Arizona republican., 1910-07-16
4 PUMPING
 EXPERIMENT Successful Operation On
 Two H0meSteadS SOLUTION OF PROBLEM
For Lands Outside Recla- nation Zone-A Belief That Irrigation Can Be Secured At a Very Low Cost


 water for irrigation on the Rev. A. l.. Hawley and C. E. Hemperly home steads, about eleven miles south and e2st of Mesa, the result of which can not help but be of interest to the pro- spective owners of lands, or rather the prospective owners of lands from the Queen Creek Wash on the east end of the valley to Gila Bend on the west. The records of the land office will reveal the fact that within the past two years hundreds of settlers have arrived in the valley and have taken up land by homestead, commu tation and desert entries. The one problem with these people has been the water supply. It is safe to venture that the number of plans for irri- gating the land held by them are prob ably as numerous as the number of the settlers, for practically every man has an idea that will, in his opinion. if followed out, result in his land be ing watered at a minimum cost.
 4 number of these settlers have in
  CT, while others have hopes of band ing themselves together and formulat- ing some kind of a cooperative propo sition whereby they will be indepen dent of the government. At any rate. the plans followed out by the pioneer irrigationists, the costs, etc, will not to be of interest whether their plans meet with approval or not.
 Mir. Hawley and c. F.. Hemperley formed a sort of partnership, locating adjoining claims and boring one well and installing a pump. The first wa ter was lifted from the well early in the spring, but the real test was not begun until May. The soil had never been irrigated. being entirely outside of the reclamation zone and never having been watered except as an oc- casional rain might happen that way. Seeds were planted in the ground in May and the records on the cost were computed for the two months and a part of the present month, showing a total cost of eight dollars for the one acre that has been kept in cultivation. In addition to the irrigation water, the two families and neighbOrs use three thousand gallons per week. The pump lifts the water a distance of one hundred feet and is operated on an average of one hour per day. The fif- ty-gallon plunger pump is recognized as one of the most expensive types, and in addition it should be remem- bered that there has been no assist ance by rainfall and that the land was baked when irrigation was begun. Such products as watermelons. pea nuts, cantaloupes, radishes, onions, pumpkins, potatoes and cucumbers have been matured or about to ma ture. It will also be realized by ranch CTS and gardeners that the above men tioned vegetables require more water than any other crop cultivated in the valley
 Apparently it is the firm belief of the gentlemen who have been respon- sible for the experiment that if crops requiring less water or if a different style of pump were employed, that the cost of eight dollars per acre could be reduced. Another item that should be taken into consideration is that the lift of the proposition above described is probably a maximum for the valley The general depth at which water is found throughout this section is con- less than one hundred feet