The Coalville times. [volume] (Coalville, Utah) 1894-1923, 1910-02-04
In RAISING WATER
Many Subterranean Streams
Close 10 Surface in the West.
We'll Adapted for Utilization for lrrl.
cation and VIII Be Exploited
Within Next Few Years
Cost is Low.

There are thousand and one
places IN the west where the under
low Of the subterranean water Is so
close to the surface that II might Just
as wen be utilized for irrigation and
every one Of these places will be eN'
plotted In this way within the next
thirty or forty years Greater irriga.
ton will work wonders in such places
of the arid belt The question OF
pumping water for irrigation Is sim
pie enough In these days Of practical
improvements by the way Of machin'
cry for lifting water and the acre cost
is generally less than Uncle Sam ex.
ponds in fancy tunnel projects. The
opportunities for gravity irrigation
are largely exhausted. There has
been In the past and Is yet too much
/ prejudice against pumping. The op-
/ position IL due more to ignorance
than anything else. The use Of cheap
machinery Is also responsible for the
general belief that the pumping Of
alter for irrigation is impracticablc
and too costly
All over the arid region are to be
found abandoned pumping plants aud
when we inquire the cause We get
one answer: 1T costs too much to
pump the water" The trouble is not
with the pumping system but with the
system Of pumping. The cost should
not be more than two dollars the
acre per annum but there are scores
Of instances in which II costs from
fi2 to tli and this II n rather stifi
tax for general crops under poor
methods Of culture. Water wheels
and current motors have been In use
In China for more than 5000 years
and In all that time there has been
no marked Improvement In their on
cheney although thousands Of types
have been constructed and tried
They are crude and burdensome
means 10 get power and under the
most favorable conditions give only
a fraction Of the power Of steam.
Taking all facts into consideration
We may say that the windmill Is nm
ingenious contrlyance from an irrlga
ton standpoint to waste power and
money as n general rule However
when the lift is low. wind conditions
favorable and n natural. inexpensiv,
reservoir available a small tract oi
land may be watered. but In 90 cases
out Of 100 II IL n delusion and waste
Of money. The most approved sys
TEN Of modern continuance for small
quantities Of water on n light lift II
the gasoline engine with centrifugn
or piston pumps and thousands o
them are today employed all ovel
the west to help "a many poor set
tiers make n living under conditions
which would otherwise spell failure.
There are all kinds OF splash wheels
working In currents that do prett,
good work night and day but they ar,
able to lift water only few feet an,
are not available any distance bacl
from a good stream Of water. Tn,
turbine Is simple enough but can b,
operated only under the pressure NJ
] fordod by decliyity and the same II
] true also OF the hydraulic ram which
however II not much better than
! MCrino buck for lrrlgating any con
siderable amount Of ground In a prac
teal way The artesian well with ,
good stun flow Is the finest kind OF
proposition but II comes wholly with
IN the province Of the Creator and Il
always a condition such az man can
! not provide primarily.