The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-11-30
INGENIOUS PLAN OF IRRIGATION.

The Platte river, one of the largest
streams Of Wyoming, has been but lit
Tie used for the purposes of irrigation,
as the peculirity Of it's banks makes
the building of head gates almost ar
tmpOsslb4Ety. Z. H. Harvey has APP
parently solved the problem and in the
fo..owing way: The Platte river, in
its course through Wyoming, alternate
ay runs in almost level stretches OF
several miles and then in rapid falls
of from thirty to sixty in short rifles
Below the rifles, on either side Of the
Stream, are the bottom lands lying
, with = gentle slope to the river and id
Untrably adapted to Irrigation.
, Mr.. Harvey has located q motor ON
| one of these rifles and is now watering
! 200 acres. The river is about $50 feet
wide and makes a sharp curve at The
head of the rifle. a low dam of piles
and loose stones starting at the head
Of the rifle was first constructed dag
ona.iy from the right bank Of the
stream to $50 feet from the left bank.
From the end of this dam a strong
wing dam 10 feet wide and y feet high.
made of piles. plank and loose stones
was built at an angle of 20 degrees so
ward the shore for fifty feet and then
twelve feet down the stream. A sim
alar wing dam was constructed from
the shore, the two forming a letter Y.
with the stem down the stream The
main current of the stream passes
over the low dam, but a side current
is directed by it into the Y where the
rwater wheel is placed. The wheel is
) a combination of an undershot and a
breast wheel The thirty inches of
fail which the river makes in the rifle
rs concentrated in the chute carrying
the water through the Y. With ten
foot diameter wheel. fourteen feet long,
sixty horse power is secured. This in
the Harvey plant is used TO run a S1s-
inch centrifugal pump, which raises
1000 gallons of water per minute a.
height Of sixteen feet The same. bower
will run 5-inch pump, raising 1000
gallons Per minute.
The wheel is hung on a swinging
frame and is balanced by a counter
weight Its gearing lis a, sprocket
wheel, so that it can be raised or low
cred with the varying rise or fall of
the river without eny readjustmnet of
gearings. Logs have been run under
dt and it has ridden over them like a
pneumatic tireed bicycle passing over
a rail or stick without injury to the
wheel or jar to the pumping maehin-
cry. The wheel was started April II
and has been running continuously
day and night since at an expenditure
ture being for oil on the pump connec-
lions. No engineer or watchman is
!. needed and Ghe wheel works on while
&1he owner works in the feds or sleeps,
every twenty-four hours pouring L. 40.-
600 gallons OF water on the thirsty
land.
The cost of the wheel, compared
with what 1T accomplishes, is nominal.
Labor and material, including the
pump on the Harvey plant, amounted
to 1920. AS much Of the work was
experimental, it was necessarily slow
Alike plant can be put in for $500, and
1Tost of the work can be done by the
ra4hnlan himself. Since the wheel
al5A been running scores OF ranchmen
have visited the plant and preparations
are already being made to put in four
plants at various places along the
river, one of them. where the rifle has
a. fall Of fifty inches to the 100 horse
power-[B. 1S Wyoming Experiment
Station, Laramie.l