THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



277 



a small pumping plant but insufficient for one of 

 larger capacity. The source of the supply should 

 be, therefore, considered ; whether it is the per- 

 colation of local rainfall or an underflow, and if 

 possible the well should be thoroughly tested by 

 pumping for several days to determine how much 

 the water level will be lowered and thus determine 

 the permanent working head before the final pump 

 installation is made. 



There are many localities, particularly in un- 

 developed parts of the West, where there is sup- 

 posed to be a water supply at considerable depth 

 but its location has not been definitely determined. 

 In such places it is usually advisable to sink a test 

 well before undertaking to supply water for irri- 

 gation. If this work is done with power well drill- 

 ing machines the test hole should not be less than 

 five or six inches in diameter, as experience has 

 proved that a well up to six inches in diameter can 

 be drilled as cheaply as one of smaller size and the 

 larger well often proves an economical permanent 

 well, whereas one of very small size is only of tem- 

 porary value. 



DISTRICT MUST FULFILL CONTRACTS 



The status of irrigation districts was defined in 

 a decision handed down by the supreme court of 

 Idaho recently in the case of W. M. Briggs against 

 the Nampa-Meridian irrigation district. The ma- 

 jority of the court held that an irrigation district 

 was a public service corporation only as it dis- 

 tributed water to the members of the district and 

 it was to be considered as a public service corpora- 

 tion with regard to any contracts it may have with 

 other parties. 



The case was decided in favor of the plaintiff, 

 Briggs. Under a contract he held wth a corporation 

 absorbed by the district he claimed the right to re- 

 ceive water from the district and pay a maintenance 

 charge of $12 per acre for service. Members of the 

 district were required to pay approximately $50 per 

 acre for the same service. 



The court held that under his prior contract Mr. 

 Briggs was entitled to the service and that his con- 

 tract was valid. The opinion was written by Justice 

 Morgan and was concurred in by Justice Budge. 

 Chief Justice Sullivan dissented, holding that an ir- 

 rigation district is a public service corporation when 

 it distributes water to anybody. 



DYNAMITE TO SLOPE SLIDES 



Burton Smith, chief engineer of the Oakdale 

 (California) irrigation district, has discovered a 

 method which may prevent expensive slides in the 

 irrigation canals in the near future. Superintendent 

 Smith has been experimenting with dynamite and 

 has blown up a number of threatened slides which 

 were caving in on the canals. As soon as the 

 masses of earth and rock began to move into the 

 canals, the sliding mass was drilled and shot with 

 dynamite. Where the experiment was tried it has 

 proved successful as a method of preventing the 

 canals from being filled, and from now on the ditch 

 riders will patrol the banks of the canals where they 



are between high cliffs, and at the first sign of dan- 

 ger dynamite will be used. 



If this method proves successful, thousands of 

 dollars will be saved to the various irrigation dis- 

 tricts of the San Joaquin Valley, as every winter 

 rains cause the ditches to fill with rock and earth. 



IRRIGATE WHEN IT RAINS 



E. W. HAMILTON 



Agricultural Engineer, Idaho Experiment Station. 



Many people, particularly those who have been 

 used to farming without irrigation, are liable to 

 overestimate the value of summer showers. They 

 may brighten the lawn and help the grass but there 

 is no comparison with the lasting benefits of a nor- 

 mal application of irrigation water. 



Last summer south Idaho experienced two 

 weeks of showery weather to the damage of much 

 hay. Probably two and a half inches of rain fell. 

 The soil showed wetting for a foot to eighteen 

 inches below the surface. But three days after 

 sunshine came the sandier soils showed need of ir- 

 rigation. 



All crops and all farmers demanded water at 

 once instead of one crop and one farmer after an- 

 other, as would have been the case had it not been 

 for the rainy weather. While canals had been run- 

 ning part full, pumping plants shut down or run at 

 part capacity during the wet weather, a week later 

 many of them could not supply all the water the 

 farmer could use to advantage and crops were 

 damaged. It is easier to irrigate in showery 

 weather and we should do it if we are to avoid these 

 "runs" on the water supply. 



IRRIGATION PUMPS IN JAPAN 



Primitive methods still are employed in Japan 

 for supplying water to the rice fields. The appa- 

 ratus used consists essentially of an undershot mill- 

 wheel in which power is applied to the wheel to 

 raise the water. In other words, the operation of 

 the wheel is reversed. 



The construction of the wheel is ingenious, par- 

 ticularly in the case of the wheel operated by foot 

 power. Each paddle is carried by a pair of spokes 

 braced by a pair of struts that lie in the direction 

 of the thrust of the operator's weight. At the end 

 of each paddle wheel is a short treadle piece on 

 which the operator walks. 



Of course, the advantage of this water wheel 

 lies in the fact that it can be made cheaply and the 

 operating cost is low, because labor is cheap in the 

 orient. 



To grow a good crop of onions requires rich 

 soil, free from weeds, and thorough cultivation. 



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