St. Paul daily globe., 1895-09-20
AN ABUNDANCE OF WATER
-;
EASILY SECURED by TAPPING
1.-THE EARTH ALMOST ANY
WHERE.
LAND MUST BE IRRIGATED.
now treat Dry Region Cum BE
sat Made to Blossom Like the
Rose.
Especial Letter to the CLONE. !

!" Gil oySlGIH OIL lETl-
eatlon In South Dakota is rapidly
growing In popular favor. 1t has
long been known that an immense
supply of water with a strong in
ternal pressure underlies a large por-
tlon or the states Of South Dakota
and North Dakota. 1t is distributed
underneath such broad area that
II VIII furnish water for a very large
number OF flowing wells. Until re-
Gently this valuable agent has only
peen employed at a comparatively
few and widely separated points by
the construction of artesian wells to
supply the towns with water and
furnish power for milling purposes.
electrlc lighting, etc. This wonder
ful subterranean body of water.
when tapped by artesian borings
Will supply an abundance of water
to irrigate a vast area extremely
fertile prairie land tn these impor-
tant agricultural and stock-raising
states.
There have as yet been but few
artesian wells constructed specially
Tor irrigation, and these are located
In South Dakota, but the success in
securing large streams of steady-
flowing water and the favorable re-
suits in certainty Of crops with in
creased yields have been SO salts
factory that arrangements are being
perfected to put down a large num-
hQTf 0f Uya11S
by past experience in the construc-
ton of artesian wells there has been
gradual reduction in their cost. so
that already an abundant supply of
water to irrigate land can be OBJ
tanned by wells at moderate ex-
pense by farmers in the broad belt
of country stretching through the
two states where irrigation is now
known to be possible.
A SIX-INCH WE'LL
with a ffve-acre reservoir will irri-
gate from one to two sections of
land, or from four to eight farms of
16O acres each, with plenty of water
to spare to form small lakes, and
supply water for stock. With the
assurance which investors will have,
based upon the fact that the land,
with sufficient moisture, can be re-
lied upon to produce sure crops every
year, with large average yields, in
suring them that the amount loaned
will be paid with good interest, they
will be glad to loan money to farm
ers for the construction of wells to
irrigate their land Farmers should
club together to arrange for money
with which to bore an artesian we'll
to irrigate their farms. 1t will re-
move the uncertainties in farming
that now prevail by reason of a
lack of moisture in an otherwise
highly productive region. The cost
to each farmer will be comparatively
light.
A low estimate Of the value of
agricultural lands in the Dakotas
when properly irrigated would be
from $25 to $40 per acre, and they
will earn good interest annually on
800 per acre. Artesian wells to sup
ply water for live stock will also
largely increase the value of grazing
lands, as the well-grassed grazing
regions of the Dakotas are conceded
to be the best stock-raising region
in the Northwest. Up to the present
time but little progress has been
made towards putting down artesian
WELLS FOR IRRIGATION
in the irrigable belt in North Da-
kota, although at a number of towns
in this fertile region, including
jamestown, Edgeley, Wimbledon,
Medora, Tower City and Devils
Lake, there are flowing wells in
operation which supply an abun-
dance of water.
A practical illustration of the value
of irrigation for successful farming is
afforded by the crops produced this
season on the Hunter farm, near Mel
lette, S.. D. There are several. other
farms successfully irrigated by arte-
sian wells in various parts of the state,
but this large farm is the most i'm
portant, as careful attention has been
given to develop the best methods to
with this system of irrigation. Briefly
described, the Hunter farm contains
800 acres of land and has an artesian
well LOGS feet deep, 6 inches in diam
eter az at bottom), and with a pres
sure Of 165 pound to the square inch
1,200 gallons of water a min
ute into a reservoir covering five acres
and built te hold from four to five
feet depth of water. The well cost
&. .509 and the reservoir $500 and will
irrigAte two sections, or 1,2S0 acres of
land 1t has been demonstrated that
when once the ground is thoroughly
WetEdeep down it does not require to
be irrigated each season, as the SUBJ
SOIL holds sufficient moisture to insure
I
7y--7S
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