THE BEET-SUGAR INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. 19 



surface water is present in sufficient quantity and at a shallow enough 

 iepth to supply the necessary water for crop production at a reason- 

 able cost. 



Reservoirs are either individual storage places which supply mois- 

 ture for a single farm or part of a farm or they may be community 

 enterprises operated by the landowners or by an irrigating company. 

 Community reservoirs are sometimes filled direct from permanent 

 streams and sometimes they are filled during freshets, while individ- 

 lal reservoirs are frequently supplied with water by pumping; in 

 this manner pump irrigation may be direct or indirect. By direct 

 irrigation the water is pumped into the ditches or laterals and spread 

 it once upon the fields; by indirect irrigation the water is pumped 

 into a reservoir, from which it is distributed upon the field when 

 aeeded. There are difficulties to overcome in each of the methods 

 3f irrigation mentioned. In utilizing water from a community res- 

 ervoir it is necessary for all farmers under the ditch from this reser- 

 voir to use the water at a time agreed upon by the majority of the 

 users, regardless of the requirements of all of the crops to be watered. 

 [n case the water is not used by one or more farmers when the reser- 

 i^oir is open, they must await the next opening of the reservoir, which 

 ;nay be several weeks later, regardless of the injury that the lack of 

 svater may cause to their crops. The reservoir can not be opened at 

 the will and pleasure of each water user. To do so would cause a 

 ^reat waste of water, which is often of greater value than the land 

 tself. 



Water from a community reservoir is usually prorated and meas- 

 ured to each farmer so that he is able to obtain only his share; like- 

 svise, in using water from a stream in which the supply is limited it 

 s prorated and measured, and irrigation must cease when the allotted 

 lumber of acre-feet has passed through the gate, regardless of the 

 3rop requirements. If the pumping plant is a community plant 

 practically the same regulations obtain as in the case of the com- 

 [nunity reservoir, that is, each farmer entitled to water must use it 

 it "a definite time agreed upon by a majority of the users, whether 

 tiis crop needs water or not. It would, of course, be too expensive 

 to operate the pumping plant for a limited number of farmers whose 

 3rops were not in need of water at the regular irrigating period, 

 riie individual plant is usually more satisfactory from the stand- 

 point that water may be available when needed. The expense, how- 

 ever, of installing and operating individual pumping plants has fre- 

 [^uently been beyond the means of many of the farmers in a given 

 community. It is apparent, therefore, that the water supply for ir- 

 rigating a sufficiently large area to insure the growing of the neces- 

 sary acreage to enable a sugar mill to operate successfully is fre- 

 [juently the deciding factor in the growing of sugar beets. The prob- 



