Deming graphic., 1914-02-27

ur1t pr1nclDies OF irr1gotion, 10 coh-
duct any experiments or investiga-
tions which would tend toward econ
omy in the use Of water. The general
impression has been that the soil
must be kept nearly soaked in order
to make the greatest growth. and
that the increase in yield will be in
proportion to the increase in amount
Of water applied.
The pioneer work Of getting the
water to the land has been accom-
plished in manv sections and the
problem now in hand is to extend
the use Of water, already in the
the bitches or available through
pumping, in such a manner as to
secure the highest efficiency or, as
we term it, the highest Duty of Wa
ter. This can be accomplished only
by a careful study Of irrigation
methods as to when and how to ap-
ply water. Irrigation is but the sup
plementing Of the natural rainfall
and should be considered rs such in
the use Of water.
The economical use Of water and
the water requirements Of crops can
not be carefully studied unless the
water is measured by some standard
device designed for that purpose.
The unit Of measurement will deter
mine the kind Of device to be used
The cubic -foot-per-second Us q
measure Of the flow Of water and
the acre-foot as a measure Of volume
ere the two units now accepted as
the best and most easily understood.
An acre-foot is the amount Of water
which will cover an acre Of land one
foot deep. One cubic foot Of water
per second flowing for twenty-four
hours will amount to nearly two
acre-feet.
Careful experiments in various OF
the western States have been con-
Quoted with a view to determining the
amount Of water required and also
the time Of application. In Utah it
was found that with wheat, oats and
corn the best total yields were OBJ
tanned when the soil was kept ap-
proximately equally moist throughout
the season, and that with very
small supply two irrigations are bet
ter than one. II was also found that
these crops needed fair irrigation
at the time when the seed was in ,he
process Of formation as there was
danger Of the seed shriveling il an
insufficient amount Of water was ap-
piled. "The more literally water is
applied at this time without diminish
ing too rapidly thereafter, the larger
the yield Of grain, which is usually
obtained at the expense of straw"
utah Bulletin llS.)
In many sections it is the practice
to flood water in borders which are
too long. The result is a loss in
time required to irrigate and waste
full use of water. Bearing out this
reference is here made to
some experiments made by Don II.
Bark, Irrigation Engineer. on some
clover land near Rigby, Idaho. lie
took one border, in typical field.
which was 49.5 feet wide and 1859
feet long. This is an extreme case
but it brings out the point admirably.
This border was divided into seven
equal divisions. A stream of 2.3l
cubic feet per second was maintain
ed and il took one hour and twenty
two minutes to reach the end of the
first division or 0.2605 acre foot of
water on 0.3S35 acre of land or a
depth Of 0.67 foot over the first di-
vision. This would be a good irriga-
tiOn il the water had been stopped
there and conveyed around to the
next border without running through
the one just irrigated. However, as
the water flowed over each succeed
ing division, the length Of time in
creased until at the last division il
took seven hours to complete the ir-
rigation. II took % hours and ~
minutes to irrigate the entire border
During that time 4.5437 acre-feet Of
water was applied or depth of l.6s
feet if uniformly spread over the en-
ire area. II the several divisions
iad been irrigated individually il
would have taken 0 hours and "a
minutes with uniform depth of
1867 foot and a saving of 40 per
'ent of the water.
1t is just as important to measure
vater as it is to cultivate the land.
he problem is not only one of econ |
my in the use of water but one Of
,creasing the revenue from the farm.
he conditions which affect the duty
I water are: variations in soil and
Innate; method Of application;
mount of water used; preparation
land and the need of intensive
lrming. II has ever been true that