The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1880-11-25
IRRIGATION M:KANSAS.
A Paper Read BY T. 9. Adams Before the Kan
sas Academy Of Science, November

A Paper Read BY r. g. Adams Before the Kan
rs Academy i, 3 i ssi:'''' November
The subject ofirrigation is not new
one. Nor is it essentially scientific
subject. The oldest nations of histor,
practiced irrigation; and, in the earliest
periods, by methods involvingno scion
tifc knowledge. A simple ditch made
to turn the water Of a brook, and carry
It TO level above the adjacent land
whereby it can be spread over, Il
lnoisten the cultivated soil of the fields
in the season Of crop growing, involves
all that is essential to irrigation. Yel
where irrigation is done on larger
scale and broad and deep chanals ar,
made, hundreds of miles in length, re
curing the construction of aqueducti
and bridges and tunnels and reservoirs
ct vast expense, and after that just
superintendent Of whole rivers Of water
thus to be brought into use, in all this
much Of science must needs be employ.
ed. So in the sinking of wells to greal
depths to obtain water for irrigation
scientific investigation is requisite to
determine the position of strata. and
the reasonable sources of the water SUI
ply which is sought. The climatic eff
fects which may accompany the change
Of the soil, in district where rain fall
10 slight from state of sterility to one
Of great productiveness, may be sub
ject Of no little scientific interest.
Is irrigation practicable in Kansas
This a question which it weuld seem
the facts of science might have long age
helped to solve. II the question has al.
ready been solved without such aid
doubtless science may be made to help
in carrying forward the work which
has been begun without its intervention.
Mr.. Gannett's tables of elcvat ions to-
gether with the tables of distances on
the A. T. & S. +. II. r., show the fall in
the waters Of the Arkansas river, be.
tween Hutchinson and the Kansas State
line to be about eight feet to the mile.
The application of the engineers level
through fifteen miles in Sequoyah co,m-
ty, the third county from the western
line ofthe State, on the Arkansas river,
shows the fall in the river there to be
about seven and a half feet to the mile
At low stages the river banks are about
five feet above the water in the channel;
and the bottom lands spread out for
miles back from the river at little more
than the same elevation. As the water
falls in the course Of the river eastward
90 does the adjacent bottom land; seven
or eight feet to the mile through sever
al counties here perhaps the entire dis
tancc from Hutchinson to the west line
Of the state, and beyond, the uplands,
too, have about the same general de-
clivity to the eastward.
In the Arkansas river, four miles
above Garden City, in Sequoyah cOun-
~ and about seyenty-iivc miles from
the western line of the State of Kansas
is an island, a mile or more in length
and ii comes SO near the northern bank
of the river that at point thrce-fOurihs
Of mile below the upper end of the
island the channel between the island
and the main land is but about twenty
feet wide. At this point, hast February
or March, some gentlemen, among
whom were Messrs. Landis & Hollinger
Of Sterling, and Mr.. W. III. Armcniroui
of Garden City, under The name of
"1'he Garden City Irrigating Company"
threw across this channel dam of
brush wood and earth. By this means
they raised the water in this channel |
above the dam to the height of nearly |
five feet, or almost up to the top of the
river hank. Here they commenced TO |
dig ditch eight feet wide and two feet
deep. They made the ditch to gradually |
recedc from the river, as they extended
II out across the bottom land, SO as 10 /
run at the farthcst mile or two from
the river. The ditch is seven miles
long.
II was late in June, almost July, be-
fore tho ditch was SO far completed as
that water could be used in the irriga-
tlon offields adjacent to it. But, as
late AS il was, sufficient advantage was
derived to crops, TO bring good results,
and the promise of the successful irri-
CATION of large tracts of lands in the
Arkansas Valley, and even on the up
lands, in the experiments tried. nothing
like fair tests were made, except in a
few instances, and that principally i'm
garden patches.
The persons engaged in this expert
mcnt did not go about their work with
q view of making in this Years trial, ac-
curate proofs of results. Hence no ex-
act evidence appears TO be obtainablc as
to how much of any crop was grown to
the acre. Onions aud turnips of very
large size were still, last week, standing
in patches from which many of the larger
or of earlier growth. had been gathered
and sold. Ont on the Great American
Desert turnips sell al q dollar and quar-
ter per bushel, and the temptation TO
gathe; and sell. rs they become large
suoash, was of course, irresistible Po-
tatoes ofthe finest quality and size were
being dug in fields where the stand is
eery scattering; from the fact that the
iced had dried up, and the germ perish
NJ before the ground received the wat
er SO that they could terminate. There
lre fields ofvery scattering corn, ofgood
Irowth and fair sized ears, which was
planted Oh sod late in June. There is
abundant testimony TO the fact that n
match Of sweet potatoes, the plants for
which were raised in the open ground.
with no hot bed of ANY sort. and which
we're set out in July, yielded nearly
bushels 10 the acre. The state
mcnt is that there was alittlemore tina n
an acre of ground. and but little less
than a thousand bushels of potatoes.
There was no real measurement of the ;
ground on which this extraordinary
crop was grown. and no account was ,
kent OF the number of bushels dug and I
sold. They sold at two dollars and
an,, .,.,,.ts :. husbcl and tho money MAS ,