Arizona republican., 1910-04-14
NEW KIND IF IRRIGATION Wlggins' Device To Be En. p|oyed .0N DESERT LAND CLAIM Description of Sub Irriga-
 tion System Which Two
 Kansas Men Will Install
 Near Mesa.
ON DESERT LAND CLAIM

I II M. Scott and C J. Bryant of In dependence. Kansas. haze just taken up section of land immediately east ! "f the Eastern canal. under the desert i land laws for the purpose of installing . a device known as the Wiggins sub | irrigation device. which is manufac- tured in Kansas. or rather fhe- ma chimes used in the manufacture of the cement tiling are made in Kansas. The gentlemen above mentioned are only among a considerable number Of men from Oklahoma and Kansas who have recently taken up desert land for the 1 purpose of installing the sub-irrigation system
 The system which the gentlemen propose to install on their new land,
 is already in operation in portions of Texas and another at Garden City. Kansas. and still another is being put
 in at Puebla. Col. where it win be on display at the meeting of the next ses-
 sion of the National Irrigation con- gress.
 i The system. the patents of which are owned and controlled by the National | Land and Sub-IrrigatiOn company. I! consists 0T q series of continuous ce- ment tiling having a main conduit and
 iaterals running at right ane'es. Each
 lateral where it leaves the main con- ! duit has brass valve by w:Jch the water is turned on or shut off as the loperator may desire. The water is ad- lmittcd to the ground through q series
 nf small tubes on the top Of the la
 tcral. each tube being covered by q concrete shield, thus insuring against
 these outlets becoming clogged and ad- 1 hitting q free flow of water to the ground at all times. These tubes pro-
 ject above the pipe about one-half inch. which makes il quite impossible for any sand which might work its way
 upwards under the shield to settle back in the hole and thus cause a stopage. The outlets through these tubes are from the size of six penny
 nail down 10 about three sizes smaller
 and are located about every feur feet along the lateral
 | It is a well known fact that the two
 main points in the successful sub irri- gation Of land is to first secure an equal distribution of water tn the
 ground. and second 10 admit the water [ to the ground no faster that il can be | absorbed. In the event that the water | is rushed into the ground it is recog niZed that the soil would soon become
 water logged and would become to-
 tally impervious to moisture within a
 few inches of the opening in the lateral
 Whether this latter problem in the system which il is proposed 10 install i has been solved or not is not known.
 but il is recognized fact that it must be solved before the system can be a
 success. It is claimed by the gentle men who propose to put in the system
 that the tiling is continuous. and by that is meant without either joint or break. thereby placing the control of the water under the operator and that ! by graduating the size of the outlets i in the laterals according to high or low 1 pressure as the local conditions may be- an equal distribution of water may be had at all times. The instance is giv en that whefe the lateral is twenty rods long. with fall of one foot or ! two feet at the lower end. This of course will naturally give the greatest pressure at the lower end and if the
 outlets are of a uniform size. most of the water will be admitted to the ground at those points where the pres sure is greatest Tn order to regulate this feature it is claimed that the smaller openings are placed where the
 pressure is greatest and the larger
 openings are located where the pres
 sure is lowest.
 There are of course. many advant- ages to be secured by sub-irrigation.
 There is'a great saving of water it be-
 ing estimated that by sub-irrigation one windmill can pump enough to irri- gate ten acres. Then again there are no ditches to keep up. no waste land on account of being unlevel, and the Irrigation of land will he made easy, there being practically nothing to do hut regualte the flow through the la terals. Sub-irrigation in the growth of onions and fruit trees has proven a great success and in the event that the desert land to the east of Mesa can be reclaimed it win mean great item to the future of this section of the coun- try. 5'
 The cost of the system is naturally rather high on account of cement be- ing one. of the important parts of it's manufacture. It is variously estimated that the plant can be put in at this place at from sI5 to s30 per acre. The soil on the desert at this point is said by the gentlemen who have investi- gated it to be excellent for the success- fril working of their system.