The Minneapolis journal., 1904-11-21
WILL NOT WAIT
ON GOVERNMENT
SLOPE FARMERS WILL INSTALL
IRRIGATION PLANTS.
Farmer Green, Living Near Mandan,
Has Damned the Heart and Is Rails
ing It's Waters by Engine and End
less Chain-Total Cost Of System
Only About $1,000. .- =.
SpeciaI to The Journal.

Special to The Journal. s.. . ..
Bismarck, n. D., Nov. Ain connection with
the reports that the government will expend
$3.50, 900 IN the vicinity of Bismarck for an IT.
rigation plant u pumping station drawing water
from the Missouri river and flooding the bench
above the water in the river, several enterprls-
ing residents Of the country along the Missouri
are preparing to go to work on their own ac-
count. .... 49,. ..-.
The first of these plants ready for operation
is on the land belonging to J. S. Green, at Sun
nyside, five miles west of Mandan and the
water for irrigation is to be drawn from Heart
river. The Heart is ordinarily shallow, with
banks twelve fifteen feet high, and the dis
tance from bank to bank Is about 100 feet. 10
obtain a sufficient stage OF water to supply mas
pumps, Mr. Green has constructed a dam of
bundles of willow brush, which are cut and
fastened into brooms about eighteen inches in
diameter, and laid on the bottom Of the river,
lengthwise with the stream. On top OF these
are heaped loads of gravel and more brush, all
ternately, until substantial dam ts constructed
of density sufficient to check the flow Of the
water. On top of the completed structure heaps
of rocks are piled to prevent the gradual erosion
| of the gravel, and a sluiceway is left that the
water may pass down the stream. This dam
has increased the stage Of water above to q
depth of five feet, sufficient for all purposes.
| The water is pumped from the stream by
means of an ordinary gasolene engine of about
seven s two an apass
on the chain. These continuously driven
| thru the water by the engine, and in coming up
| pass thru q wooden cnamDer OF the same Size
and bring up stream of water thirty inches In
width by six inches in depth The principle is
that Of the old we'll chain with little buckets,
at distance Of several inches. With this SIM
pie yet effective apparatus, water to the extent
of seventy five barrels minute be drawn
| from tho river at small expense for pumping.
A ditch 800 feet long, thirty inches wide and six
inches deep be filled in few minutes, and
it is believed the system, the total cost Of which
was about 81 900, will furnish enough water to
| irrigate 200 acres of bottom land lying along
the river and soping gently away from the river
so that when the water is pumped up it will
flow thru gravity canals to all parts Of the irri
gated Corn, potatoes, alfalfa and other
crops will be planted the land another year.
The land adjons the railroad, so that all prod
ucts raised will be convenient to a shipping
point.
This will be the first irrigation plant in this
section of the state, and its operation will be
watched with much interest. The first cost OF
installing the pumping system will be $5 ar
acre for the 200 acres. The expense Of pumping
will depend upon the fuel consumed for the en-
gine, which working at full capacity, Mr.. Greer
says, will be 1S cents hour approximately
AS only enough water need be pumped to supply
the deficiency in moisture in dry years, the propo
sition will not be nearly so expensive as If Il
were in arid country where the entire supply
Of moisture would have to be pumped.