The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1905-09-18
Some Iorigatlon Talk

MADE recently TO attempts now DelnR
carried on to irrigate the lands lying
along the Columbia river by water
taken from that stream. An investi-
CATION of the history of irrigation in
this vicinity shows that ever since the
first white settler located here, the
problem of utilizing the waters of the
Columbia to irrigate the arid lands
adjacent thereto, has puzzled the
| brains of many experimenters.
So far none OF the many devices ha,
proven entirely successful. The basis
of most of them has been the pnwer of
the swift but tickle and changea bic
current of the river. Current wheels
and current motors have been tried on
many rivers and ave,served to lift the
water where the current is steady and
the land close to the water. Along
the Columbia, they haze been tried
near Entiat where, on E. Wagners
ranch the machinery is found lying
neglected to this day, while his SPLEEN
did fruit ranch of 100 acres is wateIed
by fiume from Suakane Canyon.
Mr.. j. S. Kimmell, about five miles
down the river from Wenatachee has
installed current wheel at consider
able expense, but has found it i'm
practicable and will NATAL a steam
pumping plant. On the Wenatchee
river near the bridge, is to be found
the remains of current wheel erected
by M. Koran, who found that it would
not work and now US wat r fir om the
Gum ditch
The wheel recently installed by
Thomas Hough has come nearer sue
cess than any other, though the
amount of water pumped SO far has
been sufficient to irrigate few acres
only and the whole apparatus will
have to be rebuilt before it will work
continuously. Even then the amount
of water it will lift is still problematic
and cannot be determined until act
ually operated for a considerable
length of time. The current just
now is very swift at that point, much
Swifter than dring the irrigation sea-
son. At no other Point along the
river can equally good conditions be
found for current motor.
Mr.. Hough formerly pumped water
by steam engine using drift wood
for fael. While the fuel cost almost
nothing, the plant was not success,
a. his experiment with a current motor
will prove, Further up the river,
steam engines have been used though
not with success. Mr. Milton Howe.
of Waterville, who has ranch Just
above Orondo. has tried both steam
and gasoline, the latter costing far too
much besides req airing constant at
tentiou. He is now preparing to in
stall an electric motor which appears
to he the oGly feasible and sncces full
method of lifting STEADY and con
tinuous stream Of water of Sufficient
quantity TO irligate properly. Great
rower Is necessary and this can be on
tanned cheaplv only by hydraulic
electric power.
1t has been demons rated that to
generate Sufficient power TO pamp
water 50 feet high for irrigating pnr-
noses, costs nearI SO per acre per
annum, By gasoline engine.
Those who have tried this method in
the Weuatchee valley, report that tile
method is not only expensive but it
requires too much attention to be
practicable.
Curre wheels, gasoline and steam
engines and similar contrivances have
proven failures in California. Colo
RADIO, Idaho aud other states. where n
high lift IS required. If those who
contemplate making similar cxp3ri-
ments to those mentioned will look ap
the history of pumping By these meth-
DDS, O. viii cousalt competent eugi-