HOUSE AND GARDEN 
July, 1914 
degrees by means of the handle attached, so that a different strip 
of soil will receive the rainfall. 
The various things required to equip the garden with the sys¬ 
tem are as follows: a main line running from the water supply— 
house supply, tank or pump—to the garden; an upright or “riser” 
from six inches to six feet high, according to what is to be grown, 
and whether the pipes run 
along or across the rows; a 
turning-union which allows 
the pipe to be revolved with¬ 
out leakage at the joint, with 
a handle attached to it which 
is used to revolve the nozzle¬ 
line ; a line of pipe running 
above the ground, parallel 
with the surface, supported 
on posts; and small brass 
nozzles which are screwed 
into the pipe at intervals of 
four feet. 
The water, under pres¬ 
sure, is forced from these 
small nozzles to a distance of 
twenty-five feet, each nozzle¬ 
line thus covering, as it is re¬ 
volved from one side to the 
other, a strip fifty feet wide 
and as long as the length or 
breadth of the garden. As 
far as installing the system 
is concerned, any man who has ever used a pipe-wrench can do 
that by himself. The nozzle-lines should be perfectly straight, 
and the nozzles along the lines must be in an absolutely straight 
line to get the best results. You can have the holes for the noz¬ 
zles drilled by a plumber or pipe-fitter; or for $10 you can get a 
small hand-drill made especially for this work. 
For the summer vegetable garden a line of pipe, or a length of 
hose, may be connected with a valve near the house and run out 
to the garden. If the former, it may be put a few inches below 
the surface, out of the way, and taken up in the fall before freez¬ 
ing weather; or left in if the ground slopes away from the house 
so that it can be drained out. If the space to be irrigated is over 
fifty feet wide, the pipe should run across it at one end. If the 
garden is over three or four hundred feet long, it may be advis¬ 
able to have the feed 
pipe run across it at 
the middle, so that the 
nozzle-lines may be 
run from it in either di¬ 
rection. For narrow 
gardens the pipe may 
be placed along a fence, 
or along the edge of the 
garden, and used for 
watering both the gar¬ 
den and a strip of lawn. 
The nozzle-line may be 
supported either on 
wooden posts or on 
short iron pipe-posts, 
and for short runs may 
be held in place by nails 
or wire, although roll¬ 
ers may be had to fit 
either wood or pipe 
posts, which make the 
turning of the long nozzle-line much easier. 
Here is how to figure out exactly what you would require to 
put in an overhead system for your own garden. To make it 
clearer I have sketched out a diagram for a typical medium-sized 
garden and lawn. This is merely suggestive, to be altered to fit 
your own conditions and measurements. The pipe from the house 
supply (or tank or pump), A 
to B and B to C, should be 
one-inch pipe, but three- 
quarter-inch will do if you 
want to run only one nozzle¬ 
line ( D-E ) at a time. The 
pipe from D to E is three- 
quarter-inch, and should 
preferably be galvanized 
pipe, although plain black, or 
even second-hand black pipe 
will answer the purpose, pro¬ 
vided it is straight. The 
pipes D-E are supported on 
posts placed about fifteen 
feet apart. These may be 
from six inches to six feet 
high, but two to two and a 
half feet will be the most 
convenient unless it is neces¬ 
sary to pass under them. At 
C there is a union with han¬ 
dle for turning the nozzle¬ 
line ; this union also contains 
a brass strainer, and also a cap on the end of the handle so that 
it can be flushed out. At E there should be a removable cap, or 
a faucet if you want to draw off water for washing vegetables or 
some other use. From F, where there is a regular faucet for 
hose connection, the hose F-G may be connected with another 
nozzle-line, C-H-I. At H there is a special union which may be 
coupled or uncoupled at once by hand, so that the pipe G-H may 
be pushed back out of the way of the walk when not in use. The 
irrigation nozzles for this entire equipment would be only $3.75—- 
25 nozzles at 5 cents each for each nozzle line. The two unions 
( D ) would cost $1.80 each. In addition to this there would be 
360 feet of three-quarter-inch pipe, which will cost from 2j/2 to 
5 cents a foot. At the latter price this would come to $18—just 
what you would pay for 100 feet of first quality garden hose. 
The pipe will last a 
life-time and the hose 
two to five years. 
The nozzle-line G-I 
may be used for both 
garden and lawn by 
moving it about and 
making it do the work 
of all three. This is 
cheaper, and while 
much more satisfactory 
than trying to water 
with hose would be, in¬ 
volves a lot of extra 
work and will not do 
the job as well as if 
the pipes are put in and 
left in place. 
Here are some of the 
things to keep in mind 
in applying the water. 
( Cont. on page 62) 
A movable irrigation machine is very convenient for both unobstructed lawns and out- 
of-the-way corners 
In action the irrigation stream covers a maximum of ground with a minimum of labor and insures 
the necessary watering 
