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March, 1906 
AMERDOCAN HOMES AND GARDENS i774 
A New Irrigation System 
By M. Alger 
HE Norwegian soil 
is thin and meager 
and therefore needs 
frequent rain in 
order to produce a 
fair yield. As a 
rule the necessary moisture has been 
plentiful, but during the last three 
to four years the drought has been 
a serious drawback to the Nor- 
wegian farmers. ‘Thus in the sea- 
son 1904 the crop deficit, owing to 
the lack of rain, was estimated at 
30 million kroner, or about $8,000,- 
000. Such sad results have given 
life to the idea of artificial irriga- 
tion. A Norwegian physician, Dr. 
August Koren, Jr., of Christiania, 
is the inventor of a new irrigation 
system, especially adapted for gar- 
dens and for smaller farms. It has 
received much favorable comment 
from interested people as well as 
from the local press. 
The inventor describes his system 
thus: 
The tract of land to be irrigated 
is first divided into long strips, 
about 8 meters (26.24 ft.) in 
width. Running along the middle 
of each strip is placed an open 
wooden conduit about 1-2 meter 
(1-6 ft.) above the ground, 
through which the water is led. The 
water is distributed at both sides 
from the conduits by the aid of 
large zinc sprinklers, which run on 
small wheels along the edge of the 
conduits, but somewhat closer to the 
ground. The sprinklers are 4 meters (13.12 ft.) in length 
and 0.75 meters (2.46 ft.) in width and will, while station- 
ary, water one garden bed at a time, whereupon they may be 
moved by a man or boy from bed to bed. 
While the sprinkler remains stationary, distributing 
water, the gardener may attend to other work in the garden. 
By this method the work is simplified and made easy, time 
is economized and sprinkling is effectively accomplished. 
The water is carried to the 
sprinklers from the conduits by the 
aid of movable conductors of zinc, 
to which are fastened a_ rubber 
hose about 2 meters (6.56 ft.) in 
length. The conductors with the 
hose are placed in the conduits. 
When the water is set free in the 
conduits and the lower part of the 
hose is placed over its edge in a 
suitable position, the water runs 
through the hole, over the edge 
of the conduits into the sprinkler 
and is distributed by the latter as 
desired. 
General View of the Watering System 
The Irrigation Plant at Work 
The sprinklers diverge from the 
usual construction, inasmuch as all 
their holes or openings are fully 
provided with small 
zinc stoppers, which 
main in their places. The stoppers 
allow the water to escape from their 
points gently, drop by drop, like 
rain. This is considered a great ad- 
vantage, especially when new, ten- 
der plants and germinating seeds 
are to be watered. This new method 
for causing water to descend gent- 
ly, which is Dr. Koren’s own in- 
vention, is believed to be valuable 
both for technical and_ industrial 
purposes, without regard to its im- 
portance for use in irrigation. The 
water also tempers while dripping 
from the sprinkler. 
The conduits as above described 
are stationary. In gardens their 
presence will not hinder or be in the 
way of the attendants or laborers, 
but in larger tracts they would be 
an obstacle both during the cultiva- 
tion and harvesting period. In order 
to avoid this, Dr. Koren has also 
constructed a water cart, for use 
on larger tracts, which is operated 
on the same principle, with movable 
sprinklers. 
The cart is provided with a 
motor, driven by water power. The 
water is forced through a rubber 
hose, which has been so designed 
by its ingenious inventor that it will 
unwind from the spindle when the 
cart is set in forward motion and 
again wind itself onto the spindle when the cart is set in 
backward motion. The cart has consequently to pass once 
to and fro over each piece of ground, whereafter it passes 
to the next. The water, supplied from a well or brook, 
having the required pressure, passes from the hose to 
a turbine to the left on the cart; the turbine sets the small 
driving wheels in motion at the direction of the driver. 
When the water has passed the turbine it is led up into the 
sprinklers, from which it is evenly 
distributed over the ground. By 
turning a water-cock the driver may 
also pass the water directly from the 
hose into the sprinklers, without let- 
ting it pass the turbine. The cart is 
manageable in all directions. Its 
speed can easily be increased or de- 
creased at the will of the driver. 
The cart is, as before stated, pro- 
vided with a motor and horses are 
consequently not needed; its weight 
is about 500 kilogrammes (half a 
ton). With a 25 mm. (1 inch) 
hose, inside diameter, and a turbine 
loose-fitting 
always re- 
a ent 
