164 



DRY-FARMING CONGRESS, WICHITA, 1914 



the United States Department of Agriculture, the State Conservation Com- 

 mission and various implement houses and these cooperating with the 

 railroad and the farmers themselves have established two demonstration 

 farms. 



Farm at Malone 



At Malone on the main line of the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt 

 Lake Railroad, 189 miles from Salt Lake City and 595 miles from Los 

 Angeles, a 10-acre demonstration farm has been established. The land 

 was secured very late, but through the cooperation of the various agencies 

 was cleared, plowed and crops seeded during the season o f 1914. In addi- 

 tion to a small orchard the following crops were planted: Barley and 

 alfalfa, wheat, oats, potatoes, corn, peas and oats, peas and barley and 

 a wide variety of garden crops. At this point, too, a considerable field 

 of beans was planted .The farm was laid out so as to enable various 

 methods of irrigation to be employed. Portions of the field were planned 

 to be grown by dry-farming — receiving no irrigation whatever — ^ther por- 

 tions of the field were to receive a very small irrigation, but other por- 

 tions were to receive large amounts. The most profitable utilization of 

 the water was to be determined. A well was dug and water was en- 

 countered at 48 feet. At the present time there are 12 feet of water 

 with four 8-inch pipes driven 3 feet below the bottom o f the well tapping 

 a second stratum of water-bearing gravel, with water under pressure. 

 When the water level in the well is lowered each pipe discharges a heavy 

 flow and pumping tests have demonstrated that we can secure with this 

 well a steady discharge equal to 390 gallons per minute or nearly .9 of 

 a second-foot of water. Mr. L. M. Winsor, Irrigation Engineer employed 

 jointly by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Extension 

 Division of the Utah Agricultural College, has had immediate supervision 

 of these farms and Mr. Winsor reports that the flow from this well 

 (.9 of a second-foot), is sufficient to give 3 good irrigations 130 acres 

 of land in 3 months, pumping 12 hours per day and during 6 days of 

 each week. The engine used is a 15-horsepower crude oil engine and 

 the pump is a 4-inch vertical, centrifugal Byron-Jackson. Sufficient tests 

 have not been made to enable those in charge to determine definitely and 

 accurately the cost of raising this water. Sufficient progress has been 

 made, however, to demonstrate the entire feasibility o f this method of 

 irrigation. There is no question but that the homesteader can employ 

 this method to marked advantage in the irrigation of crops intended to 

 be intensively cultivated. With sufficient water to insure the farmer against 

 seasons of low rainfall there is no question but that a home can be suc- 

 cessfully established. It is believed that if but 20 acres of each home- 

 stead be placed under irrigation, the remainder of the farm can be profit- 

 ably planted to rye, barley, wheat and corn. The construction of a silo 

 and the utilization of silage for dairy cows and hogs makes possible the 

 establishment of a farm along the most improved and intelligent systems 

 of management. 



