46 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



prospective ones will feel in much better condition to take up 

 the practical work of reclamation. 



Another important ruling for the benefit of present set- 

 tlers was recently made by Secretary Fisher extending the 

 time in which settlers may pay overdue payments on entries; 

 the payments which were due the Government March 1, 1911, 

 have once been extended to December 1, 1911, but quite 

 recently this time has been further extended to March 15, 

 1912. 



These two rulings show that the administration intends 

 to assist bona fide settlers as far as possible and in permit- 

 ting entries to as small an amount as 10 acres is decidedly 

 favoring intense farming which in the course of time will 

 become an actual necessity. 



This will enable the man of moderate means to work a 

 small farm with good prospects of success. 



"The Primer of Hydraulics," of which 

 Do Not another installment appears in this issue, 



Neglect to will be ready for delivery about the end 



Purchase ^ 'he mont h of January, 1912. There is 



Th' Book no ot ' ier book on the subject of hydraulics 



on the market today that treats this diffi- 

 cult applied science in as clear and practical way as the book 

 referred to. It is gotten up by a practical engineer with large 

 experience in Hydraulics, Drainage and Irrigation, and the 

 book consequently relates to practical problems from these 

 three fields of application. The work is handled in a progres- 

 sive style, building the more advanced ideas upon simpler 

 ones so that the observant and careful student can master 

 the subject with little difficulty by just following the author 

 and by working the problems which are used as an illustra- 

 tion of the principles involved. 



In addition to the splendid and clear text which is pro- 

 fusely illustrated with examples and diagrams the books con- 

 tain a large number of valuable tables, many of them which 

 have never before been published. 



Perhaps the principal reason why this book should appeal 

 to our readers is the fact that a college education is not re- 

 quired to understand and make use of the book. A man with 

 an ordinary grammar education can, by studying this book, 

 become readily proficient in its use and able to analyze the 

 various problems in Hydraulics, Irrigation and Drainage and 

 solve them by the aid of the "Primer of Hydraulics." 



Please see announcement elsewhere in this issue how to 

 obtain this valuable work. 



Season. 



The present issue of THE IRRIGATION AGE 

 The will be the last one before the advent of 



Compliments Christmas and New Year, and we con- 

 o f the sider it therefore timely and proper that 



we should on this occasion extend to our 

 many thousands of readers a cordial greet- 

 ing and the wish of a Merry Christmas and Happy New 

 Year. 



The custom of merry-making and festivities at this time 

 of the year has been brought down to us from time imme- 

 morial. It cannot be deduced from the fact that the month 

 of December is in the winter, or rainy season, since the 

 inhabitants of the Southern Hemisphere are entering into 

 their summer season at this time; there may be, of course, 

 a greater zest shown on the Northern Hemisphere at this 

 season on account of the wintry conditions tending to give 

 the people more time to celebrate and entertain each other. 

 But wherever the Christian religion is known the thoughts 

 of all turn to that historic and interesting period when the 



Child Jesus lay in the manger at Bethlehem and when the 

 heavenly host chanted the message on high : "Peace on 

 Earth, Good Will to Men." 



Thus it behooves us as the holiday season approaches 

 to reflect upon the meaning of that splendid lesson taught 

 in the above quotation. It expresses a most beautiful senti- 

 ment, the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God; 

 a religious idea in which all nations may unite with perfect 

 harmony and which if put into practical execution will do 

 more toward the establishment of permanent peace in the 

 world than all the congresses or other agencies ever con- 

 vened. It teaches the golden rule, which is by all odds the 

 best guide for all our actions toward our neighbor and we 

 can at this time do nothing better than to resolve that we 

 will do "unto others as we wish them to do unto us." 



There is no mistaking the fact that the 

 Irrigation rain-fall alone cannot be depended on 



Necessary for the raising of full crops in the states 



in the west of the Mississippi, as the many 



Middle West. cr P failurs of recent years have abun- 

 dantly proven. It is not only the point 

 of insufficient precipitation, but more particularly the fact 

 that rain is often too abundant when not wanted and 

 that there is none at the particular time the growing 

 crops need water the most. Thus, to counteract the in- 

 fluence of droughts the introduction of irrigation is nec- 

 essary and strongly recommended. Nor should this be 

 limited to the states west of the Mississippi river as there 

 occur cases in almost any other state of the union where 

 intermittent irrigation at the right time would frequently 

 turn crop failures into successes. The very fact that a 

 farmer has on his land facilities to water his crops any 

 time he wishes is a tremendous advantage which greatly 

 enhances the value of the land and permits of intensive 

 farming. 



That the time is ripe when farmers in general must 

 take up the subject of providing for a supplementary 

 supply of water for their work is fully admitted and the 

 discussions of methods is therefore in order. As a general 

 proposition the irrigation problems of the East are very 

 much different from those of the West and consequently 

 require different treatment. In the West the projects 

 cover large areas and the reclamation works necessary 

 are of great magnitude; many of which take care of mil- 

 lions of acres. 



In the Eastern and older states the establishment of 

 successful irrigation on a large scale is more difficult, on 

 account of the settled character of the country. It is 

 necessary that each individual farmer, or perhaps several 

 whose land and cropping methods require similar treat- 

 ment, combine and evolve a satisfactory system which will 

 fit each individual case. The methods to pursue will de- 

 pend entirely on the conditions of the water supply. Where 

 a flowing river or creek is available so the water can be 

 brought onto the land by gravity, one has the easiest and 

 cheapest means for irrigation. But such ideal conditions 

 are scarce and other means must be considered which 

 consists in pumping. This may be done either by wind- 

 mills or by power pumps, and it is good economy to install 

 a sufficient power plant to provide water for all the neces- 

 sities of the farm, including auxiliary irrigation. In lo- 

 calities where the winds blow with regularity the installa- 

 tion of a windmill is no doubt the most economical meth- 

 od of providing power for pumping purposes, although 

 the wind may prove to be as unreliable as the rain and 

 leave the farmer in a critical condition just at the time 



