344 DRY-FARMING 



gated the same problem under Arizona conditions 

 and found that it cost approximately seventeen cents 

 to raise one acre foot of water to a height of one foot. 

 A very elaborate investigation of this nature was 

 conducted in California by Le Conte and Tait. They 

 studied a large number of pumping plants in actual 

 operation under California conditions, and deter- 

 mined that the total cost of raising one acre foot of 

 water one foot was, for gasoline power, four cents 

 and upward; for electric power, seven to sixteen 

 cents, and for steam, four cents and upward. Mead 

 has reported obser^'ations on se^'ent^'-two windmills 

 near Garden City, Kansas, which irrigated from 

 one fourth to seven acres each at a cost of seventy- 

 five cents to $6 per acre. All in all, these results 

 justify the belief that water may be raised profitably 

 by pumping for the purpose of irrigating crops. 

 When the very great value of a little water on a 

 dry-farm is considered, the figures here given do not 

 seem at all excessive. It must be remarked again 

 that a reservoir of some sort is practically indispen- 

 sable in connection with a pumping plant if the irri- 

 gation water is to be used in the best way. 



The use of SDicdl quantities of water in inigation 



Now, it is undoubtedly true that the acre cost of 

 water on dry-farms, where pumping jilants or similar 

 devices must be used with ex]:)ensive reservoirs, is 



