The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1907-10-05
ELECTRICITY AND IRRIGATION.
Some Of the Things Made Possible
by the Use Of Modern Machinery.


Promoting agriculture with water
aiken from visible or hidden streams.
to make good the deficiency OF rain
fall, is one of the Oldest OF human
practices Sometimes the beneficent
fluid has been secured by diverting a
part of the current of river, as IN
Assyria in bygone days and in Egypt
today. and sometimes it has been OBJ
tanned by pumps, which were driven
by windmills. treadmills Or even more
primitive devices Occasionally arte-
sian wells have furnished a supply
through a pressure high enough to
eject the water without any resort 10
suction. Irrigation was practlced, tco,
in America long before the beginning
of history on this continent, If not at
as early a period as in the Old
World. In New Mexico and Arizona
there are now seen canals construct
ed by the Pueblo Indians previous to
the invasion Of the region by the
Spanish, and further south, both above
and below the Is,-mus Of Panama.
tentious undertakings were features OF
a civilization which existed thousands
Of years ago.
1t is said that the first systematic
attempts at irrigation within the linn
its of the United States were made IN
Utah, in 1847. The Mormons who set
tied there experienced many disap'
rointments, and found that in order
to secure sustenance they must utilize
the streams which ran into the Great
Salt Lake. SHORTLY afterward the
more copious rivers of California were
employed for double service. jets
OF water were made to wash Sold out
OF gravel, where there were deposits
worth working, and also to assist IN
the cultivation of crops. The greatest
expansion in the practice has oc-
CURED since 1850. BY the year lso2
the number of acres which were lrrl-
gated in the far west had increased
to nine million, and it is believed to
be fully fifteen million today. The end
is not yet reached, however, for many
important enterprises have been
started by the United States Reclaim
alton Service in the last three CT tour
years. When these are completed an
enormous addition will be made to the
area which was not arabic before.
Not the least significant contribution
to recent progress has been made by
electricity. This form of energy, de-
rived primarily from waterfalls and
dynamos, is now used to help forward
the work in several different ways. One
of its applications is to the operation
Of powerful "centrifugar' pumps whic1
lift water to unusual elevations. Elec'
trio drills have assisted in the creation
of conduits, which extend through solid
railways will be worked by means of
the water which will subsequently flow
into the irrigation canals. An eastern
manufacturing firm which supplies
all kinds of electrical machinery called
attention in one of its recent circulars
to one of the great engineering feats
of the country This is the wonder
full Strawberry valley project at YER
nal, Utah, now under way, where
storage reservoir will be built to hold
five billion gallons of water, and
tunnel three and one-half miles long
is being done by electrically driven
tools, and when it IS completed the
water will first be used to generate
electricity for lighting and power pur-
poses, and then for irrigation.
The Williston IN. d. project and
the Buford-Trenton project in the same
state are operated entirely by cleo
tricity. The electric current is gener-
ated by steam turbines mot hydraulic
power), and is used to drive the large
motors connected with the centrifu-
gal pumps. Another system has been
installed at Garden City, Kan, and
still another at Salt Lake, Ariz.-New