of Irrigation, of 

 the name of Edward F. Bohm, has made the statement that 

 he is to be Secretary of the Interior under Governor Har- 

 mon when he is elected president. 



We do not care to discuss the mental status of the man 

 Bohm, as this statement possibly indicates all that our read- 

 ers would care to know about him. It, however, will do no 



