The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-05-02
Z REALLY WORKS.
M. B. Tomblin of the State Irriga-
ton Board
IRRIGATES TWENTY ACRES OF LAND

This is On the Highest Driest Ridge
and the Water is Pumped From q
Well 1S5 Feet Deep.
The state irrigation board created by
the last legislature and which had $4,000
to spend on experiments in western Kan
sas is meeting in Topeka today at the
office of the board OF public works on
the state house grounds. All the men,
bers of the board are present-Judge W.
b, Sutton, Judge D. NJ. Frost and just
plain N. B. Tomblin. Only one of the
two advisory members is present, Prof
E. Hawarth of Lawrence. President
George T. Fairchild of Manhattan col
lege is absent
There are representatives of different
windmill and pump firms here who are
bidding for the contract of putting in
four of the wells and pumping stations
to be put in operation as per the statute,
which provides for twenty.
or the four stations ready to be built,
one is near Goodland, in Sherman county;
one is in Hamilton county, six miles
north of Kendall; one is in Grant county.
six miles south of Ulysses, and the last is
in Gray county, five miles south of CHM
aron.
Nine other locations for stations have
been agreed on as follows: Near Melon
aid, Rawlins county; Oakley, Logan
county; Dighton, Lane county;
Greeley, Tribune county; Leoti,
Wichita county; Santa Fe. Haskell
county; Dodge City, Ford county;
Rocks county. This leaves seven other
locations yet to be appointed, all west of
the 9Sth meridian, which is the east
boundary line of Rice county. These
pumping stations will cost about $500
each and will irrigate from ten to twenty
acres, raising enough vegetables to sup
port and profit any small family.
The entire western end of the state
which is known as the semi arid region,
is we'll stirred up on the irrigation ques-
ton and want it given a fair trial. Mr..
Tomblin has just completed a private
pumping and irrigating outfit of his own,
similar to the ones the state will estab-
fish, and is highly elated with its success.
He explained it to the board informally.
1t has often been commended that irri-
cation from the underfow would be too
expensive to be successful, for the reason
that it would take too big an
lift the water, and that IN
less you could find water in less than
than thirty feet of the surface irrigation
by pump would never be a reality. Mr..
Tom bln has overcome this obstacle. Mr..
Toni lin's plant is near Goodland, Sher-
man county.
81 went down 24O feet" he said, s'but
it was not satisfactory, so l came back to
depth of 1876, and there found a good
flow. l have a five inch tubular we'll
that yields me from one to two barrels a
minute. It is operated by means of a
Is foot windmill with a 16-inch stroke.
Reservoir and all cost me about $3.50.
will make it irrigate twenty acres.
Ten acres of this l will put in orchard,
and cultivated with potatoes and celery
and other vegetables. The other ten
will be in alfalfa. It is on the highest
driest part of of the region we have to
, experiment with. As to the power, l want
to tell you that once when we were down
4 $40 feet the tubing became sandclogged
l That pump kept right on with its work
/ lifting the iron tubing full of water uE
t and down easily. l estimated the weight
l to be about 5000 pounds. 1 had power
3 to spare. If have fair prices the plan
will pay for itself the first year.
''This was on a high divide. I haC
very little trouble in going down. We
2 struck rock three or four times, bu
J nothing serious.
NEARLY all the farmers out there arr
l preparing to put in irrigating outfits a
+ soon as they can, and in Sherman COUNTY
: loan companies that have lands Their,
are beginning to offer to put them in ant
rent them to the farmers. 1t beats rain
making all to pieces, and the time vii