128 The Sugar-Beet in America 
head of such a canal is sometimes many miles from the 
farm; at other times the land to be irrigated is along the 
banks of the stream. 
When irrigation water is secured directly from a river, 
only part of the water can be used, since the irrigation 
season occupies but a few months out of the year, whereas 
the stream flows continuously, often having its greatest 
flow when the water is not being utilized. In order to 
make more water available, storage reservoirs are built. 
These receive the water at times when it is not being used 
and hold it until the irrigating season. As more land is 
farmed and as water becomes less plentiful, increased 
provision for storage is made. 
The pumping of water for irrigation from wells and 
ponds is increasing rapidly. The depth from which it 
can be pumped economically for beets depends on the 
expense of fuel, or power, and a number of other factors. 
Many beets are raised, with water pumped from a depth 
of fifty feet ; and in some cases a part of the water used for 
beets is pumped more than one hundred feet. 
Measurement of water. 
Irrigation water, as well as land and crops, should be 
measured. In the past, guessing at the amount of water 
used has been more common than making accurate meas- 
urements. This has led to endless disputes and trouble 
concerning water rights. In the future, those concerned 
with the use of water will need to be familiar with methods 
of making measurements and expressing quantities. This 
will be especially true on sugar-beet farms where land and 
water are usually high-priced. 
