54 BULLETIN 1067, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Figure 9 indicates the total cost per acre per year, including fuel, 

 supplies, labor, and fixed charges, of pumping plants of various types 

 in the southern prairie region, where an average of 29 inches of depth 

 of water is pumped annually. The cost of the fuel, as assumed, is 

 given in Table 36; labor charges are shown in figure 8; the fixed 

 charges are assumed as the mean of the fixed charges for the year 1919, 

 as shown in figure 8. It will be noted that the cost decreases as the 

 size.of the project increases. The average cost per acre of operating a 

 pumping plant for a project of 3,000 acres is approximately $1 per 

 acre per year more than for a project of 7,000 acres. This is 

 an incentive toward reclaiming lands by pumping in fairly large units. 



From figure 9 it will also be seen that with the assumptions made 

 the most expensive plants for projects with acreage 2,400 or more 

 is the steam plant with slide-valve engine. There is little choice 

 between the simple Corliss engine and the compound condensing 

 type, the former having a slight advantage for projects of more than 

 5,000 acres and the latter being a little cheaper for projects between 

 2,000 and 5,000 acres. The cheapest plant of all has internal-com- 

 bustion engines, and the difference in various plants will depend 

 quite largely on the price paid for fuel. 



While the above analysis is for a set of conditions that are assumed 

 as typical, different conditions will modify the results, and correc- 

 tions in computations may be quickly made to fit special conditions. 



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