IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO THE UTILIZATION OF SEWAGE AND OTHER REFUSE LIQUIDS FOR IRRIGATING LAND AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Herrmann Gerson of Berlin Prussia. for an
Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO THE UTILIZATION OF
SEWAGE AND OTHER REFUSE LIQUIDS FOR IRRIGATING LAND AND IN
APPARATUS THEREFOR."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Herrmann Gerson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 15th February 1882.
GEORGE HERRMANN GERSON, of Berlin Prussia "IMPROVEMENTS IN, OR
RELATING TO, THE UTILIZATION OF SEWAGE AND OTHER REFUSE LIQUIDS FOR
IRRIGATING LAND AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR
"
This Invention relates to improvements in the method of preparing land for
irrigation and in apparatus for irrigating and manuring the same with town sewage
or with the refuse from manufactories, part of the said improvements being
applicable to apparatus described in the Specification of Letters Patent No. 1903
dated 10th May A.D. 1880. It has for its object the suitable preparation of the
surface of the land to be irrigated, and the improved arrangement and construction
of the irrigating apparatus hereinafter described.
According to my Invention a field which is to be sown in spring is manured
during the winter by means of sewage irrigation and for this purpose, it is prepared
for the reception of the sewage in the following manner, that is to say, after the
usual ploughing, a number of dams or ridges are formed at such intervals as the
nature of the ground may require, by means of a plough constructed for the
purpose which cuts to a depth of from 15 to 20 centimetres and forms a furrow
about 60 centimetres wide. Each dam or ridge is built up by one or several back
and forward passages of the plough and a space of about 1 metre wide is left
between the furrows. On ground that is quite even and horizontal it is sufficient
to throw up dams at intervals of about 15 metres, which to-be effectual, should,
after they have been rolled down with a light band roller, have a height of from
25 to 33 centimetres. If the field is horizontal in one direction and in the other

page_text: has, for example a fall 1-50, the dams should stand at intervals of about 15 metres
in the horizontal direction whilst in the direction of the fall, they should be within
7.50 metres from each other so that the whole rectangular basin thus formed is
under water when the water touches the top of the lower dam or flows over it.
It is in any case safer not to throw up the dams at too great distances from each
other, for example on gently undulating grounds they should be at intervals of
4 metres and on slopes having a considerable inclination the dams should lie close
to one another.
The field is divided by this means, into a number of square or rectangular plots.
The openings produced by the ploughing at the points of intersection of the dams
are then closed by throwing up the earth with a spade or shovel so that each basin
thus formed stands isolated and communicates no longer with the neighbouring
ones. A field thus prepared can receive in its basins enormous quantities of sewage
water, which, sinking into the ground leaves upon the surface the manuring elements
contained in it.
The absorption of the water is not altogether necessary for its giving up and
depositing its manuring elements upon the field; for the ground as experience has
shown, possesses a remarkable attraction for those manuring elements. Upon
suitable ground the dirty water after irrigating basin after basin, will at last flow
into a ditch, clear and innoxious to the neighbourhood.
The method of thus preparing the field for irrigation and for the reception of
the manuring elements in suspension in sewage forms a distinctive feature of my
present Invention and possesses great advantages over the methods hitherto
employed.
The improved arrangement and construction of irrigating apparatus is as
follows In the middle of a piece of land about 400 metres wide, a main pipe is
laid below the surface of the earth and provided with sluice-valves and stand pipes,
which according to the quantity of water to be dealt with, have a bore of from 8
to 12 and if necessary 25 centimetres, and stand at intervals of 100 metres, sub-
stantially as described in the Specification of the former Patent already referred
to. To these stand-pipes are attached conducting or distributing pipes extending
in the proper directions, over the ridges of the field supported by means of iron
forks, or suitably made trestles. The outflow of the irrigation water from these
pipes, according to the conformation of the ground, takes place either only at the
end of the pipes, or at the places where they are connected which places are
arranged with coupling hoses; or by means of openings in the pipes provided for
the purpose, and which can be easily opened or closed by means of plugs, valves, or
cocks. The attendant regulates these openings as required, allowing the outflow
to be greater upon the higher and less upon the lower lying places.
The attendant should also see that the basins formed by the plough have a
gradual regular slope so that the influx of water at the highest point of each is
followed by the efflux of the same at any point situated just below, so that the
water in the basin retains a very slow motion and can deposit completely the
manuring elements contained in it.
If great quantities of sewage are to be dealt with, and in frosty weather, when
the water does not sink into the ground, a greater number of pipes is necessary
and the process become more expensive. The most favorable ground is that which
is level or has long undulations; ground with short undulations is unfavorable,
although in this latter case the favorable circumstance may occur that when the
ridges are very flat, basins can at times easily be formed by ploughing up dams
only in a direction at right angles to that of the ridges. It is necessary however,
that the water in these basins should not stand higher than 20 centimetres other-
wise a bad smell may ensuc.
Upon quite horizontal ground, the water flows constantly over considerable tracts;
and on hilly ground the water is led to the highest point, whence it is allowed to
flow from the open end of the pipe, and the attendant, with a few touches of the
spade or shovel provides for the water, which flows down the sides, being equally

page_text: divided into the rectangular basins and he must take care to always keep the
water on the high parts.
When the dams are frozen, and the basins filled and the former have become
covered with a layer of ice, it is advantageous to be able to supply water over large
surfaces, at a number of places at the same time in order to obtain an even surface
of ice over the whole irrigated field. In this case a number of additional conduits
are provided. If no frost occurs, the water on the irrigated spots, in cases where the
ground is pervious sinks, and then by a new arrangement of the conducting or
distributing pipes a second irrigation may be contrived. Ground which is not
pervious should be drained before-hand. The disconnection of the pipes which rest
upon forks or trestles is easily effected as I use pipes which have a length of about
5 metres and which, according to their diameter, weigh from 6 to 10 kilogrammes so
that each pipe can easily be handles by two men. The hose-couplings are pliant
and suit themselves easily to the configuration of the ground. In this way
100 metres of pipes may be placed in position by two men in two hours, and be
cleared away in less time still and the forks or trestles upon which the pipes were
supported, if they have got somewhat frozen, must be loosened by a blow with a
hammer. So long as the water is in motion it will not freeze; and when irrigation
is not required, it is easy to empty the pipes after the closing of the valve on the
main pipe by loosening the coupling screws of the hoses at the lower levels, so that
the water can run out between the hose-couplings and the pipes.
The distributing pipes are supported by trestles or iron forks driven in the
ground or they may be supported by planks properly nailed together; these trestles
or supports do not in themselves form a part of my Invention but only in connection
with the conducting or distributing pipes lying upon them pliable within certain
limits and easily disconnected for the purpose of field irrigation.
Experience has show at the standards described in the said former
Specification
so the ground so that the conducting or distributing
pipes come tu
ON SUN 120
buiÏ.
When the time arrives that the field manured with sewage as above described
should be sown; the apparatus is taken to pieces and removed from the field, the
dams are ploughed down, and the field sown in the usual way.
The process of irrigation hereinbefore described forms however only a part of the
present Invention inasmuch as it treats of the covering of field surfaces with great
quantities of sewage at once, especially in autumn and winter.
The irrigation of the growing crops is effected by means of apparatus consisting
of a row of watering wagons or carts, but without tanks; (being only made in this
form so to be easily removable) these wagons are connected together by hose; the
water is supplied, as described, in the Specification of the former Patent from the
stand pipes with which they are connected by hose. These watering wagons may
be made in various ways; but the first quality they should possess is lightness so
as to be easily removable from one place to another and they should also be so
constructed that a change in the width between the wheels can easily be made in
order to suit the distance between the furrows. It is also necessary that although
all the wagons are connected with one another any single one, be it the first or
the last, or one in the middle of the line, can be stopped working, whilst the others
continue to operate uninterruptedly
According to one method the watering wagons are provided with two main
wheels and a guiding wheel, the axle of the former being, for lightness' sake, mado
of iron gas-pipe or water pipe. Two loose collars with set-screws serve to adjust
and secure the wheels upon their axle at the proper gauge. Upon each of the
outside ends of the hollow axle is fixed a frame which can be made of iron of any
suitable shape Two supports rest upon this frame and carry the main conducting
or distributing pipe which is connected with a perforated watering pipe by means
of an inclined pipe. The operation of the watering pipe can be stopped by means of
a cock. The guiding wheel may if desired be dispensed with and the watering
wagon be provided with supports that can be placed on the frame and hang

page_text: from it so that it may be made to stand fast upon the field in any desired
position.
The single wagons are placed in a continuous line, connected with one another
by means of pliable hose at the pipe-ends. These hose must be of such length
that each wagon can without a disconnection being effected, advance from 1 to
2 metres out of the line.
In some
cases the pipe serving for the axle can be used as the conducting
or distributing pipe but the connecting hose must then be prevented by means
of supports, froin hanging between the wagons, otherwise it will come too near
the ground.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said George Herrmann Gerson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
15th August 1882.
GEORGE HERRMANN GERSON of Berlin, Prussia. "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR
RELATING TO THE UTILIZATION OF SEWAGE AND OTHER REFUSE LIQUIDS FOR
IRRIGATING LAND, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR
"
This Invention relates to improvements in the method of preparing land for
irrigation and in apparatus for irrigating and manuring the same with town sewage
or with the refuse from manufactories, part of the said improvements being
applicable to apparatus described in the Specification of Letters Patent No. 1903
dated 10th May A.D. 1880.
The said Invention has for its object the suitable preparation of the surface of
the land to be irrigated; and the improved arrangement and construction of the
irrigating apparatus as hereinafter described.
According to the said Invention a field which is to be sown in spring is manured
during the winter by means of sewage irrigation and for this purpose it is prepared
for the reception of the sewage in the following manner that is to say; After the
usual ploughing a number of dams or ridges are formed at such intervals as the
nature of the ground may require by means of a plough constructed for the
purpose which cuts to a depth of from fifteen to twenty centimetres and forms a
furrow about sixty centimetres wide. Each dam or ridge is built up by one or
more back and forward passages of the plough and a space of about one metre wide
is left between the furrows. On ground that is quite even and horizontal, it is
sufficient to throw up dams at intervals of about fifteen metres which to be
effectual should after they have been rolled down with a light hand roller, have
a height of from twenty-five to thirty-three centimetres. If the field is horizontal
in one direction and in the other has, for example a fall of one in fifty, the dams
should stand at intervals of about fifteen metres in the horizontal direction, whilst
in the direction of the fall, they should be within seven and a half metres from
each other so that the whole rectangular basin thus formed is submerged when the
liquid touches the top of the lower dam or flows over it. It is in any case safer
not to throw up the dams at too great distances from each other, for example on
gently undulating ground they should be at intervals of four metres and on slopes
having a considerable inclination the dains should lay close to one another.
The field is divided by this means into a number of square or rectangular plots.
The openings produced by the ploughing at the points of intersection of the dams
are then closed by throwing up the earth with a spade or shovel so that each
basin thus formed stands isolated and communicates no longer with the adjacent
ones. A field thus prepared can receive in its basins enormous quantities of sewage
liquid, which sinking into the ground, leaves upon the surface the manuring
elements contained in it.
The absorption of the liquid is not altogether necessary for its giving up and
depositing its manuring elements upon the field; for the ground as experience has
shown, possesses a remarkable attraction or affinity for those manuring elements.
Upon suitable ground the dirty water or liquid after irrigating basin after basin,
will at last flow into a ditch, clear, and innoxious to the neighbourhood.
The method of thus preparing the field for irrigation and for the reception of
the manuring elements in suspension in sewage forms a distinctive feature of
the present Invention and possesses great advantages over the methods hitherto
employed.
In the accompanying Drawings
Figures 1 and 1 are respectively a section and plan shewing the arrangement of

page_text: position.
poropoce
Figure 2 is an elevation of a portion of a conducting pipe supported upon
threstles.
Figures 3 to 9 show in detail parts of the apparatus employed for irrigating the
growing crops.
Figures 10 11 and 12 show a modification of the same
The improved arrangement and construction of irrigating apparatus is as
follows:-
In the middle of a piece of land about four hundred metres wide, a main pipe is
laid below the surface of the earth and provided with sluice valves and stand-pipes
which, according to the quantity of liquid to be dealt with, have a bore of from
eight to twelve, and, if necessary, twenty-five centimetres, and stand at intervals
of one hundred metres, substantially as described in the Specification of the former
Patent already referred to. To these stand-pipes are attached conducting and
distributing pipes extending in the proper directions over the ridges of the field,
supported by means of iron forks, or suitably made trestles. The outflow of the
irrigation water or liquid from these pipes, according to the conformation of the
ground, takes place either only at the end of the pipes, or at the places where they
are connected, which places are arranged with coupling hoses; or by means of
openings in the pipes provided for the purpose and which can be easily opened or
closed by means of plugs, valves or cocks. The attendant regulates these openings
as required, allowing the outflow to be greater upon the higher and less upon the
lower lying places.
The attendant should also see that the basins formed by the plough have a
gradual regular slope, so that the influx of the liquid at the highest point of each
is followed by the efflux of the same at any point situated just below so that the
liquid in the basin retains a very slow motion and can deposit completely the
manuring elements contained in it. Should all the lower ground which can be
watered from one ridge be filled with water and the latter begin to form, at the
deepest parts, gutters or puddles on the top of the ridge, then the flow of water
should be either moderated or entirely stopped, and the pipes taken away in order
to place them in position upon the next ridge. The disconnection of the said pipes
is effected without much trouble.
If great quantities of sewage are to be dealt with, and that in frosty weather,
when the water does not sink into the ground, a greater number of pipes is
necessary and the process becomes more expensive. The most favorable ground
is that which is level, or has long undulations; ground with short undulations is
unfavorable, although, in this latter case, the favorable circumstance may occur
that, when the ridges are very flat, basins can at times easily be formed by ploughing
up dams only in a direction at right angles to that of the said ridges. It is
necessary, however, that the water in these basins should not stand higher than
twenty centimetres, otherwise a bad smell may ensue.
Upon quite horizontal ground the water flows constantly over considerable
tracts; and on hilly ground the water is led to the highest point, whence it is
allowed to flow from the open end of the pipe, and the attendant, with a few
touches of the spade or shovel, provides for the water, which flows down the sides,
being equally divided into the rectangular basins, and le must also take care to
always keep the water on the high parts.
When the dams are frozen and the basins filled and the former have become
covered with a layer of ice, it is advantageous to be able to supply water over
large surfaces at a number of places at the same time, in order to obtain an even
surface of ice over the whole irrigated field. In this case a number of additional
conduits are provided. If no frost occurs the water on the irrigated spots, in cases
where the ground is pervious, sinks and then, by a new arrangement of the
conducting and distributing pipes, a second irrigation may be contrived. Ground
which is not pervious should be drained beforehand.

page_text: The disconnection of the pipes which rest upon forks, or trestles, is easily effected,
as I use pipes which have a length of about five metres and which, according to
their diameter, weigh from six to ten kilogrammes, so that each pipe can easily be
handled by two men. The hose-couplings are pliant and suit themselves easily to
the configuration of the ground. In this way ono hundred metres of pipes may
be placed in position by two men in two hours and be cleared away in less time,
and the forks or trestles upon which the pipes were supported, if they have got
somewhat frozen in, must be loosened by a blow with a hammer. So long as the
water is in motion it will not freeze; and, when irrigation is not required, it is
easy to empty the pipes after the closing of the valve on the main pipe, by
loosening the coupling screws of the hoses at the lower levels so that the water can
run out between the hose couplings and the pipes.
In Figures 2 and 2ª of the accompanying Drawings, the conducting pipe A is
shown resting upon trestles 6 and having connected to it the distributing pipes B
and C; it is supplied from the stand-pipe nearest to it (not shown in the Drawings)
with which it is connected by a hose, the water flowing in the direction indicated
by the arrow. The conducting and distributing pipes are supported by trestles b,
or iron forks driven in the ground; or they may be supported by planks properly
nailed together; these trestles or supports do not in themselves form a part of this
Invention but only in connection with the conducting and distributing pipes lying
upon them (pliable within certain limits and easily disconnected) for the purpose
of field irrigation. Experience has shown that the standards described in the
Specification of the said former Letters Patent sink too easily into the ground so
that the conducting and distributing pipes come too near the soil
When the time arrives that the field, manured with sewage as above described,
should be sown, the apparatus is taken to pieces and removed from the field, the
dams are ploughed down and the field sown in the usual manner
The process of irrigation herein before described forms, however, only a part of the
present Invention, inasmuch as it treats of the covering of field surfacos with great
quantities of sewage at once especially in autumn and winter. The irrigation of
the growing crops is effected by means of apparatus consisting of a row of watering
waggons or carts from forty to eighty metres long, according to requirements, parts
of which apparatus are represented in Figures 3 to 9. These waggons or carts
are without tanks, (being made in this form so as to be easily removable) and aro
connected together by hoses; the water is supplied, as described in the Specifi-
cation of the said former Patent, from the stand-pipes with which they are also
connected by hoses. These watering waggons may be made in various ways; but
the first quality they should possess is lightness so as to be easily removable from
one place to another; and they should also be so constructed that a change in the
width between the wheels can easily be made in order to suit the distance between
the furrows. It is also necessary that, although all the waggons are connected
with one another, any single one, be it the first or the last or one in the middle
of the line, can be stopped working, whilst the others continue to operato
uninterruptedly. The apparatus shown in Figures 3 to 9 especially fulfils these
conditions. Tho watering waggons shewn in Figures 3, 4 and 5 have two main
wheels a, a' and a guiding wheel b the axle C of the former being for the sake of
lightness made of iron gas-pipe or water-pipe.
Two adjustable rings or loose collars d, d' with set-screws serve to adjust and
secure the wheels upon their axles at the proper gauge. Upon each of the outside
ends of the hollow axle is fixed a frame c which can be made of iron of any
suitable shape. The supports which rest upon this frame carry the main
conducting pipe g which is connected with a perforated watering pipe i by means
of an inclined pipe h. The operation of the watering pipe can be stopped by
means of a cock . The guiding wheel b may, if desired, be dispensed with and
the watering waggon be provided with supports (which can be placed on the
frame and hang from it) so that it may be made to stand fast upon the field in
any desired position. In this case instead of the supports just described, another

page_text: support can be made use of, the upper fork of which is placed under the cross-
l
bar m and which holds the waggon in the desired position from the fact that it
forms either a support or a counterpoise.
The breadth of each single waggon (that is the length of its axle and of the
main pipe) is such that the total weight, including the weight of water contained
in the main pipe, is not too great to allow of the disconnection of the waggons
being effected by a single workman.
The single waggons are placed in a continous line, and are connected to one
another by means of pliable hose at the pipe ends. These hoses must be of such
length that each waggon can, without being disconnected advance from one to two
metres out of the line.
In some cases the pipe serving for the axle is made of such diameter that it can
be used as the conducting pipe, in which case the pipe g which rests upon the
supports is not required but the connecting hose must then be prevented by
means of supports from hanging between the waggons, otherwise it will come too
near the ground. A lighter and lower construction of the watering waggon is
shewn in Figures 6, 7 and 8 which presents this difference from the one above
described that the conducting pipe g and the watering pipe i are placed on the
same level. The opening or closing of the watering pipe is effected by means of
the cock k.
Figure 9 shows three views of a double pipe which may be used in order to
dispense with the separate watering pipe in the waggons already described, so that
the weight of the said waggons will be still less. In this arrangement a thin metal
plate o is soldered over the conducting pipe q.and in the centre a cock k is inserted,
whose hollow cone p allows water to pass from g through the side apertures q into
cach side of the channel formed between the plate o and the said pic, the said
channel is closed at both ends; and the plate o is perforated with fine holes to
serve as a watering pipe. Communication between the conducting pipe and the
said channel can be cut off by turning the cock k.
The waggons connected by hoses can, according to the requirements of the case
be made to operate as a watering apparatus or not and can be transported from
place to place, thus forming very suitable means for watering large surfaces of land
during the growing of the crops.
In the modification represented in Figures 10, 11 and 12, the watering apparatus
consists of about twenty transportable latticed frames, a piece of gas-pipe forming
the axle a of each waggon, upon which the wheels R can be held in position, by means
of the rings or loose collars r provided with set-screws, at distances of about one
fourth or one third of a metre so as to make them suit the furrows of the field.
The carts carry upon the latticed frame L at one end, a plank B three or four.
metres long, which is studded at the sides with short pieces of hoop-iron so as to
prevent the sliding off of the hose S supported upon it.
Before the commencement of the irrigation, the carts are placed together in the
direction of their axles with spaces of a few metres between the ends of tho
planks B. A canvas hose made in four or six lengths joined by means of screw-
pieces, which hose is tapered from the stand pipe (for example beginning with a
diameter of thirteen centimetres and diminishing by two centimetres in every fifty
metres) is laid upon the planks in the direction of their length, and connected, at
one end, with the stand-pipe. At the other end the hose is closed but it is pro-
vided throughout its length with sprinkling holes or apertures whose distance from
one another decreases as the distance from the stand-pipe increases. The valve in
the stand pipe is then opened whereupon water is distributed throughout the whole
length of the hose. As soon as the surface of the soil appears sufficiently moistened,
the attendant pushes forward the carts one after another as far as the part of the
hose hanging in a bow from the ends of the planks B will allow say about two
metres; and for this purpose pieces of metal pipe, of about five metres in length, are
attached to the stand-pipe, the flow of water from which is stopped by the shutting

page_text: of the valve until the whole length of the hose has been pushed forward a few
inetres, and the hose is again connected with the stand-pipe.
When the middle point between two stand-pipes has been reached in this way,
the slide valve is again closed, and the whole length of the pipes or hose lying
parallel to the underground pipe system, is turned round so that one end can be
fastened to the next stand-pipe and the other to the irrigating hose. The irrigating
hose, is then pushed further forward and the pipe or hose which forms the con-
nection with the stand-pipe is then taken off unless their flexibility allows of the
moving forward of the apparatus as far as the next stand-pipe.
It is not always necessary to have the irrigating apparatus extend over the whole
breadth of the field in which case thick pipes or hoses are brought from the stand-
pipes into the field, the elongating pipes are connected with them as the apparatus
moves forward, and when the middle point between two stand-pipes has been
reached the said connecting pipes and the pipes that have been laid over the field,
are connected with the next stand-pipe. The construction of these waggons can be
modified in many ways.
The peculiar features of their construction being the
means for carrying the hose, and the possibility of altering their gauge by means
of the rings or loose collars provided with set-screws.
The method of irrigation and the apparatus employed therefor, as herein before
described, present the following important advantages over the methods hitherto
known:
1. For the culture of small beds (garden beds for example) and on slopes-
It allows of either steam working on machine working.
The cost is much less.
It avoids all open ditches, the loss of producing surface thus occasioned, and the
bed smelling miry deposit in the said ditches which is difficult to remove.
It is applicable to pasturage, or to the cultivation of various kinds of crops
and for irrigation in frosty weather except when the field is used as meadow-land
The field retains the old active mould, rich in humus or vegetable soil, which is
generally disturbed, carried away, or deeply covered over in the operation of
levelling the slopes according to the ordinary methods.
More ground is saved in ways and dams than the cost of the plant.
The whole apparatus can be removed and used in different places, and an
also be let out on hire.
2. For large beds and culture on terracos (as practised in Germany at Croydon,
Danzig and Breslau).
Some of the advantages above mentioned, at one-third less cost for plant. The
irregular distribution of the water by the former method of ploughing and
harrowing so disadvantageous to the previous careful levelling, is avoided. The
number of pathways required is one-fourth less.
3. Over sinall stagnant water basins for small surfaces, irrigation through the
furrows (only suitable for turnips and other vegetables)
All the advantages mentioned with regard to the culture of small beds and on
slopes.
4. Over the great stagnant water basins only used in Berlin. Some of the
advantages above mentioned. In these basins, from two to ten hectares in extent,
the water being for months froin one-half to one metre in depth, feriments, becomes
foul, infects the atmosphere, and loses its most precious element the nitrogen,
through the large formation of ammonia and its evaporation in the air; and by
the formation of large quantities of nitric acid at the bottom, for which it is well
known, the land has but little affinity.
The layer of water, on the small basins of the system above described, is so thin
that the ground can inake use of its affinity for the manuring elements and the
water sinks rapidly when there is no frost, whilst it is innoxious in frosty
weather.
The small and low dams are thoroughly saturated with manuring elements
by the irrigation, and, after the ploughing, they therefore possess as much capacity

page_text: "
for producing as the bottom surfaces of the basins which have been irrigated in a
direct way.
The field, after the dams have been levelled by ploughing, is, by the above
described system, free for any working of the soil by means of machines, or for
the steam plough, or steam rake or digger.
Having thus fully described my said Invention and the manner of performing
the same I wish it understood that I claim.
First. The production of a net work of square flat basins, or basin of other
suitable form, upon fields or other tracts of land, by raising, by means of a plough,
intercrossing dams or ridges, and completing the said dams by hand at the
intersecting points, the height of the dams and dimensions of the basins being
chosen according to the configuration of the ground, substantially as, and for the
purpose, specified
Second. In combination with the said basins, the conducting pipes resting upon
forks or trestles, and connected by means of pliable tubes, so that, conforming to
the configuration of the ground, they can be easily placed and taken away, and the
connection of these conducting pipes with an underground main by means of
stand-pipes from which they are supplied with the fefuse waters of towns ог
manufactories, the outflow of water taking place either at the pipe ends only
or at any desired points of the line along the whole length at once, but every-
where capable of being regulated, all, substanítially as, and for the purpose,
specified.
Third. An irrigating apparatus comprising a row of watering waggons or carts,
each consisting of frames mounted upon wheels and caring conducting pipes,
the said pipes being each connected to perforated water pipe or channel the
outlet of which may be closed, and the said pipes being also connected or
coupled together by means of pliable hose or tubes, and communicating with an
underground main by means 3f stand-pipes, all substantially as, and for the
purpose, specified.
Fourth The Love described combination of the waggons or carts with the
nd pipes and the connecting hose or pipes, adapted to be moved forward
frore stand-pipe along the furrows of a plough field, substantially as, and for
the purpose, specified.
Fifth. The waggon or cart above described for carrying the hose, and constructed
with the latticed frame, the hose-supporting plank with the pieces of hoop-iron
nailed thereon, and the wheels capable of being shifted on their axles and secured
by means of the rings or loose collars provided with set-screws, all substantially as,
and for the purpose, specified.
In witness whereof I the said George Herrmann Gerson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal this Twelfth day of August in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.
GEORGE HERRMANN GERSON. (L.S.)