Deming graphic. (Deming, N.M.) 1903-1948, 1911-04-21
IRRIGATION FACTS
FROM AUTHORITY
Items Of interest Cleaned
from Prof. Bixby's Adj
dress at Demins
THINGS TO REMEMBER
Pumping il q Successful Ven.
ture and not a Mere
Experiment.
THINGS TO REMEMBER

Chamber Of Commerce contained so
much Of interest that a brief re-
view will be valuable 10 those inter-
ested In pumping for irrigation.
Prof Bixby opened his address by
stating that the development Of ag-
ricultural lands by irrigation has
been more rapid in the past ten
years than In any twenty years pre-
vious to 1900. There are at pres
ent thirteen million acres Of land
being irrigated in the United States
and by proper application Of the
water now In use this amount can
be increased TO twenty million. DIR.
Fortier has computed the available
land to be forty-6ve million acres.
The water In our streams Is all. or
nearly all. the property ofirrigation
companies. communities or private
individuals. Necessity has driven
the farmer to other sources Of sup
ply. A large portion Of water car
ried in streams seeps away as II
seeks a lower level. feeding as It
does in the Mimbres Valley. large
underground reservoirs. II is not
lost. however. as 1t makes a new
phase Of irrigation development,
that Of supplying water to crops by
pumping.
The development of agricultural
lands by pumping Is spreading
through sections heretofore thought
to be permanent deserts and large
areas are being reclaimed in this
manner. Pumping Is a successful
venture and not mere experiment
although failures have been record
ed. These failures. however, may
be traced directly to either Of two
causes, viz: a desire to build the
plant as cheaply as possible or lack
of proper preliminary investigation
by an experienced engineer. OF the
former 1t may be said that 1t does
not pay to buy secondhand engines
and pumps because they are cheap.
Good results cannot be expected
with such equipment; the expert
ence of those who have studied
pumping machinery from the econ
omical standpoint will bear out this
statement. As for the employment
Of a competent engineer to make
the proper Investigations prior to
installing a pumping plant, 1t may
be said that it Is money well spent
and the increased output of the
plant will determine the value Of
such services.
Prof Bixby told good many
good things about digging wells,
the installation of pumps and the
cost per acre-foot Of pumping wa
ter. that are very familiar to our
farmers. Concerning fuel he said:
Crude oil is a fuel which seems to
offer great possibilities for cheap
power, the difficulty being in us.
ing 1t with entire success in an in
ternal combustion engine. A crude
oil engine tested at Deming had a
fuel consumption of l.S pints Of oil
per hour per hour per horsepower
delivered at a cents per gallon.
There is no doubt, however, but
that crude oil Is the coming fuel TO
be used in connection with pumping
plants owing to its cheapness.
1t is difficult to state what is a
reasonable use Of lubricating oil as
II varies so decidedly with the oper-
ator. For the purpose Of estimat-
ing It may be assumed that for a
centrifugal pumping plant. the
best grade Of lubricating oil will
cost about 5 cents per hour per rat
ed horsepower Of the plant.
In closing Prof. Bixby joined DR..
Squires. whose address was on soil
culture. in predicting for the MINI
bres Valley great future and pay
ing just tribute to the superior in
telligence Of our farmers. He was
intensely Interested in our unlimited
supply of pure water and promised
to give our vast agricultural re-
sources their full share of atten-