^ ■.,,^' » f^^^'-'l LIBRARY Of CONGRESS. j ©l^ajt.:-— ©optjngi^l Ifn. Shelf ^!(o(^ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. i. "^W^-K-- i^ v^ € A ^k^^ 4: '^W^f^ ^Wt "A river ran tlirous:h Eden and watered the garden." — /?0(/?- of fipnpsis. IRRIGATION FARMING A Handbook FOR THE Practical Application of Water in the Production of Crops ILLUSTRATED NEW YORE %7^ "^ ORANGE JUDD COMPANY ' 1895 . COPYRIGHT, 1895, By orange judd company. \\W^ PREFACE. > ^^»> REIGATIOX has become sncli an important factor in modern agricultural pursuits, and is becoming more or less essen- tial in all parts of our vast domain, particularly in the western half of the United States, that the need of more specific knowledge pertaining to this great science seemed the imperative demand of the hour, and it is on this hypothesis that the author has essayed to indite this Yolume. In treating upon so wide and diversified a subject as universal irrigation, I have endeavored throughout to make all points touched upon as explicit and comprehensive as possible, avoiding all useless verbiage, and handling the subject as under- standingly as lay within my power of diction. The text of the work is based largely upon personal experience, although it is but fair to add that some of the deductions contained in these pages, especially as to those in which the technical features are most prom- inent, are adapted from the observations of others. I have relied somewhat upon the valuable knowledge of hydraulic engineers and scientists, and have accepted the best authorities attainable whenever technical mat- ters had to be considered. One strong position taken by the writer all through the work is the importance of consistent and scientific VI PREFACE cultivation in connection with all irrigation operations, as the one is just as essential as the other and the two are indispensable in attaining the most perfect results. "Till and keep tilling" is my most potent axiom. I have deprecated shiftless methods in cultivation as de- rogatory to the best success, and have condemned the practice as inexcusable as the wanton waste of water itself. In all the conclusions that I have made 1 have used the judgment afforded by twenty years' actual experience in the field, and if these lessons prove of any benefit to the agricultural masses I shall feel that tliis work has not been in vain and that the labor has been worthy of its hire. LUTE WILCOX. Denver, Colorado, 1895, CONTENTS CHAPTER 1. History of Irbigation 1 CHAPTER II. Advantages of Irrigation 11 CHAPTER III. Relation of Soils to Irrigation 19 CHAPTER IV. Treatment of Alkali 29 CHAPTER V. Water Supply 36 CHAPTER VI. Canal Construction 42 CHAPTER VII. Reservoirs and Ponds 62 CHAPTER VIII. Pipes for Irrigation Purposes 81 CHAPTER IX. Flumes and their Structure 93 CHAPTER X. Duty and ]Measurement of Watf.h 108 CHAPTER XI. Methods of Applying Water 127 CHAPTER XII. Irrigation of Field Crops 152 CHAPTER XIII. Irrigation of the Garden 176 CHAPTIiR XIV. Irrigation for the Orchard 194 CHAPTER XV. The Vineyard and Small Fruits 208 Vlll CONTEis"TS. ra-e. CHAFTi:il XVI. All About Alfalfa — 222 CHAFTEK XVII. AVINDMILLS AND PUMPS 242 CHAPTER XVIII. Devices, Appliances and Contiji vances 2C8 CHAPTEIl XIX. SUB-IKKIGATION AND SUBSOILING 282 CHAPTER XX. Common law of Irrigation 2'M Glossary of Irrigation Terms 304 CHAPTER 1. THE HISTORY OF IRRIGATION. The magic science of irrigation is as old as civiliza- tion itself— in fact it was in vogue during the semi-har- haric days of prehistoric times. The use of irrigation for the production of crops probably antedates Noah's dehige by several thousand years. The earliest writer of agricultural lyrics was Hesiod, a Greek epic author who lived a thousand years before the Christian era. He often refers to irrigation as practiced for ages prior to his time by the Chinese people, of whom he seems to have had considerable knowledge. In Plato's Timseus is an account of the sunken island of Atlantis. This account Plato obtained from his ancestor Solon, the law- giver, who had visited Egypt, and in the city of Sais ob- tained the information from an Egyptian priest. Solon lived about 2500 years ago, and according to the story told him by the priest there existed about 10,000 years before his time a large island in the Atlantic ocean, op- posite the Pillars of Hercules, otherwise the Strait of Gibraltar, which was divided into ten kingdoms and ruled by the descendants of Poseidon. . The description of the island is very minute, and among other things also is described a very extensive and elaborate system of irrigating canals, constructed in such manner as to utilize every natural stream and completely surround the island. While the history of Atlantis is by many regarded as a myth, there are too many facts actually in existence to warrant any such conclusion. According to this record, irrigation was in practical use fully 12,500 years ago. 1 IRRIGATIOi^ FARMING. The English and French hyclrographic engineers of the present age have found by the mpst careful soundings of the Atlantic ocean that the sunken continent of Atlantis has a physical existence, and that it also has the remains of great canals still defined upon its submerged surface. Twenty-seven centuries before the Star of Bethlehem shone so brightly by night, a clever Egyptian ruler named Menes turned the course of the Nile so as to carry the turbid waters well out upon the higher ground, upon the very site of the present operations of the English engineer Wilcocks. Menes invented the nilometer, still in use to-day for gauging streams. The first artificial lake of which there %. I. ^ is any reliable record is Lake Moeris. The historians Herodo- tus, Diodorus and Pliny have described it, on the testimony of the inhabitants of the country, as one of the noblest works of the time, from its enormous dimensions and its capacity for According to ^W^: FIG. 1. IKKIGATIOX 5000 YEARS AGO. irrigation for the benefit of mankind, them it was about 3600 stadia or 413 miles in circumfer- ence and 300 feet deep. Modern travelers have consid- erably reduced the circumference and depth of this lake, making it measure somewhat less than fifty miles in cir- cumference, but even with this curtailment it must have been a magnificent engineering work, worthy of the admiration of all the ages. It was constructed, some historians say, by King Moeris ; others, by King Amenemhet in the 12th dynasty, 2084 B. C. In the 20th dynasty Seti was the ruling monarch, and is believed THE HISTORY OF IRRIGATION. 3 to have been the first man who acquired the knowledge of civil engineering and applied his learning particularly to hydraulics, for he introduced irrigation in the valley of the Nile by means of systemic engineering. He built a great reservoir in a natural catchment basin and con- structed canals in one vast system. Seti was no doubt the first pei'son to sink an artesian well, for the Greek liistorians speak of this as ''the well from which water flowed over the top." He used the well in supplying water to the great temple of Karnak. Sesostris, one of the most illustrious kings of antiquity, who reigned in Egypt 1491 B. C, had a great number of canals cut for the purpose of trade and irrigation, and is said to have designed the first canal which established communica- tion between the Mediterranean and Red Sea. The old- est monument at Thebes has a rejiresentation of a naked fellah under a dom palm tree drawing water from the Nile with a well sweep or shadoof, a reproduction of which is shown in Figure 1, and the fellah of to-day does it the same way, except that two or more usually work together on a large turn beam. By the time that Moses, the great leader and law- giver, appeared to lead the enslaved children out of Egyptian slavery, irrigation had made great progress in a general way, for in the book of Deuteronomy we are told something of their agricultural methods in these words : ''For the land whither thou goest in to possess it is not as the land of Egypt from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed and wateredst it with thy foot as a garden of herbs. But the land whither ye go to possess it is a land of hills? and valleys and drinketh water of the rain of heaven." There are in Egypt sections of country that have been in constant use for over four thousand years and still the soil shows no sign of wearing ont, for such is the nature of the water of the Nile that the annual deposit of sediment THE HISTORY OF lERIGATION. 5 more than recompenses the drainage by tlie immense crops. An ilhistration of such a farm will be seen in Figure 2. The plats are laid off in squares divided by the irrigation furrows. China is equally celebrated with Egypt for the great antiquity of its numerous canals. The Great or Imperial canal is one of the most stupendous works of ancient or modern times. It is 650 miles long and con- nects the Hoang-Ho and Yang-tse-Kiang rivers. It is available both for navigation and irrigation, and together with its numerous branches irrigates an immense area of country, thus affording millions the means of livelihood and support. Immense tanks, reservoirs and irrigating canals appear to have been constructed in India many centuries anterior to the advent of Christ, and some of them are probably equally as ancient as the Egyptian canals. The Assyrians were equally renowned with the Egyptians from the most remote periods of history for tiieir skill and ingenuity in the construction of hydraulic works. Through the foresight, enterprise and energy of their rulers, they converted the sterile country in the valleys of the Euphrates and Tigris into fertility, which was the theme of wonder and admiration of the ancient historians. The country below Hit on the Euphrates, and Samarra on the Tigris, was at one time intersected with numerous canals, one of the most ancient and im- portant of which, called the Nahr Malikah, connecting the Euphrates with the Tigris, is attributed by tradition to Nimrod, king of Babel, 2204 B. C , while other his- torians assert that Nebuchadnezzar constructed it. Among the ancient works at Babylon, with its fabled hanging gardens, was a lake 42- miles in circum- ference and 35 feet deep, to store the flood waters of the Euphrates and distribute them for irrigation. The Nahrawn canal, taken from the Tigris river, was over 400 miles long, and varied in width from 250 to 400 6 IRRIGATIOI^ FARMING. feet, and by numerous branches on both sides it irrigated a very extensive area of country, while at the same time it was also available for navigation. With the destruc- tion of Babylon the glory of the Mesopotamian Empire departed, the canals were neglected, and the country de- scribed by Herodotus as being prolific before all other lands in its production of corn, wheat and barley has become so dry and barren that it cannot be cultivated, and is inhabited only by nomadic bands of Bedouins and the scurvy, wandering Arabians. In the book of Ecclesiastes we read of the hidden springs and sealed fountains of Solomon, from which the w^ater was piped to the plains below. The remains of reservoirs in the neighborhood of Hebron, wdiich the Jews are supposed to have constructed in the days of Solomon for the supply of Jerusalem, show that their designers were equally alive with most engineers of the present age to the great importance of an ample and constant supply of water. The Phoenicians, in the zenith of their power, were celebrated for their canals, both for the supply of Carthage with drinking water and for purposes of irrigation. They were a very dili- gent people, and so imbued were they in the cause of irrigation that they made aqueducts through mountains of solid granite, hewing the way with hand chisels. Many of these prehistoric works still remain. The Greeks, judging from the ruins of large aque- ducts scattered throughout the country, appear from a very remote period to have paid the greatest attention to hydraulic science. Herodotus describes an ancient con- duit for supplying Samos, which had a channel three feet wide and which pierced a hill with a tunnel nearly a mile long. Another masonry aqueduct near Patara crossed a ravine 200 feet wide and 250 feet deep. Vir- gil, that most charming of Roman poets, in referring to irrigation in his First Georgic, says : THE HISTORY OF IRRIGATION. 7 " What may I say of that iiuliistiious swain "Who, like a soldier following spear with sword, The grain pursues just cast into its place, And rushes on it the adjoining heap Of soil that is illy rich, then leads the stream And following streams upon the planted gi-ain ; And when the burnt-out field with dying growths Is hot, behold, he brines the saving wave headlong, Down Ihrough its slanting path ; its falling calls From rounding rocks a murmur hoarse, and cools With scattering rills the parched and thirsty fields." The Grrecians were an inventive people and to tliem are ascribeLl great improvements in the way of meclian- ical contrivances for raising water. Principal among these 13 the tympanum wheel, afterward adopted by the Egyptians, as shown in Figure 3. In the reign of Emperor Nero, Rome was supplied by no fewer than nine large conduits, having an aggre- gate length of 255 miles, which delivered over 173,000,- 000 gallons of water daily. Afterw^ards the supply "svas increased to 312,500,000 gallons daily. Most of the Roman works were constructed for the supply of cities with drinking water, and such were built in all countries under Roman control. That of Claudia was 47 miles long and 100 feet high, so as to furnish the hills. Mar- tians was 41 miles, of which 37 were on 7000 arches 70 feet high. These vast erections would never have been built had the Romans known that water always rises to its own level. Julius Caesar in his efforts to conquer the world carried the irrigation idea into Great Britain, and his subservient soldiery constructed many miles of artificial water courses, or rather superintended the work, which was done manually by the people whom they had en- slaved by conquest. When Constantino was sent to the Bosphorus to found the great city which bears his name he detailed certain numbers of his army for canal work, and they built many permanent irrigating works. The Spaniards are the best irrigators in the v/orld ; they have been applying water artificially for over 3000 8 lERIGATION FARMI:NG. years and have thoroughly familiarized themselves as to its uses, adaptability, application, etc. Modern travel- ers tell us they have the best constructed works of any people, and many of these works were made prior to the Moorish occupancy. The solid masonry, the handiwork of men living before the advent of the Christian epoch, FIG. 3. GRECIAN TYMPANUM WHEEL. is still extant and in actual use. Wiiat was done with irrigating science during the dark ages we know but little. Coming down to more modern times, and looking at the western hemisphere through the murky vista of the years, we find that irrigation has existed as an aid to agriculture for many centuries antedating the advent of the Caucasian. Arizona is full of the remains of ancient towns and irrigating canals, and in Taos, Santa Fe, Va- lencia and Grant counties, New Mexico, the existing ruins of similar structures point to a dense population existing nt some remote period under some form of or- THE HISTORY OF IRRIGATION. 9 ganized government. The remnants of this nation or nations are found in the Pueblos of Acoma, Cochita, Isleta, Jemez, Laguna, Moqui, Nam be, Picuris, Zuni, and others of JSTew Mexico, and the Chihuahuas and Tequas and others along the Rio Grande in Texas. The writer has stood upon the ruins of La Gran Quivera and traced for miles with his eye the grade of a great irri- gating ditch. Ruins of ancient towns have also been found alono- the Pecos river in Texas. There are few streams in Arizona and New Mexico where traces of ancient works cannot be found. Earthquakes and wars with savage neighbors brought about the destruction of most of these works. The Spanish marauders under Cabeza do Vaca, and later on under Coronado, helped to bring about further decay. In Peru, the land of the Incas, and throughout Mexico and Central America, the early Spanisli explorers found such magnificent irrigat- ing works that their astonishment was very marked. The c\"J)orate appliances for irrigation were neglected and allowed to go to ruin. The now existing works do not comjiare in magnitude to the ancient w^orks. Parts of Arizona and New Mexico were at some remote period densely populated and then abandoned. Quite exten- sive systems of irrigating canals of prehistoric origin have been found on the Colorado river, and parts of them have been adapted to the modern canals. At the Casa Grande and in the Salt River valley of Southern Aj'izona these canals may still be seen. Twenty-five years ago an engineer at field work near Riverside, Cal- ifornia, was running the level for a proposed ditch. He could not establish the grade satisfactorily, so he went again to the stream and reconnoitered for a new start. He was surprised to find an old acequia — so old in fact that its banks were scarcely discernible — and by care- fully following its course he was still more astonished to discover that it had brought him to his original objec- iO IRRIGATIOi^ FARMING. tive point, and on these lines the new canal was laid. The grade was all that could have been wished for. Among the old irrigation works are those in the vicinity of San Antonio, Texas, begun under the direc- tion of the Spanish Padres about 1715. With the erec- tion of the Spanish missions began the cultivation of the soil in Southwestern Texas. According to local tradition the worthy Padres were expert in rounding up the unfortunate natives and getting an unlimited amount of work out of them in the construction of mission buildings and irrigating ditches. The pay for services rendered was usually bestowed in the form of religious instruction, administered willy-nilly, and occasionally augmented by an extra inquisition, if the forced piety and humility did not agree well with the unwilling convert. The pioneer Mormons who settled in the fertile Salt Lake valley in 1847 saw the necessity of irrigation, and to their untiring efforts and attendant success is due much of the credit for the impetus given our more modern methods of artificial crop-watering. It took them two years to get their first 'canal into working- order, and the work was done under the pressure of un- certainty and with many hardships and privations. In 1870 the Greeley Union Colony was established in North- ern Colorado on a barren plain and an experimental sys- tem of ditching was begun in imitation of the irrigation fields in Utah territory. It was about this time that the California Arcadians took up the great art of supply- ing plant food with ^Hhe waters led captive," and at once irrigation sprang into new life and came seemingly in the nick of time to redeem America's arid wastes '^'and make the desert to blossom as the rose." CHAPTER II. THE xVDVAN^TAGES OF IRRIGATIOJT. Some one has spoken of irrigation as the '' wedding of the sunshine and the rain." A great many people hearing the word irrigation experience the same sensa- tions that they do when Madagascar or AYiju is spoken of. They have a feeling that it is something a great distance off — hard to reach — intangible. They read about it as they like to read Arabian Nights or Hans Andersen's Fairy Stories, and it leaves on their minds about the same impressions of wonder, magnificence and untrnth as do the stories named. To them the very W'ord ^'irrigation" puts their reasonings to flight, and they imagine that the art of applying water to cultivated lands is some complicated and wonderfully intricate pro- cess, not easily understood or attained by mortal man. The fact of the matter is, as the author proposes to show in the sncceeding chapters, that irrigation is as simple as child's play and may bo accomplished by the most commonplace day laborer in the fields. In enumerating a few of the advantages attendant upon irrigating methods, we will cite the facts that irrigation reclaims arid wastes; makes a prosperous country; causes the desert to blossom and overcom(?s the destructive effects of the parching southern winds ; insures full crops every season ; improves land at each submergence, and con- sequently does not wear out the soil ; produces support for dense population ; multiplies the productive capacity of soils ; destroys insects and worms and produces per- fect fruit ; creates wealth from water, sunshine and soil ; U 12 IKRlGATIOiq- FARMING. makes the farmer independent of the rainfall , will redeem 100,000,000 acres of desert lands in the United States alone ; yields large returns to investors ; adds constantly to the security of investments ; will yield sup- port for 50,000,000 of increased population in America ; makes the production of choicest fruits possible, and prolongs the harvest period of various crops if so desired ; affords a sure foundation for the creation of w^ealth ; les- sens the danger of floods ; utilizes the virgin soil of the mountain regions ; is now employing more than $1,000,- 000,000 of capital; insures two or more crops annually in the lower latitudes ; will increase three fold the value of lauds having rainfall ; keeps off the early approach of Jack Frost ; improves the quality and increases fully one-eighth and oftentimes one-fourth the size of fruits, vegetables and grains ; makes farming profitable in waste places and forever forestalls the inroads caused by the ghost of drouth ; and will finally solve the great labor question and fortify against the alarming increase of city populations. The farmer who has a soil containing an abundance of all the needed elements, in a proper state of fineness, cannot but deem himself happy if he have always ready at hand the means of readily and cheaply supplying all the water needed by his soil and growing crops, just when and in just such quantities as are needed. Hap- pier still may he be if, besides fearing no drouth, he has no rainfall to interrupt his labors or to injure his grow- ing or harvested crops. And happier still may he be when he realizes that he need have no ^^off years," and he knows that the waters he admits to his fields at will are freighted with rich fertilizing elements usually far more valuable to' the growing crop than any that he can purchase and apply at a costly rate — a cost that makes serious inroads upon the ]U'ofits of the majority of farm- ers cultivating the worn-out or deteriorated soils in the THE ADVANTAGES OF IRRIGATION. 13 older States year by year. Fertilizers are already needed for the most profitable culture on many farms in Iowa, Minnesota, Eastern Kansas and Nebraska, in Missouri and in all States east of those named. In proof of this assertion the writer can best be qualified in his statement by mentioning the fact that there is an oat field in Saguache county, Colorado, that up to 1894 had produced twenty-three consecutive crops, each of which averaged forty bushels to the acre through all the years. The yield of the twenty-third crop averaged sixty bushels, which would indicate that the fertility of that field was keeping up remarkably well without rest or rotation. This unusual result was made possible by means of irrigation alone, and there is no doubt much truth in tlie theory that the irrigating waters from the mountains contain great quantities of mineral fertilizing element in solution. Even by shallow plowing and the most shiftless methods of land preparation, a Mexican farmer named E. Valdez, of Chromo, Colorado, produced twenty-five consecutive crops of wheat on the same soil, and without manure or change of seed in the interim. This peculiar result w^as made possible only by the use of irrigating waters, applied as they were regardless of scientific principles or any defined method whatever. The yield the last season was forty-five bushels to the acre, as heavy as any throughout the quarter of a century of constant croppage. Irrigation farming has peculiar characteristics. It is a higher and more scientific industry than rain farm- ing; it succeeds best by what is known as intensive culture, or what is better described as scientific culture. The soil to be at its best should be carefully prepared, and cultivation ought to be minute and thorough. To make such agriculture pay such crops must be raised as will yield the greatest value to the acre. The irrigated lands are better adapted to the growth of orchards, vine- 14 IREIGATION FARMING. yards, gardens, potato fields, hop yards, tobacco and cotton plantations, and whatever extra work may be required to cover the land with^ water will be repaid ten fold from the first crop that is taken off. In travel- ing in the far west over long stretches of parched and dnsty plains or through mountain gorges, the writer has often seen fields, orchards, vineyards and gardens all dressed in living green. The life, vigor and fruitfulness FIG 4. DIVIDING LINE BETWEEN DESERT AM) (niCHARD. were in surpassing contrast to the general aspect. And wdiy this contrast ? Because of the tapping of mountain streams, fed by crystal springs or banks of perpetual snow, and turning a portion of their waters upon the lands. From great eminences the course of these life- giving water ways made by the hands of man could be traced by the eye, until they were lost in the dimness of THE ADVANTAGES OF IRRIGATION. 15 distance. There was no need of being told where were the irrigating ditches. The eye of a novice could mark them with accuracy as they wound about the foothill slopes, dotting the landscape with patches of emerald, where lone settlers and busy towns were located. An illustration of this condition is given in Figure 4, showing the course of an irrigating ditch dividing the unbroken prairie and a newly set orchard. It is in the horticultural pursuits that the highest degree of perfection as the patrimony of modern irriga- tion is to be realized. Under any system of irrigation where a constant supply of water is to be had the horti- culturist can plant with almost a certainty of gathering a crop. Untimely frosts, insects and fungous diseases are often to be contended with, but it is a great consola- tion to feel sure that drouth cannot prevent the starting of trees, plants and seeds in springtime, or cut short a growing crop. Neither are floods likely to overflow, except on low bottoms, and these are not the best places for the most profitable orchards. One field or a small portion of it can be watered without the rest being deluged or even sprinkled, if desired. It is the writer's desire at this time to direct the attention of horticulturists and farmers generally in the ^'rain belt" to the benefits to be derived from an artifi- cial supply of water to their crops. Some may scout the idea and say it is not i:)racticable, — that it will not pay to go to so much expense for the little use to be made of the water ; but in all seriousness it may be said that it will pay, and there are many places east of the arid regions where irrigation is now considered by those who have long tried it as almost indispensable. There is scarcely an acre of ground under cultivation in North America that would not produce more and better crops if there was at hand an abundant water supply. There aie seasons now and then in which the rains come just 16 IRRIGATIOI^ FARMING. right and irrigation might not be needed even once, but they are rare. Usually there are several dry spells during each year that cause serious injury to the crops, and were irrigation possible all harm trom this source might be prevented. A very little water at the right time would make all the difference with the crop and turn into success what otherwise would have been a partial or total failure. The work already put upon the land would be saved, as well as seeds and plants. Satisfaction and plenty would take the place of disappointment and scarcity. If eastern pomologists would only adopt irrigation there would be no good cause for having weakly plants and trees or for the premature dropping of leaves. The buds would develop early, and be plump and vigorous. There would be no winterkilling of trees and plants because of their feeble condition. Many things are considered tender that are so in some places only because of their inability to make sufficient growth to fortify against the evaporating influ- ences of the winter. It would not be reasonable to expect that any of the many systems of irrigation can be applied to all sections of our country, or to every farm in any section. Neither is it always practicable that all of a large farm should be placed under irrigation, except in rare cases. But where there is now, or may be created a supj^ly of w^ater that can be drawn upon in time of need for at least a small part of the farm, it is a great mistake not to make use of its benefits. There are sjiecial crops, such as aspara- gus, celery and the strawberry, which need an amount of w\ater that is not required by most others, and which could be grown much more cheaply than at present if aided by irrigation. In this connection it might be well to add that statistics show that in all rainy countries — that is, where the farmers depend upon the rains to make their crops — the seasons of drouth and the seasons of too much rain constitute three out of every five. THE ADVANTAGES OF IRRIGATIOX. 17 giving the farmer three bad crops to every two good ones. As a matter of fact the intrinsic advantages of irrigation concern and are within reach of the farmer of the humid region quite as much as his fellow in the arid climate ; and in many, if not in most, cases his water supply will cost him less, and when once applied will never be given up. There can be no doubt that when the available waters of the humid region are examined in regard to the supplies of plant food they are capable of giving to lands irrigated with them, they will be found \ to be nearly, if not quite, as valuable in this respect aa those of the arid region. Another snggestion along this line presents itself right here : As there is no material difference in the cost of cultivation of an acre yielding ten bushels of wheat and another acre yielding sixty bushels, it must be evident that the man who gets only ten bushels pays six times as much as does the man who joroduces sixty bushels. The profits to be derived from *^^the new agri- culture," as irrigation has aptly been called, comes not alone from the annual return from the watered acres, but from the constantly increasing valuation of the land itself. Many individual instances could be cited, espe- cially in regions devoted to fruit culture, where the returns are almost fabulous. Lands which were worth from two to ten dollars an acre have by the expenditure of from ten to twenty dollars an acre in the construction of irri- gation works become worth $300 an acre and upward. The same lands set out with suitable varieties of trees and vines have sold within five years of planting at $1,000 or more an acre. So valuable are irrigated lands in Spain that they sell for $720 to $880 an acre, which is ten times the price of the unirrigated, and the same ratio of values prevails elsewhere^ In summarizing the manifold advantages that the irrigation blessing has brought to humanity through all 2 18 IRKIGATION FARMING. the ages of persevering man, and anticipating those bene- fits tliat are to be commanded by '^the nations yet 'to be," we may conchide that irrigation means better economic conditions; means small farms, orchards and vineyards ; more homes and greater comfort for men of moderate means. It means more intelligence and knowl- edge apj)lied to farming, more profit from crops, more freight and more commerce — because special products of higher grade and better market value will be enhanced. It mean« association in urban life instead of isolated farms. It means the occupation of small holdings. It means more telephones, telegraphs, good roads and swift motors ; fruit and garden growths everywhere ; schools in closer proximity ; villages on every hand, and such general prosperity as can hardly be dreamed of by those who. are not familiar with the results of even the present infancy of irrigation in America. It can hardly be doubted that in time the lessons conveyed by history, as well as by the daily practice and results of irrigation in. the arid region, will induce the dwellers in the regions of summer rains to procure for themselves at least a part of the advantages which are equally Avithin their reach, putting an end to the dreadful seasons when ^'the skies are as brass and the earth as a stone," and the labors of 'he husbandman are in vain. CHAPTEE III. THE RELATION OF SOILS TO IERIGATION-. It was the blind poet Milton who said, ^^Fame is no plant that grows on mortal soil." He might have add- ed that famous plants are to grow on irrigated soil. The nature, condition and situation of soils compose a most important factor in successful irrigation, and should especially be understood by every person who essays to apply water by artificial methods. In the first place it may be well to understand that primarily soil is rock disintegrated, dissolved or pulverized by the action of the air, water, and ice, aided chemically by the various salts and acids present in the soil, and fertilized by decayed vegetation, animal excretions, and chemical agents. Classes of Soils. — Nominally there are two dis- tinct classes of soils — the sedentary and transported soils, which embrace the drift and alluvial soils. Specif- ically soils are distinctive according to their physical characteristics, and may be classified as gravel, sand, clay, loam, marl, lime, salt, peat, muck or humus. Pure sand consists almost entirely of small grains of silica or quartz and is not a plant food. Plants cannot use it. It is insoluble in water and in acids, and has no adhesive tendency ; hence, acting as a divider in the soil, it makes the land easy to work and facilitates the passage of roots in search of food, and also allows the assimilation of irrigating waters. The amount of sand in the soil varies from eight to more than ninety per cent. It absorbs very little moisture or other fertilizing 19 20 IRRIGATIOl!^ FARMING. material in the air, but retains heat much longer than does any other soil constituent. From these facts, then, it is evident that a sandy soil will be loose, easy to work, dry, warm and free from baking, but peculiarly apt to suffer from drouth when irrigation is not available, and lose valuable jolant food by leaching, especially if the subsoil be sandy or gravelly. Clay Soils. — Clay is a compound of silica and alu- minum. It is very seldom found pure, but contains pot- ash, lime and ammonia, etc., mixed with it, and some of these unite with it to form double silicates, v/hich are exceedingly valuable on account of the potash, lime, or ammonia which they furnish to plants. Clay is not a plant food. It is not taken up by plants except by a few of the lower orders, but the impurities in it — lime, pot- ash, etc. — are absolutely essential to vegetable growth, and these at once become soluble under the influence of irrigating waters. Red clays always contain iron, and most clay soils are rich in potash, thus adding to their availability as plant food, and rendering them peculiarly adapted to such j^lants as require a liberal supply of com- pounds. Clay gives body to the soil, and absorbs moisture readily. It absorbs heat much more readily than sand does, but has not the same power of retention. A clayey soil, then, is usually rich in phosphoric acid, pot- a.