IRRIGATION IN CONNECTICUT. 233 
within a narrow valley, passes through the farm, and the tilla- 
ble lands lie mainly upon slopes just outside this valley. The 
water of the stream is not very cold, and the temperature is 
raised somewhat by allowing the water to stand in a storage 
pond, where a large surface is exposed to the direct rays of the 
sun. The water appears to contain quite a little organic mat- 
ter, and doubtless furnishes considerable plant-food in addition 
to the direct effects of the water. 
It was found impossible to get the water to other than a 
small portion of the farm by damming the stream and building 
ditches; and it would have cost quite a sum even then to have 
secured the ‘‘ right of way,’’ as the water would have had to 
be taken from a point beyond the limits of the farm. ' Some 
form of pumping appliance seemed to be the only feasible 
means of making the water available for irrigation, and a ram 
was adopted as the most practicable. In order to get the nec- 
essary fall for ‘‘running’’ the ram, a canal about forty rods in 
length was dug along the outer edge of the valley. From the 
lower end of this canal the water makes a fall of seven feet, 
through a 6-inch drive-pipe, and operates a large ram located 
near the centre of the valley. ‘The water is turned into the 
canal by a small and inexpensive wooden dam. No more water 
is allowed to enter the canal than can be carried off through 
the drive-pipe of the ram. The supply that flows in the brook 
is many times the amount that even the heaviest form of ram 
could lift. 
At quite an elevation above the cultivated fields, on soil of a 
heavy, clayey nature, was a small pond that usually became | 
dry in summer. . This was enlarged by dredging, and by build- 
ing an earth dam on two sides. - A storage pond was thus 
provided with an area of about half an acre and an average 
depth of about four feet, with a bottom tight enough to pre- 
vent much soakage. ‘This pond is located about eighty rods 
from the stream, at the nearest point, and high enough to give 
good fall to most of the cultivated fields. ‘The water has to be 
lifted to a height of seventy feet before it enters the storage 
pond. Connections can be made with this pipe at various 
points between the ram and the storage pond, and the water 
be thus used directly for irrigating certain areas. The main 
pipe used is two and one-half inches in diameter, and is laid 
