Arizona republican., 1911-04-25
IRRIGATION PLANT
IN THE WINDY CITY
The National irrigation Congress Will
Feel At Home.

Chicago, Ill, April 20-(Special Cor
respondence of The Republican,
Among the scores Of sideshows around
the corners from the big tent when
the National Irrigation congress has
its nineteenth annual sessions and its
| thousands Of visitors here next De-
cember will be one of as much if not
more interest than such points of
/ importance to the visitor as the bus
| lest corner in the world, at State and
Madison streets in the heart of the
downtown loop; the sky-kissing office
structures; the canyon-like down
town streets in the financial centers
the meeting ground of all nations.
HaIstead street, which splits the West
! Side for twenty-five miles and in
which one may ride in a. trolley car
almost an entire day for five cents, as
well as the many parks and boule-
yards fronting LAKE Michigan-and
/ that Will be Il complete pumping ir
rigation system in operation.
Chicagoans have learned much of
/ irrigation and the results therefrom
through reading, attending irrigation
! expositions and So on, but that an
/ irrigation plant is in operation here
and almost in the heart of the city as
/ a whole at that, few probably, Of
the millions who make the great pop
lation of the national gateway. are
! aware: while strangers in Chicago,
especially from the west and south.
I naturally would expect an irrigation
/ plant to be about the last thing To be
found here. 1t is true the plant is
a small one, compared with those of
the west, but it is an irrigation sys-
TEN in fact and is 50 called
The commissioners Of the South
Park and Boulevard system decided
late last year to experiment with ir-
rigation. and the outcome Of the eN-
pertinent. which is said to be unusu-
ally successful, is to be watched with
interest by similar organizations
throughout the country, especially in
the east.
The plant has been installed i'm
Grand Boulevard one of Chicago's
handsomest residential avenues. and
extends from East Thirty ninth To
East Forty-third street. The purpose
Of the plant is to keep the grass plots
in good condition without the tedious
and expensive hose sprinkling which
has heretofore been employed.
The boulevard, which is one block
lin width comprises three driveways.
Four-inch water mains have been
placed at each side Of the two wider
plots of ground which are separated
by the middle driveway, while one
single main was lain along the plots
adjacent to the sidewalks. In the
center porous tiles have been placed
underneath the plats, connected at
I each end with the water mains. 1t is
the plan to flood the irrigation tiles
through the water mains whenever
the ground becomes dry, the soil au-
tomatically To take up as much Of
the moisture as is necessary. In this
manner the practice Of hand sprink-
ling is to be done away with.
The sprinkling heretofore has been
done at night as the commissioners
as well as private citizens along the
/ boulevard were prohibited by city or
dinance from watering the grass in
the day time, the ordinance fixing
a certain time when water could be
taken from the mains for spTinkling
purposes.
1t will be a problem of n few min
utes only to fill the tile pipes when
/ irrigation is needed, and this can be
done from one central point The idea
! is the same as that employed on many
4 big irrigation projects, carried out on
I a big scale. 1t is said the commits
I sioners conceived the idea after view
/ ing localities in the west where irrl-
/ cation is practiecd.
Work of installing the plant was
/ started late last fall, and the arrival
of cold weather caused a cessation Of
1abor for a short period, the ground
| freezing before the laborers were able
/ to resod the surfaces which were torn
up when the tiles We're placed This
condition made things somewhat dis
/ agreeable in the boulevard homes
| some weeks later because Of the dust,
and there was considerable criticism
/ of the action of the commissioners in
having the grass plots torn up. The
work was completed early this spring,
/ however. and residents along the
avenue are congratulating themselves
! that Grand Boulevard is the first
street to reap the benefits Of the ir-