The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1895-03-01

Eyaporztssn sae sssness
Professor E c. Aiarphy Of the UEi
gegsity Of Kansas writes the Kansas
Farmer as follows:
Some very interesting and impor
tant questions were raised By the
papers and discussions on Friday al the
meeting Of the board Of agriculture.
Il the space in your valuable paper is
not fully taken, permit me to say
few words through It, on one Of them.
viz. evaporation from and pereolation
through soils.
AS far as ! eau learn, no expert
ments have been made IN Kansas or in
the United states to determine the
evaporation from soils OK the amount
OF water which passes down through
them and out Of the reach of vegsta-
ton. A very complete set Of sueh sS-
periments was MADE by Mr. Chas
GFeaves. near London, England, be-
tween the years 1860 and 1873. While
the atmospheric conditions are not the
same there es in Kansas, we may,
nevertheless, learn some important
facts from them.
-Four water-tight tanks were used
IN these experiments. One 3xSxs feet
was filed nearly to the top with Ordi-
nary soil, packed little SO as to be in
the condition Of ordinary grass land.
A second one of the same size was
filled nearly to the top of flter-bed
sand; the other two were three feet
square and one foot deep. To the bot
toms of the first three were attached
tubes which led away the water that
reached them to measuring vessel
The third tank served as a rain,gauge,
and from it the rainfall on the other
three was determined. Water was
kept in the fourth tank and it fioated
on the Lee river near by Fr5m it
the evaporation from a water surface
was found Provision was m de to
catch the run-off from the soil and
sand tanks, but there was none during
these fourteen years.
Now, the water which passed down
through the soil and the sand was col
leeted and measured, and thus the per-
collation. through each was found. AS
all the rain which fell on the tanks
was either evaporated or passed
through and was measured, the differ
ence between the measured rainfall
and the measured percolation gave the
evaporation.
The annual rainfall for these four
teen years varied from 1898 TO 37.I7
inches, the mean being 95.72 inches,
The mean percolation through soil
was 7.5S inches or 20 per cent of the
mean annual rainfall
The mean percolat.on through sand
was 2L4l inches or SO per cent Of the
mean annual rainfall.
The mean evaporation from soil was
1914 inches or II percent of the mean
annual rainfall
The mean evaporation from sand
was 4.3I inches or Il per cent of the
mean annual rainfall
The mean evaporation from water
was 20.6 inches or so per cent Of the
mean annual rainfall.
The evaporation from sand was,
therefore, about one-fourth that from
soil, and the percolation through the
former about four times that through
the latter The evaporation from water
was only slightly greater than that
from soil.
The evaporation from water in west,
ern Kansas is about three times that
from water given above. hence. for
the same soil and mean annual rain
fall, we would expect the percentage
evaporation from soil there to be more
than Il per cent of the rainfall, but
the rain falls more rapidly in Kansas
than in England, and hence less water
is left in the soil to evapOrate.
I'VE are apt tounder-rate or neglect
evaporation loss. We cannot see the
water as it passes off into the air. We
see it as it sOaks away and disappears
into the soil and we strive to make
reservoirs water-tight, but some peo-
pie talk of building shallow ponds
for storing water, just as though evap-
grafton loss was nothing.
LAS an example of the losses from a
canal, in which no special precaution
was taken to reduce them. we NAV
mention the case of the Perry ditch, in
Clark county. The ditch is eight and
One-half miles long, fifteen feet wide
on top, nine feet wide on the bottom.
two feet deep, and has a grade of two
and one-fourth feet to the mile.
When water was first admitted to it. il
was fourteen days from the time the
water entered until it reached the
other end. There were places along
it where the up hill bank hal not been
constructed and the ditch widened out
into shallow ponds, the area of which
was estimated to be three acres, with
an average depth of six inches From
this data we find that about 81, Ss4, 0OC
cubic feet of water entered the ditch
in the fourteen days and LIZ. 00C
cubic feet were in the tch and ponds
at the end of this time. hence. the diff
ference between these. or "a. T06. O0(
cubic feet of water, was lost bv evapor
aticn and percolation while the water
was going the length OF the ditch fol
the first time. Stating this in another
way. more than fifty ditch-3ulIs Of
water were lost before any water
reached the land to be irrigated. Vow
after several years of uye and with the
ponds cut of from the ditch. water
when let into it after being shut on
for a short time, will run the length
of it in seven and one half hours"
Trey VIII Organize.
The proposition to construct an irri-
cation ditch for Adams county was