The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-09-14
IRRIGATION IN RICH.
An Interesting Paper on the Needs
Of That County.
THE USE OF THE AQUEOUS FLUID.
Bear Lake Should Be Made Reservoir site By
the Government-Against the Bear
River Canal.

The following interesting paper on the
subject above named was recently received
in this city. 1t is published at the urgent
request of the prominent citizens of Rich
county. The paper was delayed in its ar
rival here, but the information it contains
sjust as valuable as though it had been
the first to reach here:
Ea response to your call upon the county
court for statistics regarding irrigation
matters N this county, have been APP
point I'd a special commissioner to gather
said d-5a for the use of the committee on
irrigation of the United States Senate.
The accompanying indicate all the
streams in this county from which water IS
used for irrigation, also the canals ana
bitches constructed and used for that pur
pose.
The accompanying tables show:
1.-The name of every such stream in this
county, the quantity of water IT supplies,
etc.
2-The names of the canals and water
bitches, their owners or officers, when first
constructed or used, the land irrigated un-
der them, etc.
Third-The sites for reservoirs, estimated
size of each, etc.
Appended is also an abstract from the
county records, showing the water rights
recorded in this county.
In designating
THE QUANTITY OF WATER
furnished or used, an irrigation stream has
been taken as unit, or base of calculation.
Such stream is generally known in this
county as the quantity of water one man
can use in watering grain or vegetable
crops without waste of water, or damage
of injury to land by washing gul-
lies. etc. The Swan Creek Irrigation
company designates such stream as
20 inches wide, 2l5 inches deep, under
"a pressure of twelve inches. BY measure
ment have ascertained that an irrigation
stream as issued to land holders in Lake
town precinct, is (after bringing the water
to q standstill against a dam) a sheet of
water thirty inches wide and three inches
deep, falling over board half an inch
thick In this method of measurement the
water tails from the surface, therefore
there need be no doubt about the pressure,
or any complex continuance to obtain it.
have not attempted any miners inches,
cubic foot or gallon measurements, for lack
of time and necessary convenlences TO OBJ
tain them Few men, civil engineers, per
haps, not excepted, unless they are irri
gators, know how many miners inch IS,
cubic feet or gallons an irrigation stream
WOulu IGDItSGllO III any NNll LlAllS'
ALL TIE GRANGER CARES To KNOW
is that when his turn comes to use
the water, he gets all he can well manage
without waste or damage to his crops or
lands.
According to Monteith's geography, Bear
River valley is 6, 422 feet above the level of
the sea. The snowfall, in the mountains
adjoining said valley on the south and west,
is about five. feet That is, it becomes
fabout that deep at time during the win
n ter taking no account OF what melts De
pA1ore the general spring thaw. There was
much less snow than that last winter in said
mountains.
According to said geography, Bear Lake
valley is. 6,OOl feet above sea level. The
snowfall during the winter in the noun
tains encircling said valley is usually about
six feet. but il was much less than that
last winter.
IRRIGATION BEGINS
in Bear Lake valley about the st of April
and ends about the lst of September
the latter date being for the
last crop of lucern. For grain and vege-
tables, irrigation begins from about the LIST
of MAY TO the 1st Of June, and ends about
the middle of August, varying somewhat
according to the season and weather. But
it has beena olnd beneficial. after crops
nave DGGu kdluGlCl ~ III haOCL vi sAN
land and let it run all winter, thereby
moistening up the ground for next seasons
crop; therefore the irrigation season may
practically be considered to continue the
year through, except while drying the land
enough for gathering the crops, blowing,
etc.
In Bear River valley irrigation proper
begins about the lst of April and end:
about the lst of August. But as the main
crop Of that valley is grass for hay, what
water there is in the fall and winter is
turned on to the land to prevent the latter
bbecoming too dry and cracking during hare
freezing weather.
AS TO THE QUANTITY
Of water needed to mature al
acre of any given crop, so mucl
den ends upon circumstances season, land
anu water) that it is difficult to lay dowT
any rule in relation to it. In Randolph pre-
cinct it has been estimated this summer
that a stream feet s inches wide and Z
inches deep, with a velocity of 81 sec
ends to the rod, will only irrigate sixty
acres of grain during the irrigation season
of three months for that crop. That seems
to me to be rather a low estimate, yet i
was made on the ground when an irriga
tor was at work, the soil heavy or clayey
the sun hot and the weather dry. In Lake
town precinct an irrigation stream was
made to do much more than that with the
same crop up to nearly or quite twice as
much.
Regarding the time required at each irri
CATION TO properly mOisten the soil, much
depends upon the kind and dryGess of the
land and the distance down to moisture
Water running a few minutes ovel
sandy, lOamy and some gravelly soils, vii
often be sufficient to properly soak the
land or moisten the crop; whereas heavy
clayey land, very dry, may require severa
hours, and then dry out much quicker than
the former.
LAND SHOULD BE IRRIGATED
about once a week for gardens, and frcn
fourteen to twenty-five days for genera
crop, according to the weather, kind o.
soil, whether naturally moist, dry or heavy
etc.
As TO the quantity of water needed Il
irrigate the various kinds of mineral soils
much depends upon the natural characte
of the land, aside from the mineral it con
tains. If sandy or loamy, much less watel
will be required than if heavy or clayey
When the land slopes sufficiently to admit
of water running off freely, the latter cal
be used very advantageously III washing
off the mineral. In fact 1t seems that NJ
land, however strongly lmpregnated witt
salt or any other mineral, but that can b.
reclaimed bv fresh water running over |
long enough.
The loss of crops in this county TN:
season for loss of water for irrigation
while considerable. is nevertheless dlfncul
to estimate in acres, or IN an.
other definite way. Anticipating a DIR
season, the farmers Of LaketOwn. preclnc
} did not put in so much grain last spring
usual. yet, over hundred acres OF tina
crop has been lost and about % per cent
the last crop of lucernIalso; about the sam
quantity Of grain has been lost in Meadow
Vile precinct, and probably about oue-thlr
of the hay crop there. Garden city, tn
~ %,