Irrigation Experiments 
Milo B. Williams. 
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : 
During the spring of 1909 a co-opera¬ 
tive arrangement was entered into be¬ 
tween the office of experiment stations, 
U. S. Department of Agriculture, and 
Dr. Charles Drennen, of Orlando, Flor¬ 
ida, for the installation of an experimen¬ 
tal irrigation plant and distribution sys¬ 
tem for the purpose of investigating the 
practical and economical methods of ap¬ 
plying water to citrus groves in Florida. 
Preliminary surveys were run and tests 
made during the spring months of 1909, 
the tests being conducted with the pump¬ 
ing plant Dr. Drennen had at that time. 
Water was conveyed through the orchard 
in open ditches and applied to the sur¬ 
face by means of furrows or in basins, 
and a study made bringing out the follow¬ 
ing general data. 
(1) That the loss of water is exces¬ 
sive when run for a length of time in 
open supply ditches made in the sandy 
soil. 
(2) That water can be distributed 
over the surface in small furrows, pro¬ 
viding the furrows are given proper 
grades and from 25 to 30 gallons of wa¬ 
ter be supplied to each furrow per min¬ 
ute. 
(3) That the tendency of the dry soil 
is to present a resistance to the taking 
of water when first applied, which aids 
greatly in the flooding of small basin 
areas. 
(4) That the water when applied to 
the Florida high land soil in furrows does 
not percolate laterally in the root zone 
of the citrus tree more than 2 or 3 feet 
distance from the point of application in 
five days’ time, but has a tendency to go 
downward rapidly and be wasted in the 
deep porous white sand, making it neces¬ 
sary for a close spacing of furrows and 
a large flow of water to each furrow for 
a short length of time. 
From this data it was decided to re¬ 
model the pumping plant already on the 
ground in such a way that it could be 
used in supplying a distribution system 
built similar to the concrete construction 
used so extensively in the irrigation of 
citrus groves by gravity flow in Southern 
California. 
THE REMODELED PLANT. 
The pumping plant as now installed 
consists of a 25-horse power Hagen gas¬ 
oline engine, connected by belt to a 5-inch 
Gould centrifugal pump of the one-stage 
type. The water is drawn from a large 
lake supply and lifted to an elevation of 
34 feet above the lake water level, where 
it is delivered into a concrete standpipe 
