THE IRKIGATION AGE. 



1095 



question and no doubt depends upon the condition of the 

 money market. 



The situation is undoubtedly one of great difficulty 

 and should be handled with good judgment and circum- 

 spection. 



Our Ancient and O ur present system of measures and 

 Unsatisfactory weights is possibly the greatest burden 

 System of an( ^ drawback, acting as a brake on our 



national progress which we have to con- 

 631 tend with. Next to England among the 



Weights. civilized nations, our methods of measur- 



ing and weighing are the most cumbersome and unsatis- 

 factory. It is true England is going us one better, for 

 there, in addition to adhering to a most unsatisfactory 

 system of measures and weights, they are burdened with 

 an equally unsatisfactory monetary standard which has 

 only one redeeming feature, that it shows true British 

 persistence and tenacity. Here in the United States we 

 have a truly admirable standard of money, properly and 

 efficiently based upon the decimal system and so thor- 

 oughly made part of our institutions that the American 

 dollar, dime and cent are precise and easily handled units 

 in any computation. 



Why the United States at the time this decimal sys- 

 tem of money was adopted did not introduce at the same 

 time a decimal system of measures and weights may be dif- 

 ficult to state at this time, but is probably due to the fact 

 that England had already, by surveys and commerce in- 

 troduced its system into the American colonies, so that 

 its continuance was just a matter of course. 



More than 40 years ago Congress legalized the use of 

 the metric system of measures and weights within the 

 United States, but beyond a limited use in scientific 

 schools and by the government in certain kinds of work 

 no progress has been made toward reform in this direc- 

 tion. Even our neighbors across the Rio Grande can show 

 us where we are far behind them when it comes to meas- 

 uring or weighing, for one of the good things Diaz has 

 done for Mexico is the adoption of the metric system of 

 measures and weights. 



There can be no good argument adduced why our 

 "foot" should be divided into 12 inches and the yard into 

 3 feet, and the rod into 16J/2 feet, and the mile into 5,280 

 feet. 



Nor is there any good reason why one gallon should 

 contain 231 cubic inches, and why one pound should have 

 16 ounces for one class of merchandise and 12 ounces for 

 others. The whole system looks ridiculous were it not for 

 the seriousness of the attending loss in time and vexations.* 

 Just think of the work necessary to convert, for instance, 

 gallons into cubic feet; first multiply by 231 and then di- 

 vide by 1728. If the subdivision were all made on the 

 decimal system all that would be necessary would be to 

 shift the decimal point. Thus, if 10 inches were equal to 

 one foot, and if 100 cubic inches equaled one gallon, then 

 01 gallons would be 6,iao cubic inches or 6.1 cubic feet. 

 Compare the two methods and see the time saved by the 

 latter operation. 



There is no doubt some prejudice fighting for the re- 

 tention of the old system on account of the foreign terms 

 which would have to be adopted, together with the metric 

 system, and it would greatly upset our established geo- 

 graphical lines and land boundaries, which are now based 

 upon the mile of 5,280 feet. The writer developed a 

 decimal system of measures and weights adaptable for the 



United States, wherein the mile, as established at present, 

 forms the unit for all measures and weight, but wherein 

 all subdivisions are based upon the decimal system. This 

 will be elucidated in the November issue of the IRRIGATION 

 AGE. 



In this connection it may also be remarked that re- 

 form in this direction will not become a fact unless simul- 

 taneous efforts ate made throughout the whole country. It 

 is strange, to say the least, that our public educators have 

 done so little toward this work. In a progressive country 

 like ours, every boy or girl graduating from the grammar 

 school should know the principal features of the metric 

 system. When Germany introduced the metric system it 

 v/as principally done by thoroughly educating the children 

 in the public schools in the new method, and lo, the 

 change was easily and thoroughly made. 



Uncle Sam should do likewise. 



THE IRRIGATION AGE has repeatedly called 

 Knowledge the attention of its readers to the impor- 

 Needed tance of using water on irrigated lands ac- 



to Supply the cording to well-developed principles; either 

 Right Amount too much or too little will bring unsatisfac- 

 of Water. tory result. Too much water, however, will 

 cause more damage than if sufficient moisture is not ap- 

 plied, and there have been cases recently investigated by 

 the government in several of the Rocky Mountain states 

 where serious deterioration of orchards has occurred, due 

 to too abundant supply of water. 



The government has now fruit and soil experts in 

 these states studying the effect of the methods in use and 

 recording the effects upon fruit and soil. The values of 

 many orchards which formerly brought high-priced crops 

 have declined amounting to many millions, of dollars. 



It is hoped that the efforts of the government will 

 result in the establishment of good and reliable informa- 

 tion upon this subject, so that the valuable land planted to 

 oranges, apples and pear orchards will be kept up to 

 standard conditions, and especially not spoiled by too 

 much water, since this valuable fluid should be made use 

 of to serve more land rather than destroy. 



It is time also that the irrigators study more clearly 

 the requirements of their farms or orchards rather than 

 guess at the amount of water needed, and the efforts 

 of the government in developing exact laws or rules for 

 the various phases of irrigation should be earnestly sup- 

 ported by the states interested and all possible aid should 

 be given. 



Likewise the work of the various experiment stations 

 should be kindly received and the information published 

 by them should be carefully read and studied by the irri- 

 gators or farmers interested. 



The bonds of successful irrigation enter- 

 Thoughts prises should certainly be preferred to some 

 That wild-cat industrial or mining schemes San 

 Come Francisco bankers, please note, 

 and Go. * * * 



THE IRRIGATION AGE keeps its readers in 

 constant touch with everything pertaining to irrigation and 

 allied works. Its advertising columns tell you where to 

 get anything you need, from reapers down to a hoe. 

 * * * 



No one ever learned too much ; even the wisest can 

 expand their knowledge sometimes by watching people per- 

 form the lowliest tasks. 



