THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



1029 



eleven miles from the Union Station of the city of St. 

 Paul. 



I am coming to you for help, because I know of no 

 better authority, and I want to be sure of each step before 

 I take it. Therefore I will give the details of my plans 

 as they now stand; also, state the conditions of surface 

 soil, subsoil, etc. 



First, the land lays about 200 rods north and south, 

 about 60 rods east and west, and has a slope of say 8 to 

 10 feet from east to west the entire length; at the south- 

 west there is an L to the west which is about 40 feet be- 

 low the main tract, the L being on the first bottom of the 

 Mississippi river and the main tract the first bench. 



The top soil will average two to three feet in depth 

 and is a black sand loam (pronounced by one of the uni- 

 versity experts "the best." First subsoil a reddish yel- 

 low clay with small gravel through it; this is three to five 

 feet deep; below that is a rather coarse sand I do not 

 know how deep. 



Now, since most of the land is second bottom, or 

 bench land, and since the surface has a fine slope to the 

 west, you can see that I have a perfect outlet for either 

 irrigation or drainage, and a perfect condition for dis- 

 tributing water or draining it off. 



Of course, they have considerable rainfall at that 

 point, but it is uncertain, yet it is useless to consult the 

 fellows at the state university, for they just laugh at me 

 for thinking of irrigating, but I know what I am about 

 and I am going to do it, and it is to learn the best method 

 of doing it that I come to you. 



1 know there are a number of methods which might 

 be practical, but the one which I now have is this: 



Since it is not likely that I can get surface rights to 

 any water at that point, I plan to sink wells (there being 

 an abundant supply of underground water at about 75 to 

 100 feet), put in as many pumping plants as needed and 

 lay cement tile all over the tract. It seems that the 

 cement tiles are so much more porous than the clay that 

 it seems to me they would be the very thing. Now I 

 would lay the tile at a uniform grade with a main supply 

 pipe at the head and a main outlet pipe at the lower end. 

 I would construct the ditches so I could stop the flowage 

 at certain points; also to stop the entire flowage at the 

 main outlet. In this way a given section of the land 

 could be watered or drained as desired. I would arrange 

 so that the water could be raised to the surface at any 

 point for surface irrigation; then I would arrange to open 

 all the lines and permit the air to circulate, thus securing 

 the four important items of sub-irrigation, surface irriga- 

 tion, drainage and soil aeration with the same system, to 

 which might be added the advantage of complete surface 

 cultivation. 



Now, will this plan be practical? Will cement tile be 

 durable? How deep should they be placed in that soil 

 and climate? What sized tile should be used? If you can 

 suggest any other better system I shall be glad for the 

 suggestion. I want all the information I can get on the 

 subject of pumping plants, water needed, etc., etc., and 

 will gladly pay for all I can get if you will give it to me 

 or tell me where I can get it. 



Would it be wise to put in the tile this fall or in the 

 spring? I will say it is my purpose to make a truck farm 

 of the land in question. An early reply will be greatly 

 appreciated. 



I recognize the fact that I am taking great liberties 

 in addressing you at such length, but I know of no other 

 way to get what I want and take my chances on receiving 

 attention. Yours very truly, 



R. W. Weller. 



Mr. Weller's inquiry covers a great deal of ground, 

 and while the editor agrees with him in most of the plans 

 and statements, he feels that he should counsel Mr. Wel- 

 ler to make haste slowly. The improvements planned 

 will cost considerable money and instead of trying to 

 make a complete and finished job of the proposition at 

 once, we advise Mr. Weller to either consult an hydraulic 

 or irrigation engineer on the subject, for though the de- 

 scription given makes the plan fully feasible, yet a survey 

 should be made of the land before planning such extensive 

 improvements. Otherwise we would advise to first sink 

 the well and install a pump. Figure on the volume of 



water probably required, taking into account that much 

 of the moisture needed is supplied by rain. The cement 

 tile will no doubt be injured in the winter by the frost 

 unless laid below the frost line, hence it would be best to 

 try open ditches first, and thus the other improvements 

 may then gradually be made. Editor. 



WANTS PLAN FOR POWER PLANT. 



Delta, Colo., July 22, 1911. 

 IRRIGATION AGE, 

 30 N. Dearborn St. 



In reading your article on electricity on farm, I see you 

 considered an under-shot wheel for most power under 

 a small head. Would you please publish in your next 

 issue a plan for a small home-made under-shot wheel for 

 a 6-foot fall with 47 cu. ft. of water per minute at low 

 water and three timej that amount at times. 

 Yours truly, 



M. P. Weeks. 



A 6-foot fall and 47 cubic feet of water per minute 

 can be reduced to the theoretical horse-power as follows: 

 Multiply 47 by 62.4, which gives 29,328 pounds of water 

 per minute; multiply this by 6, gives 175,968 ft. pounds; 

 divide this by 33,000, gives 5.33 theoretical horse-power; 

 multiply by .6, gives 3.12 horse-power, which could be 

 developed. This is enough power to have developed on a 

 scientific scale and it would pay Mr. Weeks to have this 

 power project examined by a mechanical-hydraulic en- 

 gineer. It would be a shame to spoil a good thing by im- 

 proper development. Editor. 



IRRIGATION PROBLEM IN COLORADO. 



Mr. D. H. Anderson, 



Publisher THE IRRIGATION AGE : 



Dear Sir : Being a suscriber to THE IRRIGATION AGE, 

 will you kindly give me the information desired? I have 

 a well 53 feet to the water and intend digging it 13 feet 

 more, making a depth of 70 feet, and having well reservoir 

 of 13 feet deep by 6 feet cross. According to my esti- 

 mate this well reservoir 6 feet in diameter and 13 feet 

 deep will hold about 3,332 gallons, which I can fill from 

 three to five times a day. Will you kindly inform me 

 which is the better to use, a windmill or a gasoline en- 

 gine for pumping the water on the 10 acres, and would 

 you advise a small reservoir. To irrigate 10 acres one 

 inch would require about 271,000 gallons, I think, con- 

 sidering the loss by evaporation. Would it be more ad- 

 visable to pump the water into a small reservoir or direct- 

 ly on the land, which I could do mostly at night when 

 evaporation would not be so great? Have you a pub- 

 lication on the cost of small reservoirs and irrigation 

 propositions? Thanking you for this information, I am, 

 Respectfully yours, 



M. T. Keister. 



P. S. I could sink the well to a greater depth, say 

 80 or 90 feet, or raise it to a reservoir above well, which- 

 ^gver would be most practical. M. T. K. 



The circular tank 6 ft. diameter and 13 ft. deep holds 

 2,760 gallons, which, if filled five times per day means 

 13,800 gallons. Ten acres of land contains 435,600 square 

 feet and if covered with water one inch deep would re- 

 quire 435,600x144 cubic inches, equal to 49,526,400 cubic 

 inches, which, when divided by 231, reduces the amount 

 to gallons, making 214,356 gallons. This would require 

 about 15 days, as outlined in Mr. Keister's letter. 



If the supply of water is sufficient it would be better 

 to put in a gasoline engine and a pump large enough to 

 pump directly into the ditches, in which case the loss of 

 evaporation is much smaller than pumping into a reser- 

 voir. 



However, a good reservoir with a capacity of about 

 200,000 gallons would be desirable, as then the pumping 

 could be done by windmills and the cost of the gasoline 

 would be saved. 



It will be best to engage an engineer for the planning 

 and building of reservoirs, as it is very particular work, 

 which can hardly be done satisfactorily and safely by un- 

 trained hands. Editor. 



