Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1917-03-03

Duty of water is a phase that
mas been used by Engineers and
others during the past thirty years
TO express the relationship existing
between given quantity OF water
and the area of land that is made
10 serve. l. he duty OF wafer ls said
To be high or low, depending upon
whether or not given quantity of
! WaUer serves large or comparatively
SAIall area. Little or nothing Wa6
known as tO the amount OF water
required for irrigation purposes at
the time of uhe first settlements in
the valleys OF the Rocky Mountain
reg on. water and land were both
plentiful, and in order TO be sure Of
sufficient amount, many OF the early
settlers filed upon unreasonably large
amounts OF water. Some gained q
ti,le to enough water to cover their
land from 10 10 feet in depth dur
ing each irrigation season. As the
population increased and more water
was filed upon, some of the streams
became over appropriated. There was
LID plenty of land, but the water
was limited, and it's value rose rap
idly because of the increased demand
for it. There has always been con-
siderable difference of opinion, how
ever, as to how much water is act
uauy required for the different soils.
as between the heavy clay and the
caOed the entire water supply OF
whole streams only 10 find that in
tue course OF time readjudlcation
could and should be made in view
Of the increase from year to year in
the duty of water.
Canal companies have constructed
large projects and have provided in
the contracts with heir patrons that
certain quantity Of water per acre
shall be delivered from the canal
system peTpetuaIly each season only
to find that in few years the duty
of water has decreased by skillful
operation and other, and natural
causes to such an extent that the
terms OF the contract in this respect
are often actually abandoned.
We are just at tn time begin
ming to learn that there is a positive
and reliable source of testimony upon
this subject n the natural law which
governs the Transportation of moisture
through the stems and leaves of
plants, or in other words, the travel
Of water from the soil through the
roots, stems and leaves of plants In
the process OF its evaporation there
from into the air, and moreover, this
natural Law is SO absolute that it ap-
plies 10 nearly all classes of soil, and
so nearly the same in all conditions
of climate that 1t can be relied up
On for all practical purposes For In
8 ance, we have learned that the duty
OF water for a 80 bushel wheat crop
is about Is acre inches Of water to
the acre of crop. That is to say,
a crop OF wheat that yields 80 bushels
per acre, can pass through its roots,
stems and leaves into the air, during
its entire growing and maturing sea-
son. 1,500 tons of water per acre or
an amount of water that will cover
each acre Of ground Is inches deep:
tan acre inch of water ia an acre
of water one inch deep and weighs
Little more than 100 tons,)
A 10 bushel crop of barley can use
l5 acre inches.
A 100 bushel crop of oats can use
15 acre inches.
A 100 bushel crop of corn can use
II acre inches.
A 300 bushel crop of potatoes can
use SA acre inches.
A 4 ton crop of alfalfa can use 16