The Greeley tribune., 1911-06-29

bitches. streams and reservoirs 10
,ands above the ditch and many
ianJ owners who control water
-irhts have found 1t advantageous
~ oispose of their ditch right 10
o,her parties and pump the under
f,ow al a profit to themselves.
considerable number OF plants
have been installed where pumping
has been done from marsh or
swamp lands. Here the work has
haen found to be doubly advantage.
ons by draining the low lands ana
-eclaimiug the swamps, which were
~ mo value previously, and by rais-
ing the water to the table lands
above. effecting a double service by
one pumping.
ON the system used by the North
ern Colorado Power company the
electric current leaves the power
house at a pressure Of $4,000 volts
and is carried to the numerous sub
stations located in the towns
throughout the territory. where It
Is stepped down to $500 or $500
volts for local distribution.
The power company supplies the
commercial and municipal demands
in some twenty cities and towns
and carries on its poles connecting
the several towns low voltage wires,
from which extensions can be made
at any point to connect up the In
dividual farmers plants.
Usually $500 volt motors are In
stalled and these av rage about
twenty horse power each.
Current for this work is sold on
A.,;, n ssRvod a orpa' nf one
dollar per horse power per month.
for the irrigation months of May
to September inclusive. plus a
charge of three cents per kilowatt
hour for the current consumed as
measured by an electric meter.
Under the conditions the cost to
the farmer for electric service and
for interest and depreciation on his
pumping plant will amount to from
s1.OO to $500 per acre foot when
water is being raised through a 25
foot lift, the variation depending
upon the load factor under which
the pumping is carried on. together
with local conditions, such as effic-
iency of apparatus used and the
type of equipment installed.
During the past two years 1t has
been found that one acre foot of
water is an average of the amount
which had to be pumped in excess
of rainfall for the average crops
raised in the territory supplied.
AS soon as the farmers installed
the motor driven pumps for irriga-
tion purposes they began to find all
kinds of use for the electric power
upon the farm and farmers in
northern Colorado generally use the
electric current for house and barn
lighting, feed chopping, for stock
feedilg-which has been increased
tremendously during the past year
for the operation of milk separa-
tors and for driving the suction
milking machine. for running the
small repair shop upon the farm,
for shearing sheep and for operat-
ing the threshing machine at har-
vest time.
Experiments are about to be
made in adopting the German me-
thod of plowing some Of the large
farms, by means of the motor driven
drums and cables on gang plows,
which it Is believed can be success
fully and economically done.
The pronounced success secured
in the furnishing of electric energy
for the purposes enumerated, has
demonstrated to both the consumer
and the power company the value
of this class of business, and has
encouraged the building of lines to
cover the Tremendously increased
territory so that the territory of
northern Colorado will be practi-
cally cobwebbed with electric feeder
lines when the work now under
way is brought to a final compile
tion.-Irrigation Age.
Mrs. Arthur Bradbury went to
Ault this morning for a few days