342 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. {1 Nov., 1902. 
In using a deep well pump it is advisable for the suction to be as small as: 
possible—that is to say, the cylinder had best be placed either in the water in 
the bore or close to it, as this insures against possible loss of power by the suction 
of air instead of water. 
Deep well pumps are largely used in California for irrigating orchards and 
vegetable gardens, and are found to be the simplest and most satisfactory means. 
of raising water from wells or bores in which the water is more than 25 feet 
from the surface, or when the total height that the water has to be raised 
without forcing exceeds 25 feet. Having now dealt with the question of 
raising water, I come to that of distribution, and this will apply equally in the 
case when the water is raised to the surface or slightly above it and is thence 
distributed by gravitation, or when it is raised to the surface and thence forced 
to the highest part of the land to be irrigated and distributed from there. 
In most cases the quantity of water available will not be sufficient for 
distribution by means of raised ditches and open channels, so I will leave this 
means of distribution for the present and will confine my remarks to the distribu- 
tion of comparatively small quantities of water so as to minimise loss and secure 
the best results. 
In the first place, it is necessary to provide a cheap method of conveying 
the water to the trees or vegetables, and this can be done by means of canvas 
hose of any desired length or by means of a system of light portable 
galvanised piping, as there is no pressure on the distributing piping, the ~ 
water running by gravitation. For example, say that the water is raised from 
a creek into a 400-gallon tank, placed on the bank which is higher than the 
land to be irrigated ; all that is required is to fix a discharge pipe near the 
bottom of the tank to which the canvas hose or portable piping is attached, and 
the water is conveyed thence to the trees or vegetables that it is desired to water. 
Light galvanised piping can be obtained in Brisbane at the following 
prices, viz. :—8d. per foot for 2-inch; 4d. per foot for 38-inch; and 5d. per foot 
for 4-inch inside diameter, the piping being in 12-foot lengths and fitting 
together like stove pipes. Such a piping can be quickly laid down and fitted 
together, and can be transferred whenever required, a few |_ and T connections 
completing the plant, so as to direct the flow of water in any direction that 
may be desired. : 
Such a system of distribution is applicable either to hillsides or level ground, 
and secures the carrying of the water to the point to which it is required to be 
applied with very little loss, as the leakage from the pipes is trifling. 
The method of applying the water will depend largely on the slope of the 
ground, the nature of soil, and also of the crop to which it has to be applied, 
but in order to save water it is advisable that the flow in open channels should 
not be excessive ; that is to say, only a short distance—say 20 to 30 yards, 
according to the soil—should be watered at once. All vegetables should be 
grown in rows, the rows following the contour of the ground, and should be 
irrigated by furrows between the rows. ach irrigation should be followed by 
cultivation to prevent the caking of the surface and consequent loss by 
evaporation, the depth of the cultivation depending on the nature of the crop. 
to be watered. 
In irrigating fruit trees the water should be applied in deep furrows, or on 
hillside land, in trenches cut on the upper side of the tree, as by this means the 
water will sink deeply into the soil, and will thus come into reach of the main 
feeding roots, whereas if applied on or near the surface it will tend to the 
formation of surface roots, which suffer with every dry spell, when, the 
deeper roots will not be affected. Both furrows and trenches should be filled 
in as soon as the water has soaked in well, and the soil will not cake, as doing 
this will prevent evaporation and thus save water. In the case of fruit trees a 
steady soaking for an hour or longer, by means of a comparatively small supply 
of water, is preferable to applying the water too rapidly, as the slow 
absorption will penetrate deeper and spread further in the soil. A thorough, 
deep irrigation is of more permanent value than several surface waterings. 
