IRRIGATION REPORTS. 

The following list contains the titles and brief descriptions of the principal reports 

relating to water supply and irrigation prepared by the United States Geological 

Survey since 1890: 

1S90. 

First Annual Report of the United States Irrigation Survey, 1890, octavo, 123 pp. 

Printed as Part II, Irrigation, of the Tenth Annual Report of tho United States Geological Survey, 1888-89. Contains a statement of the origin of the Irrigation Survey, a preliminary 

report on the organization and prosecution of the survey of the ari<l lands for purposes of irn· 

gation, and report of work done during 1890. 

1S91. 

Second Annual Report of the United States Irrigation Survey, 1£91, octavo, S95 pp. 

Published as Part II, Irrigation, of the Eleventh Annual Report of the United States Geolog. leal Survey, 1889-90. Contains a description of the hydrography of the ariel re<>"ion and of tno engineering operations carried on by the Irrigation Survey during 1890; also t~e statement of 

the Director of the Survey to the House (Jommittee on Irrigation, and other papers, including a bibliography of irrigation literature. illustrated by 29 plates an<l 4 figures. 

Third Annual Report of tho United States Irrigation Survey, 1891, octavo, 576 pp. 

Printc<l as Part II of the Twelfth Annual Report of the Unite<l States Geological Survey, 

1890-91. Contains a report upon the locati<.n and survey of reservoir sites during tho fiscal 

year en<linf:" June HO, 1891, by A. H. Thompson; "llydrography of the arid regions," by F. H. 

Newell; " rrigation in India," by Herbert M. Wilson. Illustrated by 93 plates and 190 figures. 

Bulletins of the Eleventh Census of the United States upon irrigation, prepared by F. H. Newell, quarto. 

No. 35, Irrigation in Arizona; No. 60, Irrigation in New Mexico; No. 85, Irriga- tion in Utah; No. 107, Irrigation in Wyoming; No. 153, Irrigation in Montana; 

No. 157, Irrigation in Idaho; No. 163, Irrigation in Nevada; No. 178, Irrigation 

in Oregon; No, 193, Artesian wells for irrigation; No, lS81 Irrigation in Washington, 

1S9~. 

Irrigation of western United States, by F. H. Newell; extra census bulletin No. 23, 

September 9, 1892, quarto, 22 pp. 

Contains tabulations showins- the total number, averngo size, etc., of irrigate<l holdings, the 

total area and a,verage size of trri~ate<l farms in the subhumid regions, the percenta~e of num~ 

ber of farms irrigated, character of ·crops, value of irrigated lands, 1 he average cost of Irrigation, the investment and profits, together with a resume of tho water supply an<l a description of irri· 

gation by artesian wells, Illustrated by colored maps showing tho location and relative extent of the irrigated areas. 

· t.S93. 

Thirteenth Annu~l Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1891-92, Part III, 

Irrigation, 18:.~, octavo, 486 pp. 

Consists of three papers: Water supply for irrigation, by F. H. Newell; American engineering 

and engineering results of the Irrigation Survey, by Herbert l\1:. \Vilson; Construction of tepo· 

graphic maps and selection and survey of reservoir sites, by A. H. Thompson. Illustrated by 77 plates an<lll9 figures. 

A geological rcconnoissance in central Washington, by Israel Cook Russell, 1893, 

octavo, 108 pp., 15 plates. Bulletin No. 108 of the United States Geological Survey; price, 15 cents. 

Contains a doscrip1ion of the examination of the geologic structure in an<l adjacent to the 

drainage basin of Yakima River and the great plains of the Columbia to the east of this area, with special reference to the occurrence <if artesian waters. 

(Continued on thir<l page of cover.) 
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

W ATER-SlTPPL Y 

AND 

IRRIGATION PAPERS 

OF THE 

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

No.5 

W .. A .. SHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

18D7 

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

CHARLES D. WALCOTT, DIRECTOR 

IRRIGATION PRACTICE ON THE GREAT PLAINS 

BY 

ELIAS BRANSON COWG-ILJ_. 

WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMEN'l' PRINTING OFFICE 

1897 

CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Letter of transmittal _______________ .. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 9 

General statement_ _____________ . _ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___________________ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11 

Reservoirs for storm waters ________________________________________ . _____ ~ 12 

Rese1·voirs for pumped water________ _ _________ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 14 

Ditches __________ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _____ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _____________ . ____ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 19 

Distributing water__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 21 

Methods of watering_._____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _________ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 23 

Cultivation_____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 27 

Subirrigation __________ • _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 28 

Amount of water required______ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 33 

Winter irrigation____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 37 

Index __ .. ____________ -_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 39 

5 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PLATE I. Munger orchard, Greenwood County, Kansas __ ------------------ II. Munger reservoir dam ____ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___ _ 

Iii. Small irrigation reservoir at Garden, Kansas . __________________ _ 

IV. Small reservoir, showing windmill and outlet ___________________ _ 

V. Reservoir and irrigated field ___________________________________ _ 

VI. Plan of Perry farm, Clark County, Kansas ____________________ _ 

VII. Distributing ditch __________ . __ . ___________________ ... ___ . _. _____ _ 

VIII. Reservoir and garden ______ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___________________ _ 

IX. Canvas dam in distributing ditch ___ .. _ _ _________________________ . 

X. Earth dam in distributing ditch _____________ . ______ .. ___________ _ 

XI. Furrow irrigation __________ .. _ _ _ _ _ . __________________________ . 

XII. Saturating ground ___ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ______________________________ _ 

FIG. 1. Reservoir and windmill north of Garden, Kansas ________________ _ 

2. Diagram of reservoir and outlet____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ____ .. __ . 

3. Reservoir flume and gate_ _ ________ ~ __________________________ _ 

4. Land grader __ . _ _ _ ____________________________________________ _ 

5. Diagram illustrating flooding in rectangular block ______________ _ 

6. Diagram illustrating flooding within levees on irregular ground __ 

7. Plan of su birriga ting system_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . ___ . ____________ - __ -. _____ _ 

8. Section of open -seam pipe ________________________ ~ ___ -_--- ______ _ 

7 

Page. 

12 

12 

14 

16 

18 

20 

20 

22 

22 

24 

26 

28 

15 

17 

18 

22 

24 

25 

29 

32 

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, 

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, 

DIVISION OF HYDROGRAPHY, 

Washington, March 3, 1897. 

SIR: I have the honor to tran'smit herewith a paper entitled "Irrigation Practice on the Great Plains," by Prof. E. B. Cowgill, and to 

recommend that it be published in the series of papers upon water 

supply and irrigation. Professor Cowgill's experience as a practical 

farmer and irrigator and as the editor of an agricultural paper renders 

his observations upon irrigation practice of especial value in discussions of the methods of utilizing the water resources of semiarid areas. 

Very respectfully, 

Hon. CHARLES D. WALCOTT, 

F. H. NEWELL, 

Hyd'rographer ·in Charge. 

Director United States Geological Survey. 

9 
• 
IRRIGATION PRACTICE ON THE GREAT PLAINS. 

BY E. B. COWGILL. 

GENERAL STATEMENT. 

The characteristics of topography and climate which influence the 

practice of irrigation on the Great Plains may be summed up in the 

general statement that the land is usu&lly smooth, the soil extremely 

deep and fertile, the rainfall scanty and irregular, the sunshine 

abundant, and the water supply varia-ble and uncertain. In seasons 

of unusual rainfall a stranger entering western Kansas is astonished 

that a land of such remarkable productiveness has been almost 

abandoned since its first settlement. Coming again after a season of 

deficient rainfall he would be equally surprised that anyone could 

have been tempted to try to make a living on the barren prairies .. 

Happening upon a. spot where irrigation is practiced, he at once 

appreciates the enormous importance that water bears to the successful settlement of the country, for there agriculture on a small scale is. 

profitable no matter what may be the character of the season; there 

all of the elements-soil, sunshine, and water-combine to produce a 

fruitful increase of plant life. 

The water supply of the region, at best scanty, is yet ample for the 

development of considerable areas, far greater than are at present 

occupied. In this paper it is not proposed to discuss what or where 

these sources are, but, assuming that water is to be had from surface 

streams, storm waters, or wells or other underground sources, the 

attempt is made to describe in a general way to the farmers, especially to those who have not practiced irrigation, the methods of 

controlling, storing, distributing, and applying the waters to the cultivated fields. It is recognized that no description can ever take the 

place of actual experience, but it is possible to give general directions 

which the individual farmer, by experiment and observation, can 

adapt to his peculiar needs. 

11 
12 IRRIGATION PHACTICE ON THE GREAT PLAINS. [No.5. 

RESERVOIRS FOR STORM WATERS. 

Artificial reservoirs have oeen founu a necessity in the irrigation 

of the plains. Storm waters can not be controlled or directed upon 

the land as they fall. They run off from the hard, sun-baked prairies 

in torrents, especially in those portions of the country where reliance 

must be placed chiefly on such waters. For the storage of this water 

reservoir sites are easily found, and are usually selected with a view to 

impounding the water from a considerable drainage arP-a. The 

retaining dams are of various sizes, according to the needs and the 

means of the persons constructing them. A reservoir to contain an 

acre or so of water is easily made by placing an earthen dam across 

the outlet of the drainage area, even though the slopes may be very 

gradual. The dam has not usually to be buil~ very high, and the 

principal precaution necessary is to provide against washing out in 

time of freshet. The larger reservoirs differ in no e·ssential from the 

smaller, except that the sites must be selected with reference to 

larger areas of drainage, and the dams usually require more work, 

both as to engineering and construction. 

A typical example of this kind is the reservoir of. George M. Munger, of Greenwood County, Kansas. Mr. Munger is engaged extensively in orcharding, having 500 acres of fruit trees 1~eady to bear. 

Notwithstanding his location near the ninety-sixth meridian, far 

within what is usually designated as the "rain belt," he has concluded, after careful investigation of the subject, that the realization 

of the expected profits of his orchard is dependent to a large extent 

upon the artificial application of water. There are no surface streams 

near from which to obtain water in the usual way. There is on his 

farm, however, an eligible site for a storm-water reservoir. But most 

of his orchard and farming land is at a higher level than the reservoir 

site, so t,hat, after collecting the water, he is obliged to pump it. 

The accompanying view, Pl. I, gives the relative location of the 

orcha.rd and source of water supply. The storm reservoir can be seen 

in the distance to the left, while between it and the orchard is the 

pumping station. The ravine in which the dam is placed runs diagonally through t,he farm. The sides of it have a gentle slope, thus 

necessitating the construction of a dam of considerable length, as 

shown in the illustration, Pl. II. In order to provide a safe and sufficient spillway, it was necessary to build the dam to considerably 

larger dimensions than would otherwise have been essential. The 

topography is such that water could be wasted over a natural ridge 

having a breadth of about 1,000 feet. It was therefore decided to 

carry the dam to a sufficient height above this ridge to hold in check 

any freshet of unust:tal size and turn it over the crest of this depression. 

The watershed above the point at which the dam is located is about 

800 acres in extent. The valley shows by watermarks that the high 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 5 PL. I 

MUNGER ORCHARD, GREENWOOD COUNTY, KANSAS. 

Part of a 500-acre orchard Irrigated with storm water. 
ll. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WAfER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 5 PL. II 

MUNGER RESERVOIR DAM. 

A 90-acre storm-water reservoir on farm of G M. Munger, Greenwood County, Kan sas. 
COWGILL.] RESERVOIRS FOR STORM W AT.ERS. 13 

floods spread out to the width of about 300 feet. The clam is 2,582 feet 

long, 192 feet broad at the widest part of the base, and a little less 

than 40 feet at the highest point above the bottom of the valley. The 

estimated area of water when full is 160 acres, and the estimated 

capacity 1,600 acre-feet. 1 It was expected that tw·o years of average 

run-off would fill the reservoir. 

In the construction of the dam, which was built exclusively of 

earth, the sod was entirely removed· and placed at the rear face. 

The old water channel was thoroughly cleansed of the was~ed-in 

gravel, and the work begun with new earth. The soil is a heavy clay 

with the usual variations, including probably a full supply of gumbo 

and alkali. 

The matter of seepage through the dam and the method of correcting it was considered by Mr. Munger, who state:; in general terms 

that while the authorities on the construction of earthen dams recommend that the earth be especially selected .for the face, and a puddle 

trench be placed in the heart of the work, it seemed difficult to formulate a scheme for so doing that did not. involve too great expense. 

Earth was taken as it came in the borrow pits, and in each successive 

pit was used as deep as it could readily be obtained. All earth was 

taken from inside the work, except where it could not be had without 

too great a haul. Several smaller dams had been previously ~onstructecl on the place, and in each and every place there was a seepage along the toe of the dam, but in no case was it sufl:icient to 

endanger the stability of the work. rrhe same trouble developed in 

this work, and on account of the magnitude of the dam it was deemed 

expedient to correct it. This was accomplished by running a per-:-

manent stone drain along the toe of the clam, grading it to the lowest 

point possible, and running laterals to every seepy spot that showed. 

The result was very satisfact.ory, there having been a small stream 

running from the drain constantly since its construction, but now 

materially reduced in volume. 

The original estimate shows about 100,000 cubic yards as the earth 

contents of the dam, but, on account of the action of the waves on 

the surface of the dam, it. was found that the estimate was considerably exceeded. It was found impracticable to prevent, by riprapping, 

the water from bringing the face of the dam to the natural grade, so 

that no protection had been provided against the action of the waves 

until the grade determined by the water was made, when the face 

of the clam was riprapped to prevent further loss of earth from the 

action of the waves. 

Except for the fact that ~lr. Munger has many hundreds of acres of 

land to irrigate, so large a construction would not be a(lvisable, but 

the plan of this reservoir and the methods pursued in its construction 

1 Irrigating a 500-acre orchard, by George :M:. Munger: Report of the Kansas State Board of 

Agriculture for the quar.ter ending March 31, 1895, pp. 66-71. 
IRRIGATION PRACTICE ON THE GREAT PLAINS. [No.5. 

may well be taken as models by those whose requirements demand 

reservoirs of only moderate size. Water may be drawn through i:. 

flume for the irrigation of considerable areas of Mr. Munger's farm 

which lie at a lower level than that of the water in the reservoir, but 

for most of the farm it is necessary to raise water. This is done by 

two compound, duplex, direct-acting steam pumps of a daily capacity 

of about 4,000,000 gallons, which forward the water rapidly enough 

to make unnecessary a distributing reservoir from which to draw the 

water when supplying it to the land. 

RESERVOIRS FOR PUMPED WATER. 

Reservoirs for pumped water differ in several respects from those 

for storm water. The site for a pumped-water reservoir should be 

selected on the highest part of the land to be irrigated. The form 

will not usually be determined by the contour of the land, bu~ by the 

taste or convenienee of the irrigator. Not infrequently sueh reservoirs are made square, or at least reetangular. Some are made 

cireular, thus securing the greatest content for a given amount of 

embankment. In size, pumped-water reservoirs vary from quite 

small, as shown by Pl. III-say 30 feet square-to those containing 

half an acre or an acre of ground. Irrigation with pumped water 

has been confined to small operat,ions, at least in Kansas and upon 

the Great· Plains, making large storage capaeity unnecessary. Since 

pumping into the reservoir is done almost exclusively with windmills, 

the work of which varies with the wind, it is sometimes thought that 

~he size of reservoir, eompared with the land irrigated, should be considerably increased above the dimensions now in common use. But 

the practice has been to use the reservoir as an accumulator, giving 

the irrigator command of his water supply rapidly, rather than as a 

store against the time when water may not be obtained by the aid of 

the wind. Experience has confirmed the practice of using the reservoir merely as an accumulator, except for large gardening operations, 

for which a delay in the applieation of water sometimes proves disastrous. With other crops it is found quite possible to anticipate probable scareity by storing abundanee of moisture in the porous subsoil. 

The relative size of the reservoir to the land to be irrigated averages 

from about 1 to 80 to about 1 to 100. 

The depth of the reservoir when first eonstrueted is generally 4 feet; 

that is, the bank which constitutes the dam all around the area to be 

filled with water is raised about 4 feet above the natural surface of 

the soil, as shown in fig. 1. The earth for the construction of the 

dam is usually taken from within the reservoir, so that the depth of 

water in the reservoir would be somewhat more than 4 feet if it were 

filled to the top of the b9,nk. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 5 PL. Ill 

SMALL IRRIGATION RESERVOIR. AT GARDEN , KANSAS. 
COWGILL. ] RESERVOIRS FOR PUMPED WATER. 15 

Reservoirs are, as a rule, made on land which has been under cultivation. In preparing foe the work all trash should be removed and 

the ground which is to serve as the foundation of the dam should be 

about four times as broad as the height of the proposed embankment 

around the reservoir. It is a good plan in plowing this foundation to 

turn the furrows so as to leave a dead f urrow in the middle and then 

to pump water into this dead furrow, wetting all the base of the dam 

FIG. I.- Reservoir and windmill n orth of Garden, Kansas. 

thoroughly. After this has sutliciently settled to admit of driving over 

it,, it is well to tramp it by driving horses or other heavy animals over 

it until it is well compacted. The land in the interior of the reservoir is plowed and the loose earth is removed to the embankment, 

usually with the ordinary slip scraper, although in the constmction 

of very large reservoirs wheeled scrapers are sometimes used . 

In depositing the soil which is to constitute the embankment, it is 
16 .IRRIGATION PRACTICE ON THE GREAT PLAINS. [N0.5. 

better to keep the parts which ·will become the faces higher than the 

center, thus leaving a channel all around through the whole of the 

embankment. At the close of each day's work.care should be taken 

that this channel be continuous, and that the top of the embankment 

be about the same height all around, so that water may be pumped 

into the channel in the heart of the bank, thoroughly soaking it. In 

soils at all likely to seep it is very important that the precaution of 

soaking the bank daily as it is built be observed. If not made too 

soft in the evening, it will usually be ·in condition to tramp in the 

morning, and this should be . done by driving repeatedly around on 

top of the embankment made. If each day's work is treated in this 

way, there will l;>e little trouble from seepage through the bank of the 

completed reservoir. 

The crumbling soils of. Kansas will _usually take about the correct 

form for a bank as deposited from th~ scraper and under the tramp-· 

ing here recommended. Some who prefer to have the banks steeper 

than they are usually left ii1 this . way trim them up with a shovel, 

afterwards sodding to P!event further crumbling. This answers very 

well for the outside of the dam; and sod used inside, as shown in 

fig. 1, is a protection against washing until the soil shall have become 

so thoroughly settled as to be less affected by the action of the waves. 

If the reservoir be small, it is sometimes inexpedient to take from the 

interior the _entire amount of earth required for the embank~ent. 

Experience has shown that soil near the surface more readily becomes 

a water holder than does that from the substratum.. In any case it · 

is not safe to employ the gravelly subsoil which prevails almost everywhere in the larger valleys of western Kansas. 

After the completion of the bank, the next work is to make the bottom of the reservoir water-tight. 1.,his is done by plowing the; entire 

area to a depth of 3 or 4 inches, harrowing it fine, and then p~ 

in enough water to cover the entire bottom-if, indeed, it dde~ J.ot 

seep out too fast to {tdmit of this. In ~ny case, water sr~uld '~ 

pumped in until a considerable area is thoroughly soaked., .Ass~ ... ~. 

as this is settled suffici-ently, _so that heavy animals will ~o.·t s.~n~·.~_-·.'.< .. .1 __ •. ~ ... ~: more than 6 or 8 inches, horses or cattle are turned in and <h~ 

around over the water-soaked area until it becomes hard. 'fhen m-.; 

water is pumped in and a larger area soaked. It is usually found that: 

after the first partial soaking and· the subsequent tramping the' en~-~~!' 

area of the bottom may be covered with water. Enough water should:'· 

be put in to thoroughly soak every foot of the area, so that it would 

be dangerous to immediately take large animals into it. After a few 

days, however, this will have settled so that animals may be safely 

driven over Jt, when it should be tramped C.Ontinuously until it 

becomes so hard that the hoofs of the animals scarcely mark it. Such. 

puddling rarely fails-even in very open soils and in those which 

seem to be nearly all sand-to make a reservoir so t.ight that the 
U S. GEOLOGiCAL SU RV€"Y 

~.., !-"\ ' 

WATER- SUPPLY PAPER NO. 5 PL.. IV 

SMALL RESERVOIR, SHOWING WINDM ILL AND OUTLET, AT GARDEN, KANSAS. 
COWGILL.] RESERVOIRS FOR PUMPED WATER. 17 

seepage under 4 feet of water is insignificant. In rare cases it may be 

necessary to t.hrow in manure, or at least straw or hay, and again 

soak and tramp, but generally there is enough organic 

matter in the surface soil to puddle sufficiently without the addition of any other material. Some preparations have been advertised as linings for reservoirs, 

but the cheapest and undoubtedly the best lining is as 

deep puddling as can be done with heavy animals. 

Every reservoir must, of course, be provided with a 

suitable outlet for the watM, and unless careful attention to the pumping can be relied upon there should 

be also an overflow or waste-way. The outlet flume 

should be provided when the reservoir is laid out and 

before ·the banks are completed. The bottom of the 

outlet should be placed as low as the bottom of the 

ditch outside, as shown in fig. 2, but is usually not so 

low as the bottom of the reservoir inside, so that the 

water is not all drawn from the reservoir. It is found 

that reservoirs retain their ability to resist seepage 

better if never entirely drained. This is especially 

true in the winter season, when, if allowed to freeze, 

the puddling of the bottom frequently becomes so dcteeiorated as to necessitate renewal. The flume should 

be long enough to reach entirely through the embankment. It is usually made of 2-inch planks, with a 

clear opening of 6 by 8 inches. vVhm·e large areas are 

to be irrigated, making r?tpidity of supply essential, 

the box should be made larger, and for field work an 

opening of 12 by 1 6 inches will be found ample. It is 

not ahvays necessary to use the full size of the opening, but the flow is regulated by the extent to which 

the valve or gate is raised. 

Several forms of valve have been used. .An excellent one is shown in the illustration, fig. 3, from a 

Kansas experiment station bulletin. 1 This gives a perspective view of the outlet box with guides attached 

for holding the valve or gate. This is faced with leather 

securely held by tacks. The gate is best operated by 

a carpenter's bench-screw attached to a suitable support and engaging a nut on the upright standard. 

An efficient gate is also shown in the illustrationl.. Pl. 

IV, operated by a lever and rod extending through the 

outlet box. vVhatever form of flume is used, it is better to have one or two bands of cleat.s around it, taking care that 

1 Small fruits by ir.rigation: Experiment station, Kansas Agricultural College, Bulletin No. 55, 

December, 1895, p. 134. 

IRR 5--2 
18 IRRIGATION PRACTICE ON THE GREAT PLAiNS. (N0.5. 

they fit water-tight to the planks. In placing the flume it should be 

very thoroughly embedded in the bank, care being taken to ram the 

earth firmly against the planks, especially on the under side, in order 

to prevent the water from creeping along between the planks and 

the earth. The extra work in properly bedding the flume is worth 

many times its cost in security against leaks. 

FIG. 3.-Reservoir flume and gate. 

Little expense is needed to prepare an irrigation reservoir for the 

abode of edible fishes. It is requisite, however, to place wire screening in front of the gate, so that when water is to be drawn from the 

pond no fish can pass through t,he flume. A light framework is usu -

ally constructed, of such dimensions as to allow the gate to be opened 

wit,hout interfering with it, and this is covered with common wire netting, of the sort used for fly screens. This Tusts out somewhat readily, 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL llURVEV WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 5 PL. V 

RESERVOIR AND IRR IGATED FIELD , AT GARDEN, KANSAS. 
COWGILL.] DITCHES. 19 

but is cheap and easily renewed. Screens of brass wire, while costing 

more at the outset, last much longer. The water as pumped from the 

wells into the reservoir is perfectly clear, and is usually at a temperature of about 58° F. This is not ideal water for the abode of carp; 

nevertheless, this variety has been more cultivated than any other, 

largely on account of its prolific increase. The growth of the carp is, 

however, somewhat disappointing, and this is probably due to the fact 

that, owing to the continual additions of the cold well water from the 

pump, the temperature of the water is below that at which the fish 

thrives best. Channel cat, crappie, and black bass have been found 

to do well. Some attempts have been made to grow trout in these 

ponds, but without success. 

If irrigation reservoirs are not otherwise used in the winter, they 

form excellent ice ponds, and make available what worild otherwise 

be an expensive luxury. But if water is continually pumped into-the 

pond, especially in the more southern portions of the district, ice is 

but scantily formed. It is possible, however, for a farmer who has a 

reservoir to provide himself with a sufficient supply for the dairy and 

other purposes, even though he use his reservoir for irrigation during 

much of the winter. 

DITCHES. 

Not every tract of land has such conformation as renders irrigation 

practicable. Land the .surface of which is formed into mounds of 

considerable magnitude may well be discarded, at least until that of 

more even contour shall have been brought under irrigation. Ridges 

and terraces are not especially objectionable features. It scarcely 

seems necessary to remark that irrigation is practicable only where 

water can be induced to flow over the land, and that water will not 

flow uphill, although the eye is often deceived and the novice at his 

first observation of the use of water through irrigation ditches receives 

the impression that in some parts of the work water is actually flowing up grade. And the most practiced are sometimes, indeed frequently, mistaken as to whether the surface of the land rises or falls 

in a given direction. It is therefore important, in the location of 

ditches, that a preliminary survey of the land be made; and it is a 

good plan to make a contour map of the land to be irrigated before 

locating the ditches. In irrigating from reservoirs it is essential, as 

before stated, that the reservoir be placed on the highest part of the 

land to be irrigated. 

Ditches, as well as reservoirs, should be kept on land at least as high 

as, and generally a little higher than, that to which they are to supply 

the water. One of the largest and most successful irrigators of farm 

crops on the plains, C. D. Perry, of Englewood, Kansas, holds that in 

laying off the ditches it is necessary to forget all about directions of 

land lines and point,s of the compass, and be governed entirely by 

the. contour of the surface to be irrigated (see Pl. VI). 
20 IRRIGATION PRACTICE ON THE GREA'l' PLAINS. [No.5. 

It is easily believed that the ditches must be carried along at a 

proper grade, and that the water can not be made to pass a hill by 

flowing up it, but only by following a coluRe which gives a continuous 

though slight fall; but on the smooth surface of the plains; constituting not only the river bottoms but also the plateaus of the region, the 

unaided eye sees no reason why the water may not flow in one direction as well as another, or why it may not be made to follow the 

direction of the land lines without serious inconvenience. In some 

cases this can be done, but in others it is entirely impracticable. 

These distributing ditches, or laterals, should be placed at such 

distances apart that the water may flow over the land from a,ny ditch 

to the one next lower down the slope in so short a time that there will 

be no great difference bet,ween the amount of water taken up by the 

portions of the land on the different sides of the tract. This distance 

varies somewhat in different soils and on different slopes. Some have 

placed their ditches as far as 80 rods (1,320 feet) apart. Usually it 

will be found better to have the ditches not more than one-third this 

distance apart, and not infrequently it is better that the interval 

separating them be not more than 20 or even 16 rods. 

Water flows when the fall is very slight. In large ditches, free from 

short bends, a fall of 12 inches per mile produces a good current, while 

in such ditches a fall of 30 inches per mile often produces such a current as to cut the banks. For small ditches, such as are used for distributing from pumped-water reservoirs, a considerably greater fall is 

admissible and even desirable, and for laterals from which the water 

is made to flow over the land a fall of 1 inch per 100 feet is the correct standard. Where it is possible, they should be laid with such 

courses as will give them this fall. 

In size irrigating ditches vary greatly. In some cases the lister 

furrow, with the loose earth removed, is large enough, while for the 

conveyance of water for large areas canals several fe~t wide and carrying water 2 or 3 feet deep are sometimes used. When Mr. Perry 

was irrigating but 1,200 acres of land with water from t,he Cimarron 

River, his main ditch was 16 feet wide at the bottom and carried 

water about 2 feet deep, and its sides sloped about 2 to 1. As his 

irrigating operations were increased beyond this amount, he enlarged 

the ditch in order to have command of a larger supply. But irrigation from a pumped-water reservoir is usually confined to a single 

farm, varying from 1 to, say, 40 acres in extent,. For the 40-acre farm 

a ditch as shown in Pl. VII, 5 feet wide at the bottom and carrying 

water 15 inches deep, with sides sloping 2 to 1, will probably be 

found as large as needed. The laterals leading from this main ditch 

over the land to be irrigated will generally be much smaller than this 

perhaps not more than half as large, or even less, according to the 

amount of land to be served from them. 

In the construction of ditches the implements used are the plow 
U. &. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO, 5 PL. VI 

P\..AN OF PERRY FARM, ClARK COUNTY, KANSAS. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WA'rER-SUPPLY PAP~R NO. 5 PL. VII 

DISTRIBUTING DITCH. 
COWGILL.] DISTRIBU1'ING WATER. 21 

and some sort of appliance for removing the loose earth from the 

ditch. The line of the ditch hav~ng been d·etermined, furrows are 

plowed, throwing the soil from the middle to either side, and the size 

of the ditch controls the distance between the furrows of the first 

round. Very many ditches are made by plowing this first round in 

such a way as to leave the width of one furrow of a 14-inch plow in 

the middle. This is then turned out toward one side, and another 

furrow is turned from the bottom of this last furrow toward the other 

side of the ditch. It now remains only to remove the loose earth 

from the bottom of the ditch to the top of the banks. This operation is most rapidly performed by an instrument called an "A," 

from its resemblance in shape to that letter. It is constructed of 

planks, usually shod with steel or iron along the lower edges. After 

being suitably weighted it is drawn by means of horses, apex first, · 

through the ditch. By suitably placing the weight, one side of the 

A, usually designated the land side, is made to follow along near the 

middle of the bottom of the ditch, while the other side throws about 

half of the loose earth out upon one bank. The return t,rip throws 

the other half of the loose earth out on the other bank, and, with the 

exception of a little finisring with the shovel, completes the ditch. 

Larger ditches require more furrows and further use of the A, but 

are constructed in essentially the same manner. So also, in a ditch 

which at any place is to be made deeper· than the average, a little 

extra work is done with these implements in that particular part. It 

is important in the construction of ditches that the banks be made 

tolerably uniform in height, and be so constructed as to carry water 

somewhat above the ordinary level of the land. For the distributing 

laterals banks 6 inches above the general level of the land to be irri-. 

gated are about right; if they are made a little higher, so as to be 6 

inches after settling, so much the better. For rapid irrigation the 

ditches should be at all times capable of holding water to at least 4 

inches above the level of the field. 

DISTRIBUTING WATER. 

In irrigating it is necessary to have water spread with as much uniformity as possible to all parts of the land. Flelds which appear to 

the casual observer to be entirely without features of undulation are 

often found, when inspected with a view to irrigation, to possess elevations and depressions not suspected before. The practical irrigator 

finds that an elevation no greater than ijhe thickness of a man's hand 

may turn the water entirely around a portion of his ground. So, also, 

a very slight depression is always found by the water, and is liable to 

be overirrigated, water-logged, and thereby caused to settle, increasing the disparity of the surface. It is therefore necessary that almost 

every piece of ground which is to be irrigated should be graded. 

Grading may be done either before or after the construction of the 
22 IRRIGATION PRACTICE ON THE GREAT PLAINS. [No.5. 

ditches. It will usually be found that if the ditches are made first, 

or at least located, less grading w:ill be required than would be considered necessary before the location of the ditches. 'J'hcrc are 

various grading machines, all of which are operated by horsepower, 

and some of which are very simple. Some excellent graders are on 

the market at reasonable prices, but many farmers construct · their 

own of planks, and with them do quite as good work as could be done 

with any machine built. Usually a few turns with the grader suffice 

to fill up a low place, and often at the same time to remove an elevation. It should be remembered that grading is of the nature of a 

permanent improvement. Once thoroughly done, it has never to be 

done again. 

Water is thrown out of the ditches hy means of dams, the nse of 

which will be described presently. The most convenient form is the 

canvas dam. The materials used in the construction of a canvas 

dam are a piece of timber, usually a 2-by-4 scantling, long enough to 

reach across the top of the ditch from bank to bank; a small stick 

varying in length according to the width of the ditch to be dammed, 

FIG. 4.-Land grader. 

but no longer than will lie across 

the bottom of the ditch without 

leaving any considerable space between the stick and the bottom; 

a brace or stick about one-third 

longer than the depth of the ditch, 

and a piece of canvas about onethird wider· than the depth of the 

ditch and as long as the width of 

the ditch at the upper edge. The 

canvas is cut into a trapezoidal shape, somewhat resembling but larger 

than a section of the ditch. 'l'he long edge of the canvas is fastened 

to the scantling first described and the short edge to the small stick. It 

is well to have a little margin of the canvas below this short stick. The 

dam is placed by throwing the scantling across the ditch just below 

the point at which it is desired to divert the water, as shown in the 

illustration, Pl. IX. 'l'he canvas rests in the ditch, with the short 

stick lying across the bottom, far enough upstream from the location 

of the scantling to make the can vas nearly tight. The brace is placed 

with one end against the scantling and the other against the short 

stick, thus preventing the· canvas from being washed back under the 

scantling. A little earth is thrown upon the loose edges of the canvas 

where it rests against the banks and against the bot.tom of the ditch, 

and the water is turned in. The weight of the water presses the canvas closely against the banks, so that there is scarcely any leakage. 

In some cases permanent dams with head gates are placed in t.he 

ditches, and this is more often done where ditches branch and it is 

desirable to divert the water to the one or the other branch. 
U 8. GFOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 5 PL. VIII 

RESERVOIR AND GARDEN, AT GARDEN, KANSAS. 
U S GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 5 PL. IX 

CANVAS DAM IN DISTRIBUTING DITCH. 
COWGILL.] METHOD~ OF WATERING. 23 

A more primitive dam is sometimes made of earth, and such a dam 

is quite effectual and easily made in very small ditches. Sometimes 

a board is cut into the banks, and earth thrown in above it, making 

an effectual dam for ditches of considerable size; bnt for general purposes, where it is not worth while to put in permanent dams with flumes, 

canvas dams are most effective, and are placed and removed with less 

labor than any other. It is well that the irrigator be provided with 

at least two canvas dams suitable for each size of ditch from which he 

wishes to divert water. 

METHODS OF WATERING. 

That which lias gone before is preliminary to the final object of 

applying water to the land at such times as the interest of the farmer 

or gardener suggests .. There are two principal methods of watering, 

and a third is especially attractive to the novice and the amateur, and 

is not without its uses in some cases. For sowed grains, meadows, 

and pastures water is supplied to the la1id by flooding; that is, by 

allowing it to flow as completely as possible over the entire surface, 

but only in such volume as will not cause washing. For crops planted 

in rows and for orchards irrigation by furrows is generally preferred. 

The third method is by underground pipes, into which the water is 

passed, to be distributed. through the soil by capillary attraction or 

surface tension, rising from below to near the surface, rather than 

passing from the surface downward, as in t.he other two methods. 

Irrigation by flooding presupposes that the work of grading has been 

thoroughly done and that the ditches have been laid out and constructed with care. Take, for example, a meadow which has been 

thus prepared. The irrigator proceeds to a point in one of the laterals 

leading through this meadow 400 feet clown the lateral from the point 

at which it enters the meadow. Here he places his canvas dam in the 

lateral, then admits the water. It will be remembered that the banks 

of these laterals are constructed so as to be 6 inches higher than the 

surface of the adjacent field. As soon as the water has risen 4 inches 

above the level of the field at the dam, or within 2 inches of the top 

of the bank, the irrigator makes a small opening in the bank just 

above the dam to the level of ~he water. At a distance of a rod or so 

farther upstream he makes another small opening, and so on throughout the 400 feet to the edge of the meadow. By t,his time the water 

is pouring out through all of these openings, giving a small stream at 

each. These streams spread over the ground and very soon widen into 

a broad sheet, which, with much irregularity of front, spreads downward toward the next lateral. If the grading has been well done, so 

as to give a uniform surface to the meadow, there should be no dry 

spots left after such an irrigation. If the grading has not been perfectly done and the water has inclined to flow around certains areas, 
24 IRRIGATION PRACTICE ON THE GREAT PLAINS. [N0.5. 

it is necessary for the irrigator to take his shovel and, beginning at 

the point where the water begins to flow around, open a shallow 

channel through the highest part of the dry area, thus leading the 

water from the upper side and securing practically uniform irrigation. 

The water is allowed to continue running until this section of the 

meadow has been thoroughly moistened to such depth as the irrigator 

desires. 'Vith fresh ditches it is necessary to watch carefully that 

none of the openings in the bank becomes seriom;;ly washed and gets 

too large. 'Vhen such trouble begins it is quite easily remedied by 

throwing in a shovelful or two of soil. 'Vhen the ditches have become 

PLAN 

~l!!fi.\J!ilil\i.flj\)(~ji_(i)jijlii)lliil!llJii(\\il\ilf!lillilliliilll)jj!ili.IJiiiJi!\iJiil@lliji!il.(llll~ 

· 1 .. ~~iilii.if!lll!ifllllilm~Wl!iZ.mwt'.m~~~"o~,,!!(il\l.ilill!l!ll!illiirm!ij.!~ ~ 

'§' '~l.llili"liliihiiil''''iillifli!fl'iifin·,l,l!limnT.iJiiliflllT(llifi,liMi,lliii,ft. \:> g: ~-

~- :~ ~lif!flnllH((Ifli.!l'lilffiilTII(f!ill"l\illlliilllfiiilJTJJ.Inll!lil~iil\~ j! 

§: ~. ?ilii••l.iilli)il\l\mJii!!IOI@]~.ilii\il)i~lf.il]Utffll~jill@!lli\llilili4&. iij 

c ~<¥ 12~> C'ross Secfion on a -IJ. ·~' ~,· _.WilJlllffiilllli~IIBllffillmflllfllllaiju~m~ ii i:J 

FIG. 5.-Diagram illustrating flooding in rectangular block. 

well settled, little trouble in this 

respect is experi~nced. 

While the water is flowing over 

this first section of the meadow 

the irrigator places a second canvas dam at a point about 400 feet 

farther down the lateral than that 

at which the first was placed. 

When the irrigation of the first 

section is completed, the dam first 

placed is removed and the water 

is allowed to flow down the lateral 

to the second dam. Openings are 

made in the ditch as before and 

the second section is irrigated in 

manner precisely like the first .. 

The dams are thus removed to 

positions successively 400 feet 

farther downstream, and sections 

of this•length are thus irrigated. 

The same course is pursued with 

each of the other laterals until 

the entire meadow is gone over. 

It will be remembered that in 

speaking of ditches the proper 

fall was stated to be 1 inch to 100 

feet. By making the opening nearest the dam so that. its bottom is 4 

inches above the level of the field, the ·wat,er will rise to that height, 

and the bottom of the last opening, 400 feet, farther up, will be just at 

the field level. If for any reason it has been necessary to give the 

ditch a greater fall than 1 inch to 100 feet, the dam is placed at correspondingly shorter intervals, unless the banks of -the lateral have 

been made so high as to carry water more than 4 inches above the 

level of the field. For subsequent irrigations, if the ditches have not 

been disturbed, the dams may he placed in the same positions as at 

the first irrigation, and no new openings in the bank will be necessary, 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 5 PL. X 

EARTH DAM IN DISTRIBUTING DITCH. 
COWGILL.] METHODS OF WATERING. 25 

the old -openings being as available as at first, for on the removal of 

any dam the water immediately falls, so as to cease flowing through 

the openings above, the entire fall being 4 inches to the level of the 

openings of the next lower section. It is never necessary to close the 

openings when once properly made, and the only attention needed is 

to prevent or repair washes and to maintain all parts of the bank at 

sufficient height to prevent overflows other than at the points desired. 

Where an abundant head of water is available and old and well-settled ditches are used, it is often possible for the irrigator to attend to 

the dams and openings in more than one lateral, thus increasing the 

rapidity of the work. This method is applicable not only to meadows 

and such sowed crops as wheat, oats, rye, barley, etc., but it is sometimes used for corn or orchards, and indeed for almost everything 

except, potatoes. 

"'U"""" n 1111 """""""11'"'"'""""''' '..!!.:.!.:.!!! 

..................................................... : 

... ,.,.._ .... -::"'"""""···· ..... r-. ~ ·.\_ I 

··~, •. , ..•.... 1.,... . .. , ............ u , ........... . 

·--~·-~~ ....... -f ...... +····\·· .-

\a CROSS ~£CTION ON a-b ~~ 

~:WA~idi%/d:.r.ibJi;;"'~//,/,_sw /~;.-... ,.;r?,OJJ~ 

FIG. 6.-Diagram illustrating flooding within levees on irregular ground. 

A modification of this system is used for some garden crops. Thus 

celery requires frequent and copious irrigation. The ground on which 

it is pla11;ted may be made into perfectly level beds, each having a 

border a few inches high eompletely inclosing it. The celery is irrigated by allowing sufficient water to run into this inclosure to cover 

the ground and settle into it until it is sufficiently moistened: Some 

celery growers irrigate in this way every two or three days from the 

time of planting until just before the celery is gathered. 

This bed system is sometimes applied to field work. The borders 

are made somewhat higher, and the beds are made to contain in some 

cases several acres each, according to the head of water available and 

the configuration of the ~urface. In field work the borders are made 

on contour lines, and are thrown up with the plow, and so rounded 
26 IRRIGATION PRACTIUE ON THE GREAT PLAINS. [N0.5, 

over the surface as to admit of mowing or cultivating over t,hese elevations, so that the area of the embankments is neither wasted nor 

left to grow up in weeds. 

This bed system, while at one time received with much favor for 

field work, is gradually giving way to the flooding system, ~s previously described, and to the furrow system, to follow. 

In preparing for irrigation by the furrow system, the distributing 

laterals are made in all respects as described for the flooding system, 

except that it is practicable to have them somewhat farther apart. 

The rows of crops, as corn or potatoes, are made to terminate at the 

laterals from which they are to be irrigated, but it is not essential 

that they meet these laterals at right angles. When the water is to 

be applied, small furrows are made down the rows, care being taken 

that the loose earth does not roll back into the furrows so much as to 

obstruct them at any point. These furrows extend from one distributing lateral to the next. Canvas dams are used as in flooding. 

The openings in the laterals are made at suitable intervals, and the 

water from each of these openings is turned into four or five furrows and allowed to trickle slowly down the furrows to t,he next lateral, and to continue flowing until the entire section is thoroughly 

irrigated. 

The size of the streams needs careful and intelligent attention. If 

the water be allowed to rush down the furrows so rapidly as to become 

turbid by picking up the finer particles of soil, these particles will be 

deposited farther down the furrows as the volume of the stream 

becomes smaller and the current becomes less on account of the 

absorption of a part of t,he water in the soil traversed. This deposit 

of fine particles is apt to aet as a cement to the furrows and prevent 

proper absorption of the water. It is possible by the very rapid use 

of water to cause it to flow through the entire length of the furrows 

without effectually irrigating the soil. The novice at irrigation is 

almost sure to be surprised at the action of an irrigating stream in 

the furrows in a soft, plowed field. If the stream is very small, it 

may entirely disappear in the first rod or two of the furrow. If the 

stream is very large, it may carry away a considerable part of the soil 

from the first few feet or few rods of the furrow, and, as already 

stated, flow through without accomplishing the purpose of effectually 

moistening the land. 

A properly regulated stream should flow through a furrow without 

becoming very turbid at any point, and should progress continuously, 

though slowly, throughout the length of the furrow. After it has 

flowed for a time, varying with t,he nature of the soil from a few to 

many hours, the land should be so thoroughly irrigated as to make it, 

especially if newly plowed, too soft to walk over without miring. 

Where the soil is of a flocculent structure and contains considerable 

vegetable material, this thorough irrigation may take place by the 
U. S. GEOLOGiCAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 5 PL. )<( 

FURROW IRRIGATION. 
COWGILL.] CULTIVATION. 27 

furrow system without greatly changing the loose and flocculent structure so desirable for rapid ·growth of vegetation. ~'his is the acme of 

irrigation. Not every soil will retain this open structure, even under · 

the most skillful handling of water. With many soils it is found that 

the effect of the artificial application of water is much like that of an 

exceedingly heavy and dashing rain, solidifying the soil by breaking 

down the open structure. It may be. said that, as generally applied, 

irrigation leaves the soil compact and in condition to become very 

hard as it dries. 

CULTIVATION. 

The compacting of the soil after irrigation is 1·emedied by cultivation of the surface as soon as the soil reaches a condition to be worked. 

This cultivation after irrigation serves the double purpose of checking 

the growth of weeds, which is sure to be copious, and of leaving a soil 

muleh of loose eart,h over the surface, which prevents the rapid evaporation of the moisture stored in the ~ubsoil. The importance of cultivation after each irrigation can not be overest,imated. In general 

the application of water without the subsequent cultivation is of little 

value, and, indeed, in many cases it is absolutely detrimental. The 

geiieral experience is that, with the average soil, after the application 

of water the ground soori becomes very dry and very hard, and evaporation proceeds to rob both the soil and the subsoil of moisture with 

surprising rapidity. If the irrigator thinks to remedy t,he case by 

another irrigation, he usually only makes the matter worse, for the 

soil by this time, especially that along the borders of the furrows, has 

become quite thoroughly puddled, so that the second application of 

water with no intervening cultivation amounts to little more than 

flooding over the surface, with but slight, moistening of the undersoil. 

It may be stat,ed in general that the irrigator who fails to cultivate 

soon after each irrigation will make a failure of irrigation. Indeed, 

in almost any part of the Great Plains, if either irrigation or cultivation must be omitted, it will be better to omit the irrigation than the 

cultivation for all such crops as admit of cultivation. The case with 

meadows and with sowed crops in general is somewhat different, the 

soil being to some extent protected and supported against excessive 

settling by the general distribution of t,he plants and roots. It is not 

improbable, however, that in the case of annuals, as wheat, rye, barley, and oats, it will be found profitable to make the drill rows far 

enough apart to admit of cultivation while the plant,s are small. In 

the case of meadows, especially with alfalfa, the influence of the 

extensive root growth is such as to keep the soil in condition favorable to rapid growth without cultivation. It is notic~able, however, 

that even alfalfa shows the niarked influence of cultivation where.a 

meadow of this legume joins a cultivated field. 
28 IRRIGATION PRACTICE ON THE GREA'l' PLAINS. [N0.5. 

SUBIRRIGA TION. 

The application of water by means of furrows placed at a considerable distance from the plants to be watered can be beneficial only in 

soils allowing a considerable lateral movement of the water. This 

percolation may take place in certain soils through a space of several 

feet or rods, while in others the influence of the water apparently is 

not felt for more than a few inches. In cases, where the soil and sub:-

soil have a structure such that water moves laterally through them 

with considerable ease, the theoretically perfect metho9. of applying 

it is through pipes laid underground below the reach of the plow and 

perforated, so that when filled the moisture will be uniformly distributed near the roots of the plants. This does away with all losses from 

evaporation' and from saturating the sides and bottom of the open 

ditches. Unfort,unately, however, this method has been found practicable only to a limited extent. Many soils do not transmit the water 

freely, while others are underlain by a gravelly or open subsoil through 

which the water escapes downward with far greater rapidity than it 

can move sideways. Another serious obstacle to the success of this 

form of irrigation lies in the fact that the little roots of the trees and 

plants are induced by the moisture to reach out toward the pipes, 

seeking every crevice or perfora,tion, and. soon stopping these up 

with interlacing rootlets. In California many instances are given 

where great expense was incurred in laying out an elaborate system 

of perforated or porous pipes. Irrigation through these was highly 

successful for one or two years, and then became less so, until the 

method was abandoned and the pipes taken up or else openings made 

to the surface, so that the water could come up and spread as from a 

hydrant over the plat to be wet. 

The term" subirrigation" is often applied to the conditions where the 

subsoil is saturated either artificially or even naturally. For example, 

many lowlands along streams are commonly said to be subirrigated 

from the fact that the underlying gravels are filled with ground water 

which extends up high enough to be available for the use of deeprooted plants. The word is also applied to similar cases where, by 

excessive use of water on lands higher up, the low grounds have been 

so completely filled by seepage that it is no longer necessary to flow 

water over t,he surface. This is, however, hardly a proper use of the 

term, as it can better be confined to .the intentional application of 

water beneath the surface by pipes or similar devices. 

The method of irrigating by underground pipes is one that appeals 

very strongly to the fancy of the novice. It has been repeatedly tried, 

and in most cases has been abandoned. This does not necessarily 

prove that the plan is useless or impracticable, and t.he fact that some 

have continued its use makes it worth while to describe it and to 

examine somewhat the conditions of its trials and the probability 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WAHR-SUPPLY PAP!'.R NO. 5 PL. XII 

SATURATING GROUND . 
COWGILL.] SUBIRRlGATION. 29 

of its usefulness. The plan is, in general, to place porous drain 

tiles far enough beneath the surface of· the cultivated land to be out 

of the way of the plow and other implements of cultivation, and to 

have the lines of this tile so connected with the source of water supply that they may be filled at will. Reports of the use of this method 

in California state, as noted above, that the roots of the trees and 

plants penetrated the tile at the joints, or at any opening where the 

water could get out, and formed mats of small rootlets within the 

pipe, so as to effectually obstruct the flow of water. In the gravelly 

and open soils of Utah it was found that on emerging from the pipe 

lines the water was very little inclined to distribute itself laterally, 

but yielded to gravity and went down, so that only narrow strips were 

well irrigated, and these at considerable depth below the surface, the 

wate-r having little inclination to rise above the pipe lines. At the 

Wisconsin experiment station the 

water came to the surface above WELL 

the pipe lines, but the spaces be- ~~ 

tween were not well irrigated. A 

photograph of a tile-irrigated field 

or plat showed by dark lines the 

location of the pipes, while the 

intervening surfaces were entirely 

dry. 

IAJ 

0... 

0::: .Jin. 

a: 

w 

~ w 

II) 

1-

w 

:l:: 

u 

0 

II) 

0 

L&J 

L;: 

oc 

1-

> 

~ 

v 

.,; 

I.L 

0 

Ill 

N 

340 FT.LONG 

.3 inch farm drain ftle wtlhovt socket 

. In Osborne County, Kansas, very 

satisfactory results have been reported from pipe irrigation, the 

water having been distributed laterally, so that almost ideal irrigation was obtained. The objection 

noted in California is one for which 

it is difficult to conceive an effectual remedy. It is undoubtedly 

true, however, that a stoppage in a 

FIG. 7.-Plan of subirrigating syste,m. 

pipe may be easily located, and since the pipes are placed at no great 

depth below the surface, it should not be a serious task to remove a 

single obstruction. But if the stoppages should be very numerous, 

the expense of keeping the lines open might exceed the advantages 

claimed for the system. I"Q. Utah the tendency of the water to go 

immediately downward instead of laterally was d11e to the open, gravelly subsoil. A consideration of the description of other experiments 

suggests that the difficulty encountered-that of the water coming to 

the surface immediately over the pipe lines, but not distributing well 

laterally-may be overcome by a modification of the work. It appears 

that in these experiments the pipes were put in trenches in the subsoil and the surface cultivation was conducted in the usual way. The 

water had little opportunity to circulate laterally until it had risen to 
30 IRRIGATION PRACTICE ON THE GREAT PLAINS. [No.5. 

the bottom of the cultivated st,ratum. In the experiments in Osborne 

County, Kansas, the entire subsoil was broken to the depth at which 

the pipes were laid. The water moved laterally over the compact, 

undisturbed lower subsoil and rose to the surface quite uniformly 

over the entire tract. Possibly if the subsoil in the Wisconsin experiments had been treated in the same way, the results might have been 

modified and made favorable rather than unfavorable. 

The plant of one of the successful tile irrigators of Osborne County, 

Kansas, :Mr. Andrew Linn, is described as follows: The ground was 

plowed 6 inches deep and subsoiled about 8 inches, altogether stirring 

the soil to the depth of about 14 inches. The ground was plowed 

north and south, the tiling laid east and west. The land slopes slightly 

to the east and south. An arrangement is made to use the plant as a 

drainage system when there is too much rain .. Three-inch tiles are laid 

15 inches below the surface and 10 feet apart. Unglazed drain tiles 

are used, but they are so hard that practically no water passes through 

the pores, the outlets being at the joints. These joints are. closed 

with cement, with the exception of about an inch on the underside of 

the tiles. If no part of the joint is cemented, the water flows out too 

rapidly and is not evenly distributed. Mr. Linn laid and cemented 

his tiling on 2t acres in ten days. The ditches for the tiling were 

made with a lister plow and spade. The pump to supply water to the 

tiling has a capacity of about 20 gallons per minute. 

The diagram, fig. 7, shows the plan of the system. The water is 

carried from the pump in a wooden conductor and flows in to a barrel 

sunk into the ground about 10 feet away. A 4-inch sewer: pjpe from 

this barrel is laid in four sections extending southward across the west 

end of the plat to be irrigated. At the end of each section the pipe 

discharges its water into a barrel (not shown in the diagram), also 

sunk into the ground. From this barrel a 3-inch pipe, 8 feet in length, 

is laid eastward, where it communicates with a 3-inch pipe laid north 

al'ld south about 40 feet. To this pipe are connected five 3-inch drain 

·tiles extending eastward entirely across the plat and 10 feet apart. 

The lot is thus divided into sections, each independent of the others, 

and facilitating the irrigation of any section at will. 

Mr. Linn is satisfied with the results of irrigation with this plant, 

but as yet no comparison has been made with those obtained by surface irrigation under otherwise similar conditions. The cost of such 

an arrangement is certainly against it, and will probably, for a long 

time at least, preclude its use except for gardens or for farming on' a 

very small scale. But the experiments of Mr. Linn and some of his 

neighbors have shown that with such soil and subsoil as they possess 

it is perfectly practicable to get a good distribution of water by means 

of underground pipes. Their plan has been to pump the soil and subsoil full of water during the fall and winter .. saturating it to a depth 

of 6 or 8 feet. 
COWGILL.] S UBIRRIGA'riON. . 31 

After this it was necessary only to supply the water transpired by 

vegetation and lost by evaporation, the loss being very small on 

account of the fact that no ernst was formed on the surface, and the 

flocculent, open structure of the soil was little interfered with by this 

method of applying water. It remains to be seen whether the plan of 

. cementing the joints ·of the hard-burned tile, except an inch on the 

under side, will prevent the entrance of roots to the extent of stopping the circulation of wat,er through the pipes. This method has 

been used also by Dr. Hudson, of Osborne, who has expressed satisfaction with the results. Other than tile pipes have been used for 

this purpose. Small pipes made of galvanized iron and perforated 

with very small holes, or preferably with an open seam, have been 

used and satisfactory results reported. The following description has 

been condensed from a statement given by Mr. Alex. Richter, of 

Hollyrood, Kansas, who has used the open-seam pipes.· 

The first precaution is to ascertain whether the structure of the soil 

and subsoil is such that snbirrigation is practicable, as it is a useless 

expenditure of money to lay pipes where the conditions are such that 

the water will not spread laterally to the plants. In some localities 

the subsoil is so porous that the water applied beneath the surface 

sinks immediately and can not be had by the roots of any of the 

plants except those in the immediate vicinity of the source of supply. 

This is especially the case on. the bottom lands along streams where 

the surface soil rests upon gravel or beds of sand. Where, on the 

contrary, the subsoil is comparatively impervious, and above this the 

structure is such that the water is transmitted horizontally, systems 

of subirrigation can be introduced to great advantage. For example, 

the following experiment was tried: During a dry season a pipe 10 

feet long was laid 10inches deep in the middle of four rows of string 

beans, these being about 5 feet apart. Into the pipe 12 quarts of 

water were poured, and the same amount was sprinkled on four other 

rows of string beans in all respects similar to the first. In the case of 

the rows watered by the pipe the beans did well, while in the other 

rows they died. The same amount of water was given to each. 

In 1895 many experiments were made by different farmers, some 

putting pipes in rows 5 feet apart, others 8 or 16 feet, and in one case 

27 feet. Different depths also were tried, some being 14 inches, others 

18, and still others 2 feet. During the first 'five months nearly all of 

th~se were satisfactory, but after that period difficulty was found by 

the persons who had laid the pipes from 18 to 24 inches beneath the 

surface. By digging down it was found that the deeper pipes had 

been placed so low as to be embedded in the clay subsoil, and that 

this did not allow the water to spread freely. By raising the pipes 

about 6 inches, well above the top of the clay, the water percolated 

freely. For vegetables it was found t,hat pipes give the best success 

when laid from 8 to 10 feet apart, while for orchards a single row of 
82 IRRIGATION PRACTICE ON THE GREAT PLAINS. [N0.5. 

pipes was sufficient between alternate rows of trees, these pipes being 

placed from 10 to 12 inches in depth. It was also found that the 

moisture was rendered more efficient by using fertilizers. 

One of the most common mistakes at first made has been in giving 

too great a slope or inclination to the pipes. If laid on ground which 

has a decided fall the water runs to the lower end before it can escape 

in considerable part through the opening along the side. For this 

reason the pipes should be laid very nearly level, but if a considerable 

slope can not be avoided it has been found best to have cut-offs in the 

pipe every 10 or 20 feet to check the flow. Another way is to run the 

main pipe on the down grade and connect this with irrigating pipes 

branching from it with suitable valves or cut-offs, so that the water 

can be turned into the branches. The preferred length of irrigating 

pipe is about 200 feet. Sometimes this can be connected at both ends 

with the main supply pipes to advantage. The main supply pipe is 

proportioned according to the amount of water to be carried. In general for gardens and orchards it is It inches in diameter. The sheetiron irrigating pipe leading from this has an 

open seam along its length and is usually seveneighths of an inch in diameter, although smaller 

sizes can be used for flower beds. The cost 

varies according to the amount used, but in one 

case where 3 acres were provided, 2 of these 

being orchard and the remaining acre devoted 

to potatoes, watermelons, and other vegetables, 

the entire cost was $63. In this case the waterFIG. s.-Sectionof open-seam melons alone paid the cost of the pipe. One 

pipe. man can lay nearly 3,000 feet in a day, covering 

it up by means of a plow. 

There is a notable difference in the distribution of moisture when 

the subirrigating pipes are laid above the surface of the clay and when 

they are put down in it. In the first case, when the pipe is buried in 

the pervious soil slightly above the impervious clayey subsoil, the 

water spreads laterally upon the surface of the latter, moistening the 

ground upward while spreading out beneat.h the surface. In the 

second case, when the pipe is within the clay, the water can not spread 

laterally, but rises slowly and moistens only a narrow belt immediately above the pipe, not finding its way as rapidly as in t,he other 

case along the surface of the clay. 

This difference in behavior is illustrated by an experiment in which 

two pipes were laid above the subsoil and five pipes below the clay. 

The two pipes were able to deliver far more water than the five more 

deeply buried. An examination by a test pit showed that although 

the surface was dry above the five pipes, there was standing water in 

the clay. This fairly uniform distribution of water from the pipes 

when laid above the subsoil is said to obviate the difficulty found with 

the roots of trees. The great objection to this form of subirriga-
COWGILL.] AMOUNT OF W .ATER REQUIRED. 33 

tion has been that after one or two years the fine roots of plants seeking out the water inclose the conducting pipe and penetrate every 

opening or crack, finally completely obstructing the flow of water. 

Where, however, the ·moisture is distributed uniformly through the 

soil, the roots are not impelled directly toward the pipe. Cases have 

been reported where pipe has been used for three years successfully 

at a distance of only about a yard from a row of trees. 

AMOUNT OF WATER REQUIRED. 

There are two ways in which quantities of water used. in irrigation 

are expressed, One is in terms of the rate of flow, as, for example, 

that of a river; t,he other is in quantities of water, such as would be 

held by a reservoir. In the first case we speak of a stream as averaging through the month of August 10 second-feet or 500 miner's inches. 

In the second case we speak of a reservoir as holding, in round numbers, 6.46 million gallons, or 862,000 cubic feet, or 19.8 acre-feet. Each 

of these can be converted into the other by simple computations. 

Where water is spoken of according to the rate of flow, the total volume can be obtained only by assuming a certain length of time during which the flow continues. On the other hand, the volume of 

water, as, for example, t,hat stored in a reservoir, can be converted 

into rate of flow by figures based upon the number of days or seconds 

during which the quantity is to be discharged. 

In discussing rates of flow of a natural stream, the cubic foot per 

second or second-foot has been generally adopted as the standard, 

and is rapidly displacing the older, indefinite term-miner's inch. 

The cubie foot per second, or seeond-foot, is the. rate of delivery of 

a stream 1 foot wide and 1 foot deep, flowing at the average rate of 

1 foot per seeond. The quantity is, of eourse, independent of the 

shape or velocity of the water; a second-foot will be delivered by a 

pipe 6 inches in diameter in which the average flow is a trifle over 

5 feet per seeond, or by a ditch having a eross seetion of 4 square 

·feet and a sluggish current of only 3 inches per second. 

The miner's inch is a unit adopted for convenienee by the hydraulic 

miners ofthe West, and, being easily arrived at through rough devices, 

has been largely employed throughout the arid region in estimating 

the quantities of flowing water. The chief objection to it is its indefinite character. One miner's inch may be 20 or 25 per cent larger 

than another, although both are measured according to established 

rule or customs. In early days, when water was abundant and it had 

little value, there was no especial demand for accuracy in its measurement, and the crude devices suffieed for all practical purposes; but 

when the streams came to be used for agriculture and it was appreciated that values resided in the flowing water rather than in the 

land, it made considerable difference to a farmer whether his miner's 

inch of water was large or small. To avoid confusion and litigation, 

the term "miner's inch" has therefore been largely done away with 

IRR 5--3 
34 IRRIGATION PRACTICE ON THE GREA'r PLAINS. [No.5. 

and quantities are given in fractions of a second-foot. In California 

the miner's inch is now given as one-fiftieth of a second-foot, while in 

Colorado and many other of the Rocky Mountain States it is nearer 

the fortieth part of a second-foot. In other words, t.he Colorado 

miner's inch is considerably the larger. 

The second method of stating the quantity of water-that by actual 

volumes rather than by rate of flow-is in all respects the more accurate and desirable, and is the only practicable means in localities such 

as those on the Great Plains, where water must be pumped or stored 

and is not running continuously to waste when not used, as is the 

case along the larger streams of the arid region. The units employed 

may be the gallon, the cubic foot, or the acre-foot. The United 

States gallon, as defined by statute, contains 231 inches; 7.48 gallons 

make a cubic foot, or 1 gallon is 0.13368 of a cubic foot. The chief · 

disadvantage of the gallon as a unit is that it is too small and requires 

large figures to express the amount needed for irrigation. It has also 

the additional disadvantage that there are other gallons of other sizes 

in use, so t.hat confusion occasionally arises. 

The cubic foot is a definite quantity and is very conyenient for use 

in computations of the amount of water required. By its use the 

capacity of reservoirs can be readily computed, since their dimensions 

are usually expressed in feet. It is, however, like the gallon, too 

small for convenience in many estimates, and in practice it has been 

largely replaced by the acre-foot. This latter term implies a quantity 

equivalent to the amount of water covering 1 acre to the depth of 1 

foot. In other words, 1 acre-foot equals 43,560 cubic feet. This 

quantity-an acre-foot-does not imply that the water must be spread 

out 1 foot in depth, for the 43,560 cubic feet can be placed in a reser-

·voir of any shape and still be an acre-foot. It may be held, for 

example, in a pond 100 feet square and to a depth of a little over 4.3 

feet., or it may be in a tank 20 by 50 feet and 43.56 feet deep. There 

is a convenient relation between the acre-foot and the cubic foot per 

second, or, second-foot. The latter flowing for one day (twenty-four 

hours) very nearly equals 2 acre-feet; that is to say, a stream 1 foot 

wide and 1 foot deep, flowing at an average velocity of 1 foot per 

second, will in one day, or 86,400 seconds, cov~r a surface of 1 acre 

to a depth of very nearly 2 feet. 

The term "duty of water" has been employed to express the relation which exists between the quantity of water used and the area of 

land irrigated. For example, if a stream of water equivalent to 1 

cubic foot per second irrigates 100 acres, the water duty at t.hat place 

is stated as being 100 acres to the second-foot. rrhis water duty may 

be arrived at from two opposite directions. First, as given above, by 

taking actual instances of the measured amount of water applied; and 

second, by starting at the other end and estimating the theoretical 

amount which the plants require and the quantity which must be 

wasted in wetting the ground before the water can be available for the 
COWGILL.] AMOUNT OF WATER REQUIRED. 35 

need of the plants. Neither of these is wholly satisfactory, and there 

has not as yet been obtained a sufficiently large body of facts to enable 

conclusions of general applicability t,o be drawn. Taking any one 

crop through successive years, the amount of water actually used 

varies so widely that it is doubtful whether any figures yet published 

can be implicitly relied upon. 

A large number of experiments have been carried on, not only in 

Europe but in this country, to show the amount of water exhaled by 

plants. The results of these, as above stated, are discordant, but as a 

rough statement H may be said that the plants have transpired during 

their growth a weight of water from 300 to 500 times that of the weight 

of dry matter. In this country various agricultural stations have 

obtained and still are obtaining data bearing upon this point. Among 

the best of the published results are the series of experiments conducted by Prof. F. H. King at the Wisconsin_ agricultural station. 

These are of particular value in this connection as showing the amount 

of water required by plants even in a humid climate. The results of 

the observations for 1892 show the following amounts of water consumed per pound of dry material produced: 

[-= Crop. co!~:~d I 

I

I :!•~:: :::::::::: ·: ::::: Po••:: ' 

Corn ____________________ . 317 I 

I 

Clover _ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~~: I 

Pease _____ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3 ~--~--------------~--

The data given above have been combined with those obtained for 

1891 and computed in other units, giving the corresponding dept.h of 

water used in the production of the plants. These results are shown 

in simplest form in the following table: 

[ --------0-ro_p_. _______ v_e_a_r_. -J-co_:_s~--~-e~_d_. 1 Inches. 

Barley _ ~ ___________ . ____ . 1891 13. 2 

Do _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1892 23. 5 

Oats _____________________ 1891 19.7 

Do __________________ . 1892 19. 0 

Corn _ .. _______ . _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ l891 26. 4 

Do ___________ .. ______ ·_ 1892 25. 1 

Clover ___________________ 1892 29.7 

Pease----------------,---- 1892 16.9 
36 IRRIGATION PRACTICE ON- THE GREAT PLAINS. [No.5. 

From the above table it is to be observed that the least amount of 

water used was by the barley in 1891, and it should be noted that the 

product for this year was only about half that for 1892, while nearly 

double the amount of \Vater was used. It is probable, therefore, that 

if the barley had received or used as much water as the same erop in 

1892, the production of dry matter would have been greatly increased. 

It has been found that there is a great range in the amount of water 

employed by various plants in the process of building their tissues, 

and that not only do the different species stand widely apart in this 

respect, but even individuals of any one species at the successive 

stages of life or with aUernations of climatic conditions transpire 

water more or less freely. As previously noted, the experiments, when 

reduced to a common basis, show a wide range in results, depending 

largely not only upon the conditions under which the tests were carried on but also upon the assumptions necessarily made in reduction 

to the same form of statement. Thus the water used by a crop of 

wheat is from 9.3 to 29.8 inches in depth, averaging 17.9 inches; by 

barley, from 4 to 30 inches; the same experiments in successive years 

obtaining 13 and 23.5 inches, the difference, however, being in part 

accounted for by the increase in yield. 

In actual crop production, however, it is necessary not only to satisfy the thirst of the plant, but also to fill certain demands of the soil 

necessitated by its composition, structure, and exposure to the air. 

A certain amount of water must be given to the soil before the plant 

can- obtain any for itself, and, according to the skill of cultivation, 

more or less of this water will be taken up directly by the air or by 

weeds. The proeess of getting the water to the crop, usually in openearth channels, is also more o:i less wasteful, so that beyond the plant's 

needs there is always to be added a variable percentage to eover these 

various losses. Many of these losses may be reduced or prevented by 

niore perfect systems of irrigation and eultivation, but there is always 

a limit to expenditures in this direction set by the market value of the 

product. In other words, it will not pay to push water economy in 

this direction beyond moderate efforts. 

To obtain valid conclusions as to the total amount of water required 

by the plant, together with that portion lost in transit in t,he irrigating ehannels and in the soil while waiting for the demands of vegetation, it is neeessary to resort to the results of field tests made in 

various localities under local conditions of soil and climate. There 

are, unfortunately, comparatively few data as yet sufficiently complete for generalization, and these, as might be expected from an 

analysis of the matter relating to plant transpiration, offer wide 

discrepancies. 

Experimental data are still lacking as to the exact amount of water 

required for the proper moistening of plains soils to any depth. It is 

not unusual with alfalfa to apply 6 inches of water, or over 680 tons 
COWGILL.] WINTER IRRIGATION.· 37, 

per acre, at a single irrigation, but with the usual field crops it is 

probable that 3 acre-inches at an application is more usual than a 

larger quantity. Experience of irrigators generally favors the application of enough water to moisten the soil to a considerable depth, say 

It to 2i feet, and then by cultivation producing a mulch of fi~e soil on 

the surface to retard evaporation, thus retaining the water of a single 

irrigation for the use of the deeper roots of the plants for a considerable 

period, rather than the more frequent application of small quantities, 

which, by moistening only that portion of the soil very near to the 

surface, encourages the growth of roots in that portion of the soil 

which soon becomes dry. Such irrigation leads to spasmodic and 

irregular growth and often to serious injury to the plant from drought, 

even though very frequently watered. For general purposes it is 

undoubtedly the best plan to have the subsoil well moistened early in 

the season and to keep up the supply of moisture by such copious 

subsequent irrigation as will encourage the development of deep roots 

and maintain the uniform maximum growth of the plants. 

A convenient figure in estimating the quantity of water to be applied 

to orchard and ordinary crops at a single irrigation is 100,000 gallons 

per acre. This will allow. of some loss by seepage in the ditches, and 

usually moistens the soil to a good depth if judiciously applied, and 

can by the furrow system generally be so applied as to leave the soil 

in good condition for growth. 

The quantity of land which may be irrigated by a single man in a 

given time is exceedingly variable, and depends greatly upon the 

skill with which the land has been graded and the ditches have been 

laid out and constructed. Twenty acres per day may be as easily irrigated under some conditions as 1 or 2 acres under other conditions. 

In garden operations, of course, the areas covered are usually much 

less than in the big fields, and a man may sometimes spend a whole 

day on very much less than an acre and have no reason to chide 

himself for inefficiency. 

WINTER IRRIGATION. 

On the plains the winter and early spring months are usually dry, 

and the soil is sometimes almost as devoid of moisture at the opening 

of spring as during subsequent droughts. This powdery soil is easily 

worked, and some have thought it in favorable condition for the reception of seed, and that copious watering later would be sufficient to 

insure the full benefit of irrigation. But disappointments have sometimes resulted, scarcely better crops being realized than where no 

water was applied artificially. On the other hand, where similar soil 

has been thoroughly moistened by the late winter or early spring rains, 

or by winter irrigation, the fertility of the soil has been amply demonstrated. Whatever may be the explanation of the fact, it has been 
38 IRRIGATION PRACTICE ON THE GREAT PLAINS. [No.5. 

found by nearly all observant irrigators of the plains that winter irrigation, thoroughly done, serves very well the double process of fer-tilizing and moistening. Mr. Perry states that after his eight years of 

extensive experience in irrigation, he has had the best average results 

where he has thoroughly saturated the soil to a depth of 2 or 3 feet 

during the fall or winter or very early spring, and then has cultivated 

his crops on this land without subsequent irrigation. Mr. C. B. Huffman, of Enterprise, Kansas, has found that land thoroughly irrigated 

and well cultivated during the season of 1895, and afterwards sown in 

wheat, produced suprisingly well in 1896 witthout any irrigation after 

the wheat was sown, while similar land that had not been irrigated 

gave a very poor yield. The general experience of orchardists favors 

winter irrigation. Not unlikely, future praetice in the application of . 

water will consist in thoroughly wetting the soil during the winter 

and in such subsequent irrigation as may be found desirable to maintain the maximum growth, the larger quantity of water being applied 

in the winter, when evaporation is at a minimum. 

' 
INDEX. 

Page. 

Acre-foot defined .... ______ ------ _________ . 34 

Bed system of irrigation, description of_ 25-26 

Canvas dams, form of _________________ .,___ 22 

Celery, mode of irrigating ...... ----______ 25 

Cultivation, mode of .... __________________ 27 

Dams for reservoirs, mode of construc- tion of ____________ ------ ______ ........ ____ 13 

Dams of canvas, form of. ... -------·...... 22 

Distribution of water, mode of. __________ 21-27 

Ditches, mode of construction of ____ . _ _ _ _ 19-21 

"Duty of water" defined ...... ------_____ 34 

Fish culture in reservoil'S, method of .... 18-19 

Flooding system of irrigation, description of---- ____ ... _ .. ________ ·----_. ________ 23--24 

Flume and gate for reservoir, figure of__ 18 

Furrow system of irrigation, description of _______________ , ________________ .. _______ 26-27 

Gate and :flume for reservoir, figur~ of__ 18 

Hudson, Dr., subirrigation work by_____ 31 

Huffman, C. B., cited on winter irrigation 38 

0 

Page. 

King, F. H., cited on water consumed by 

different crops.__________________________ 3.5 

Land grader, figure of------·------------- 22 

Linn, Andrew, description of tile irrigating plant of. _________ ------ ______________ 30-31 

Miner's inch, definition of ... _ .. _ .. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 33-34 

Munger, G. M., reservoir and farm of._._ 12-14 

Perry, C. D., mode of ditch construction 

by---------------------------------------- 19,20 

cited on winter irrigation--------____ 38 

Reservoirs, mode of construction of _____ 12-19 

Reservoir :flume and gate, diagram showing construction of. _________ ------_----- 18 

Richter, Alex., subirrigation work by___ 31 

Subirrigation, modes of. ____ -------------- 28-33 

Water,mode of distributing ______________ 21-27 

amount required ____ ------ ____________ 3H-38 

amount required for different crops. 3.')....36 

Winter irrigation_------ ...... ____________ 37-38 

39 

1S94. 

Report on agriculture hy irrigation in the western part of the United States at the 

eleventh census, 1890, by F. H. Newell, 1894, quarto, 283 pp. 

Consists of "general description of tho condition of irrigation in the Unite<l States, the area irrigated, eo•t of works, their value and profits; also describes the water supply, the value of 

water, of artesian wellR, reservoirs, and other details; then takes up each State and Territory in order, giving a general description of tho condition of agriculture by irrigation, and dlecnaaes 

the physical condition and local peculiarities in each county. 

Fourteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1892-93, in two 

parts, Part U, Accompanying papers, 1894, octavo, 597 pp. 

Contains papers on potable waters of the eastern United States, by W J McGee; natural 

minel:al waters of the United States, by A. C. Peale; results of stream measurements, by F. H. 

Nowell, illustrated by maps and diagrams. 

1S91i. 

Sixteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1894-95, Part II, 

Papers of an economic character, 1895, octavo, 598 pp. 

Contains a paper on the public lantls and their water supply, by F. II. Newell, illustrated by a large map showing the relative extent an1l location of the vacant public lands; also a report on the water resources of a portion of the Great l'lains, by Robert Hay. 

A geological reconnoissance of north western "\Vyoming, by George H. Eldridge, 1894, 

octavo, 72 pp. Bulletin No. 119 of the United States Geological Survey; price, 

10 cents. 

Contains a description of tho geologic Rtructurc of portions of the Big Horn Range and Big Horn Basin, especially with reference to the coal fields, and remarks upon the water supply and 

agricultural possibilities. 

Report of progress of the division of hydrograph{' for the calendar year 1893-94, by 

F. H. Newell, 1895, octavo, 176 pp. Bulletm No. 131 of the United St.ates 

Geological Survey; price, 15 cents. 

Contains results of stream measurements at ">arious . points, mainly within the arid region and records of wells in a number of countios in western Nebraska, western Kansas, and ~astern 

Colorado. 

:1896. 

Seventeenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1895-96, Part II, 

Economic geology and hydrography, 1896, octavo, 864 pp. 

Contains papors by G. K. Gilbert on the undergrouml water of the Arkansas Valley in ~.astern 

Colorado; by Frank LeYerett on the water resources of Illinois; and by N. H. Darton on a reconnaissance of the arteshtn areas of a portion of the Dakotas. 

Artesian-well prospects in the Atlantic Coastal Plain region, by N. H. Darton, 1896, 

octavo, 230 pp., 19 plates. Bulletin No. 138 o£ the United .States Geological 

Survey; price, 20 cents. 

Gives a description of the geologic conditions of the coastal region from Long Island, N. Y., to Georgia, and contains data relating to many of the <leep wells. 

Report of progress of the division of hydrograpl1y for the calendar year 1895, by F. 

H. Newell, hydrographer in charge, 1896, octavo, 356 }1p. Bulletin No. 140 of 

the United States Geological Survey; price, 25 centR. 

1 Contains a description of the instruments nnd methods em'J'loyed in measuring lltreams and 

the results of hydrographic investigations in various parts o the United States. 

Snrvey bulletins can be obtained only by prepayment of cost as noted above. 

Postage stamps, checks, and drafts can not be accepted. Money should be transmitted by postal money order or express order, made payable to the Director of the 

United States Geological Survey. Correspondence relating to the publications of 

the Survey should be addressed to The Director, United States Geological Survey, 

Waahington, D. C. 
WATER-SUPPLY AND IRRIGATION PAPERS. 

1. Pumping water for irrigation, by Herbert M. ·wilson, 1896. 

2. Irrigation near Phronix, Arizon:., by Arthur P. Davis, 1897. 

3. Sewage irrigation, by George W. Rafter, 1897. 

4. A reconnoissance in southeastern ·washington, by Israel C. Russell, 1897. 

5. Irrigation practice on the Great Plains, by E. B. Cowgill, 1897. 

6. Umlerground waters of southwestern Kansas, by l~rasmus Haworth, 1897. 

7. Seepage waters of northern Utah, by Samuel l<'ortier. 

8. Windmills for irrigation, by E. C. Murphy. 

9. Irrigation near Greeley, Colomdo, by David Boyd. 

10. Irrigation in Mesilla Valley, New Mexico, by F. C. Barker. 

In addition to the above, there are in various stages of preparation about twenty 

other papers relatiug to the measurement of streams, the storage of water, the 

amount available fro~ underground sources, tho efficiency of windmills, the cost of 

pumping, and other details relating to the methods of utilizing the water resources 

of the country. Provision has been made for printing these by the following clause 

in the sundry civil act making appropriations for the year 1896-97: 

Provided, That hereafter the reports of the Geological Survey in relation to the 

gauging of streams and to the methods of utilizing the water resources may be 

printed in octavo form, not to cxeeed 100 pages in length and 5,000 copies in num- ber; 1,000 copies of which shall be for the official use of the Geological Survey, 

1,500 copies shall be delivered to the Senate, and 2,5tl0 copies shall be delivered to 

tho House of Representatives, for distribution. (Approved, June 11, 1896; Stat. L., 

vol. 29, p. 453.) 

Application for these papers should be made either to members of Congress or to 

T.IIJJ; DIRECTOR, 

lT.Nl'XED S'l'ATES GEOLOGIOAL SURVEY, 

Wa8Mngton, D. C.