THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



181 



920 pounds; at the close of the experiment 26 days 

 later she showed the same weight. 



A total of 4,517.0 pounds of milk was produced 

 during the experiment. 



As will be noted from a careful study of these 



tests we have used average cows throughout this 

 work. After having conducted this experiment we 

 are sure that the farmer will be able to count on 

 maintaining two good dairy cows per acre on irri- 

 gated mixed grass pasture. 



NEW DEVICE MAKES IRRIGATION EASIER 



By E. L. LINXWEILER 



OF all the resources of the West undoubtedly the 

 most vital is its water supply and the one 

 worthy of the utmost care in its conservation. It 

 is estimated by the highest authorities that, on an 

 average, about one-third of irrigation water is lost 

 by seepage from the ditches, and in many places 

 from one-fourth to one-half is lost by the un- 

 scientific application of water. The ideal system of 

 irrigation is one where the top five or six inches of 

 the soil remains dry or nearly so and only so much 

 water be applied as will saturate the soil to the 

 depth of the lowest roots of the crop to be irrigated, 

 say from four to ten feet. 



This ideal is hardly possible of realization in 

 actual practice, but may be approached by the even 

 and sufficient application of water into deep fur- 

 rows and the cultivation of the soil immediately 

 alter the soil has become dry enough to permit it, 

 thus preventing the rapid evaporation from wet soil 

 surfaces. By using deep furrows the surface soil will 

 not become saturated as is the case in flooding or in 

 using shallow furrows. 



One of the obstacles in the more common use of 

 the furrow method of irrigation has been the diffi- 

 culty experienced in its application, especially on 

 the more compact soils, which require a continuous 

 run of forty-eight hours or more for the water to 

 penetrate to the proper depths. Some of the govern- 

 ment irrigation experts have found that in some 

 soils the water did not sink more than three feet 

 after a seventy-two hours run. 



The writer believes from his own experience 

 that the duty of water in the United States can in 

 most instances be doubled by the proper application 

 of the irrigation water into deep furrows and the 

 early cultivation of the soil afterwards. As an indi- 

 cation of what the scientific application of water 

 may accomplish, it may be cited that there are cases 

 in southern California where 400 acres are irrigated 

 by a flow of a cubic foot of water per second. These 

 cases of course are extreme and rare, but cases of a 

 cubic foot per second for 200 acres are not uncom- 

 mon. 



In furrow irrigation the mistake is generally 

 made of turning far more water into the furrows 

 than the soil can absorb and consequently the ex- 

 cess which often is more than half of the water 

 turned into the furrow, runs to waste at the lower 

 ends. 



The trouble with the primitive methods gener- 

 ally ih vogue, which consist in feeding the furrows 

 from small cuts in the bank of the feeding ditch, has 

 been the impossibility of maintaining a proper and 

 uniform flow, especially at night, when, on account 

 of the much less evaporation, irrigation is the most 

 effective. 



This object, the uniform and automatic dis- 

 tribution of water into furrows, has been accom- 

 plished by a device recently put on the market, but 

 which has been thoroughly tested by various per- 

 sons during the past two years. It is in the nature 

 of a canvas hose. It is styled the "New Era Auto- 

 Irrigator." They are made in various lengths and 

 of various capacities the standard size being seven- 

 ty-five feet long and of one-half cubic foot per 

 second capacity. 



The peculiar features are : the side apertures, 

 for the feeding of the furrows, spaced twenty inches 

 apart; the regulating devices fitted to each opening 

 for regulating or shutting off the flow, if desired, 

 and the tapering shape of the hose, which insures an 

 even flow from the openings. The hose tapers about 

 in proportion as the water diminishes as it escapes 

 from the openings. The hose tapers to about one 

 and one-half inch diameter at the small end. The 

 standard size is of about six inches diameter at 

 large end. 



The large end of hose is connected with a gal- 

 vanized iron pipe of same diameter as hose and 

 which is sunk into a cut made across the ditch bank 

 so that the water will flow into it after a dam has 

 been placed below this intake pipe. A cylindrical 

 screen of galvanized wire and about fifteen inches 

 long, is placed over the end of the intake pipe which 

 is in the ditch. This excludes leaves and other for- 

 eign matter that might clog the side openings in the 

 hose. On an 80-acre farm generally from two to 

 four of these irrigating hoses will be needed, de- 

 pending on how much the soil requires the water 

 to be divided. After the hose is connected with the 

 ditch it rarely needs attention and can safely be left 

 to run all night if the furrows are clean so that they 

 won't overflow. 



Some of these hoses that have been in continual 

 use for two irrigating seasons, are still in a pretty 

 good state of preservation and will probably last 

 for four years altogether. 



Those who have given this device a thorough- 

 trial are enthusiastic in its praise, as it makes the 

 work of irrigation more pleasant, saves much labor 

 and water, and 1 produces better crops because of the 

 even distribution of the water. 



THE AGE IS BETTER THAN EVER 



Editor of THE IRRIGATION AGE: Enclosed 

 please find $1.00 for which continue sending THE 

 IRRIGATION AGE to my address. 



I was a subscriber to the AGE back in '89, and 

 have read it most of the time since. I believe it is 

 better than ever. 



Yours very truly, 



Minatare, Neb. DAN D. DAVIS. 



