IRRIGATION REPORTS.

The following list contains titles and brief descriptions of the principal reports relating to water supply and irrigation prepared by the United States Geological Survey since 1890:

1890.

First Annual Report of the United States Irrigation Survey, 1890; octavo, 123 pp.

Printed as Part IT, Irrigation, of the Tenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1888-89. Contains a statement of the origin of the Irrigation Survey, a pre- liminary report on the organization and prosecution of the survey of the arid lands for purposes of irrigation, and report of work done during 1890.

1891.

Second Annual Report of the United States Irrigation Survey, 1891; octavo, 395 pp.

Published as Part II, Irrigation, of the Eleventh Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1889-90. Contains a description of the hydrography of the arid region and of the engineering operations carried on by the Irrigation Survey during 18íO; also the statement of the Director of the Survey to the House Committee on Irrigation, and other papers, including a bibliography of irrigation literature. Illustrated by 29 plates and 4 figures.

Third Annual Report of the United States Irrigation Survey, 1891; octavo, 576 pp.

Printed as Part II of the Twelfth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1890-91. Contains "Report upon the location and survey of reservoir sites during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1891," by A. H. Thompson; "Hydrography of the arid regions," by F. H. Newell; "Irrigation in India," by Herbert M. Wilson. Illustrated by 93 plates and 190 figures.

Bulletins of the Eleventh Census of the United States upon irrigation, prepared by F. H. Newell; quarto.

No. 35, Irrigation in Arizona; No. 60, Irrigation in New Mexico; No. 85, Irrigation in Utah; No. 107, Irrigation in Wyoming; No. 153, Irrigation in Montana; No. 157, Irrigation in Idaho; No. 163, Irrigation in Nevada; No. 178, Irrigation in Oregon; No. 193, Artesian wells for irrigation; No. 198, Irrigation in Washington.

1892.

Irrigation of western United States, by F. H. Newell; extra census bulletin No. 23, September 9, 1892; quarto, 22 pp.

Contains tabulations showing the total number, average size, etc., of irrigated holdings, the total area and average size of irrigated farms in the subhumid regions, the percentage of number of farms irrigated, character of crops, value of irrigated lands, the average cost of irrigation, the investment and profits, together with a résumé of the water supply and a description of irrigation by artesian wells. Illustrated by colored maps showing the location and relative extent of the irrigated areas.

1893.

Thirteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1891-92, Part III, Irrigation, 1893; octavo, 486 pp.

Consists of three papers: "Water supply for irrigation," by F. H. Newell; "American irrigation engineering" and "Engineering results of the Irrigation Survey," by Herbert M. Wilson; "Construction of topographic maps and selection and survey of reservoir sites," by A. H, Thompson. Illustrated by 77 plates and 119 figures.

A geological reconnoissance in central Washington, by Israel Cook Russell, 1893: octavo, 108 pp., 15 plates. Bulletin No. 108 of the United States Geological Survey; price, 15 cents.

Contains a description of the examination of the geologic structure in and adjacent to the drainage basin of Yakima River and the great plains of the Columbia to the easy of this area, with special reference to the occurrence of artesian waters.

1894.

Report on agriculture by irrigation in the western part of the United States at the Eleventh Census, 1890, by F. H. Newell, 1894; quarto, 283 pp.

Consists of a general description of the condition of irrigation in the United States, the area irrigated, cost of works, their value and profits; also describes the water supply, the value of water, of artesian wells, reservoirs, and other details; then takes up each State and Territory in order, giving a general description of the condition of agriculture by irrigation, and discusses the physical conditions and local peculiarities in each county.

Fourteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1892-93, in two parts; Part II, Accompanying papers, 1894; octavo, 597 pp.

Contains papers on "Potable waters of the eastern United States," by W. J. McGee; "Natural mineral waters of the United States," by A. C. Peale; "Results of stream measurements," by F. H. Newell. Illustrated by maps and diagrams. (Continued on third page of cover.)

 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

WATER-SUPPLY
AND
IRRIGATION PAPERS
OF THE
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
No. 13

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1898

 

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UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
CHARLES D, WALCOTT, DIRECTOR

IRRIGATION SYSTEMS IN TEXAS

BY

WILLIAM FERGUSON HUTSON

WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE,
1898

 

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CONTENTS.

• Page.
• Letter of transmittal...7
• Introduction, by F. H. Newell...9
• General statement...17
  • Retardation of development...18
  • Use of water...20
  • Distribution of rainfall...21
  • Climatic and geographic divisions...24
• Description of irrigation works and projects...25
  • Eastern Gulf coast region...25
  • Central Texas...28
  • San Antonio and vicinity...41
  • Nueces River and Lower Rio Grande...50
  • Llano Estacado...59
  • Pecos Valley...62
  • Trans-Pecos Texas...65
• Index...67

 

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ILLUSTRATIONS.

• Page.
• PLATE
  • I. View of run-off of San Marcos spring...9
  • II. View of portion of water wheel, showing buckets raising water...38
  • III. View of Austin dam and power house...40
  • IV. View of San Antonio River at Mill bridge...42
  • V. View of old stone aqueduct carrying Espada ditch across Piedras Creek...44
  • VI. View of artesian wells at San Antonio city waterworks...46
  • VII.
    • A. View of dam supplying Madre ditch at Del Rio...56
    • B. View of dam for San Felipe ditch at Del Rio...56
  • VIII. View of flume across Pecos River...62
  • IX. View of Pecos Canyon at Southern Pacific Railway bridge...64
  • X. View of wing dam of El Paso Irrigation Company, looking upstream...66
• FIG.
  • 1. Index map of Texas...22
  • 2. Diagrams of mean monthly rainfall at six stations...23
  • 3. Map of drainage basin of Wichita River...30
  • 4. Water wheel and wing dam turning current against wheel...38
  • 5. Map of ditches and artesian wells at San Antonio...42
  • 6. Mission ditches below San Antonio...44
  • 7. View of flume on Trueheart ditch...47
  • 8. View of irrigation tank at Beeville experiment station...49
  • 9. Map of the proposed Caimanche reservoir and canals...52
  • 10. Map of the proposed Nueces reservoir and canal...53
  • 11. Pump and flume on Nueces River...55
  • 12. Map showing location of Margueretta Canal...62

 

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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, DIVISION OF HYDROGRAPHY, Washington, November 26, 1897.

SIR :

I have the honor to transmit herewith a paper entitled Irrigation Systems in Texas, by William Ferguson Hutson, and to recommend that it be published in the series of pamphlets on Water-Supply and Irrigation. This manuscript was prepared in accordance with a request made to Prof. J. H. Connell, director of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. Professor Connell found that it was impossible for him to give the necessary time to field investigation and the preparation of a report of results, and therefore recommended that the work be intrusted to Mr. Hutson. The field work was carried on during May and June of 1897; the paper was written during July and transmitted early in August. The data were necessarily accumulated in a relatively short time, and the author considers the paper somewhat in the light of a preliminary report. A number of illustrations used in this paper have been obtained through the courtesy of Mr. Robert T. Hill, geologist of this Survey, from his paper in Part II of the Eighteenth Annual Report.

In the preparation of this manuscript for publication considerable liberty has been taken with the arrangement and the manner of presentation. While the statements of fact have been preserved, such changes have been made in the character of the paper as seemed necessary to bring it into harmony with the series as a whole. In particular a somewhat arbitrary geographic arrangement has been adopted in place of one based on considerations of quantity of rainfall, as it appeared undesirable to make the assumption that irrigation is governed by questions of mean annual precipitation.

Very respectfully,

F. H. NEWELL,

Hydrographer in Charge.

Hon. CHARLES D. WALCOTT,

Director United States Geological Survey.

 

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INTRODUCTION.

By F. H. NEWELL.

In the report upon Agriculture by Irrigation, prepared for the Eleventh Census, 1890, all the facts obtainable at that time concerning irrigation in Texas were presented and discussed. It was found by the enumeration that there were in the whole State 623 persons irrigating farms, having an aggregate area of 18,241 acres, or an average of 29 acres irrigated by each person. This did not include the smaller kitchen and flower gardens, of which there were probably hundreds, or even thousands, watered by means of city supply or windmills. The definition of "a farm," adopted for the purpose of the census, included " all staple nurseries, orchards, and market gardens owned by separate parties which were cultivated for pecuniary profit and which employed as much as the labor of one able-bodied workman during the year." The land which was irrigated formed on an average only 2.43 per cent of each farm, showing that irrigation where used was practiced on only an inconsiderable portion of each landowner's holding.

Since 1890 there has been considerable progress made in the development of irrigation, and interest has been stimulated by the success recently attained in various localities. This later investigation in Texas has, therefore, been made for the purpose of procuring fresh information, especially concerning the recent developments. The facts are of interest not only to the people of that State, but to a less degree to those of the whole United States, for Texas embraces such a wide range in topography and climate that success attained within its boundaries suggests the advisability of the same line of action in some other locality. On account of this great diversity of natural conditions, irrigation has been developed along many different lines. Not only is water diverted from creeks and larger rivers, but in some localities it is held by storage, in others it is pumped from ordinary wells, and in still others it is obtained from artesian wells. Where the conditions are favorable, the swiftly flowing streams are employed in pumping a portion of their own water up to the top of the adjacent banks, or the ever-present winds of the prairies are utilized by means of windmills to bring a needed supply of moisture from far underground. In short, in the broad stretch of country from the humid

 

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lands on the east to the arid region on the west, from the semitropic glades of the south Gulf coast to the high plains of the interior, is to be found almost every variety of physical condition and of mechanical device for supplying needed water to the soil.

When we consider the State of Texas-in area nearly a tenth of the whole United States, and with a population less than that of the little State of Massachusetts, sparsely scattered even in the humid portion, with enormous areas of rich soil but poorly tilled-the question arises, Why should irrigation be practiced? Agriculture by this method is necessarily intensive farming-a method which should be practiced amid a dense population, and one where success is attained only by thorough tilling and careful attention to details. Why then should this be taken up in a State where fertile land is so cheap and where great areas have not been touched by the plow? The answer lies in the fact that many farmers are beginning to discover that larger profits can be made by carefully tilling a small area than by attempting to diffuse their efforts over plantations of considerable size, and that in order to produce the largest yield from a given outlay of time and labor it is necessary to insure the presence of sufficient moisture at the right time. This lesson, however, has not been universally learned. The education of the great majority of farmers or planters has been such as to make them adhere to old methods, and often it is only after object lessons have been many times repeated that they are willing to concede that their broad farming is not the most profitable.

Included within the State of Texas are lands upon which irrigation was practiced as early as, if not earlier than, in any other portion of the United States, and it would thus seem that this method of agriculture should have spread and be more generally practiced than it is. It is a fair question, Why, if irrigation is so profitable, has it not become the rule rather than the exception? The answer can probably be found in the character and training of the population and in the unfriendly attitude of the laws of the State toward the development of irrigation works. The very extent of the State-the enormous areas of land that might be had almost for the asking-has tended to make the farmer look down upon little methods and disregard the small economies and the attention to detail so essential in intensive agriculture. Thus the tendency has been to leave irrigation to the Mexican, who originally practiced it, and to regard it as something almost unworthy of the consideration of a "white man." The time has come, however, for a change in general sentiment. A more diversified farming has been introduced, together with better methods, brought in to a certain extent by immigration from other States. The rapid growth of the Territories to the northwest, which are dependent for their agriculture upon irrigation, has stimulated a desire and an endeavor to attain like results by similar means, and opportunities which before have been neglected are being seized upon.

 

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Before any considerable development can take place in irrigation, upon either a large or a small scale, facts must be known concerning the water supply. If this is to be obtained from a river, it must be known whether the low-water flow is sufficient for the purpose and whether the floods are of such size as to sweep away structures which should be permanent. Even in the ease of individuals intending to pump water from the ground, questions are first asked as to whether the ground water is sufficient in volume and whether it can be obtained at a depth near enough to the surface to be profitably raised. The answer to all questions of this kind must come primarily through a comprehension of the geology of the country. Ignorance of the volume of some of the larger streams has already resulted in serious disappointment, and probably in heavy loss, to several large enterprises, and it is probable that other works of this character will not be carried out until the investors have a better knowledge of the physical conditions, of drought, and of high water. From a knowledge of the underground conditions it is possible to foretell the depth to the water-bearing strata and the general character of these, and to base estimates upon the quantity which may be obtained by properly constructed wells. Matters of this kind must be investigated if the resources of the country are to be neither underestimated and neglected nor overstated and made the basis of loss to credulous investors.

With the measurement and study of surface streams and the accumulation of facts concerning the underground structure, with reference to the amount and quality of the water available, there are closely joined considerations of methods and cost of lifting the water up to the lands to be irrigated. No general rule can be laid down as to how much any given individual can afford to expend in obtaining a water supply for irrigation. Each case must be considered on its own merits, alike as to methods and machinery, the amount of water needed, and the character and ultimate value of the crop. As a general rule it may be said that for the field crops as ordinarily cultivated irrigation, especially by pumping, will not pay; but in diversified farming, where personal attention is given by the owner to every detail, expensive methods of storing or pumping water have in the long run been found highly profitable. In order to bring out the divergence in practice there have been assembled in the following table the more important facts obtainable concerning the cost of water by the various methods described in the following pages.

This table gives in the first column the page upon which the irrigation system is described and in the next column the name in abbreviated form. In the third column are a few words to indicate the character of the system-whether the ordinary canal or ditch diverting water from a river by means of a dam, or a mechanical device, such as a windmill or pumps driven by steam or gasoline. In the next column is given the lift in feet where water is raised by pumping,

 

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and next to this the capacity of the pump or ditches in cubic feet per second. This column also gives the total amount delivered in acre-feet in 12.1 hours, since 1 cubic foot per second flowing for this length of time will cover 1 acre a foot in depth. To the acreage two columns are devoted-the first giving the total area irrigable, or the amount which it is estimated each system will cover; and the second, the area actually watered, this applying usually to the year 1896. Beyond this is given the total cost of the system, and, wherever practicable, the cost per acre. This latter column, in the case of the larger ditches, shows the amount asked or paid per acre for water rights. The last column gives the estimated annual cost per acre for water, figures for this being rarely obtainable.

 

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In looking over this statement probably the first observation that one will make is the wide diversity of costs and results. This is partly accounted for by the fact that these figures are for the most part mere estimates and are open to the suspicion of being exaggerated to serve individual interests in one case or another. In particular the volume or capacity of the ditches is usually overstated, and concerning the pumps very little is known beyond the maker's estimates, prepared for the purposes of selling his machinery. Judging from these and similar statements, the first and annual cost of water from the large ditches is very low, being from $10 to $15 per acre for water rights and from 50 cents to $1.50 per acre for annual maintenance. The cost of water per acre by pumping is usually much more, and may range from $20 to $50 per acre, or even higher.

The small cost of water from gravity ditches in Texas, as well as in other States, is more apparent than real. As a rule the larger canal companies base their selling price for water rights upon the assumption that the work will cost a certain sum and that several thousand acres will be irrigated and subsequently sold. In this assumption the corporations have often been disappointed, the work costing far more than anticipated and the sales of water right with or without land being exceedingly slow. The promoters have appreciated the fact that these lands can not be sold unless the first and the annual cost of water is kept down to the lowest figure. The struggle to maintain

 

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the property upon the small returns has often resulted in the system going into bankruptcy or being kept in very poor condition. Sometimes, also, the estimated supply of water has not been sufficient; and thus, from one cause or another, the landowners, although nominally paying a small price for their water rights and for the annual maintenance of these, in point of fact ultimately pay a very large price for an insufficient supply. This should be borne in mind in making comparisons between the cost of water as usually given by irrigation companies and the outlay required in the case of pumping machinery.

The expense of lifting water for irrigation must, as a rule, be far greater than that of diverting a supply by gravity, but in many places circumstances or conditions are such that the former is the only method practicable. Where considerable areas are watered and the lift is small the extra cost may be more than compensated by the convenience and the possibility of controlling the source of supply. The pumping plant as a means of insurance against drought, even in humid regions, is coming to be recognized as a good investment. If properly protected from the weather it may stand for months or years without use, ready in times of deficient rainfall for immediate service in saving a crop that otherwise would be a failure.

One of the notable features in connection with pumping is the apparently low efficiency attained when one compares the amount of water which it is claimed a pump delivers with the acreage actually cultivated. Two reasons for this are apparent: The first is that the pumps may not be run to their full capacity or the water may not be used upon as large an area of ground as possible. But the principal reason often lies in the fact that the capacity of the pump is greatly overrated, and few purchasers ever make systematic tests of the amount of water actually delivered. Many disappointments have resulted from farmers attempting to irrigate with too small a volume of water. They have assumed that the pumps were delivering a certain quantity, say 2 cubic feet per second, when in fact they were raising on the average only one-third or one-quarter of this. It is almost impossible to judge by the eye as to the amount when flowing in a pipe or trough, and they have declared that the ground was not favorable for irrigation when in reality they were trying to accomplish the impossible feat of spreading water from a stream too small to traverse the ground. The real source of trouble has not been with the soil or the method, but with the insufficient supply. This difficulty might be remedied by the construction of a small reservoir or tank, into which the pumped water could accumulate for a few hours and from which a stream of considerable volume could be drawn when an application of water to the soil was to be made. This has often been neglected, to the detriment of the owner.

The amount which can be reasonably expended per acre in procuring

 

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a water supply for irrigation is, as stated above, a problem for which no general rule can be given. Much depends upon the character of the crop, and particularly upon the price for which it sells. If there is always a good market for the produce, the next consideration is the skill of the irrigator. The man who is thoroughly experienced in applying water, using only the proper amount, can often afford to pay twice as much for it as can his neighbor who uses a greater quantity and obtains a smaller yield.

The quantity of water needed varies so widely that broad assumptions must be made in order to prepare any estimate of cost. Under ordinary circumstances it maybe said that an amount of water equaling 12 inches in depth is sufficient in Texas for a crop season. In other words, an acre-foot of water, or 43,560 cubic feet, will irrigate an acre. A pump delivering at the rate of a cubic foot per second, or 448 gallons per minute, will give nearly 1 acre-foot in twelve hours. Assuming that this water can be held in a reservoir and that the pump is run daily for one hundred days, it should irrigate 100 acres. The cost of water rights where the supply is assured may be taken safely at $15 per acre, or for 100 acres at $1,500. This amount under these assumptions would be a fair allowance for the cost of a pumping plant.

The annual cost of maintenance of works where the water is carefully used may range from $1.50 to $2 per acre. If the pump above mentioned furnishes through the season water at the rate of 1 acre per day, the cost of operating should not exceed this amount-$1.50 to $2. This sum is relatively small for fuel and repairs, and could not be made to include attendance, and therefore it is necessary or desirable that the pumping machinery should be nearly automatic and not require constant attention. These conditions are almost impossible of attainment. Any such statement, therefore, serves as a standard for ideal conditions rather than as an example of what may be realized.

The growth of irrigation in Texas has been retarded not so much by the character of the climate or soil, or by any natural condition, as by artificial obstacles, partly legal but consisting mainly in the lack of training of the farming population. What is needed here, as in most parts of the Great Plains region, is men who know how to irrigate- how to produce the best results under given conditions. In the arid regions, where farming without irrigation is impossible, men learn the business thoroughly; but where a small amount of success can be attained by the careless tilling of large areas the farmers are apt to go on year after year following the old ways, getting a crop when the seasons are good and trusting to chance, hoping in years of drought that the next season will be better.

By the development of small irrigation works in various parts of the State farmers are becoming accustomed to the use of water and

 

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are appreciating the benefits to be derived from having an assured amount of water. It will be necessary, however, for these small plants to multiply many times before the construction of large works can be undertaken with fair assurance of financial success. When by the multiplication of small pumping plants in various localities a considerable body of successful irrigators has been established, it will be possible to construct great canals from the larger rivers, bringing water to thousands of acres of rich lands, and to dispose of water rights at remunerative prices. The small pumping plants may therefore be considered as the necessary forerunners of more economical and efficient systems which will render possible a dense population along the fertile valleys where now farming is precarious and often unprofitable.

 

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IRRIGATION SYSTEMS IN TEXAS.

By WILLIAM FERGUSON HUTSON.

GENERAL STATEMENT.

During the last few years general interest has been aroused in irrigation, and its importance to many portions of Texas is being better appreciated. At this time a discussion of the development of irrigation and its present condition may afford instructive suggestions not only to citizens of the State, but to persons in other parts of the country. The variety of geologic and climatic conditions and the mixed population have given rise to many methods of practice, so that in Texas there may be found representatives of nearly every system of irrigation occurring in the United States. Every degree of excellence may be noted, from that of modern machinery for raising water down to the most primitive devices for supplying it to the field. In the arid and semiarid portions of the State the methods of the early Spanish settlers are employed. Most of the cultivation is done by Mexican laborers or tenants, who cling to the old systems. Thus on most of the ditches the distribution of the water is by the Spanish method of days and hours, each holder of a water right having the use of the ditch in his turn.

The methods of applying the water are usually copied from those of the Mexicans, which consist of flooding the crops by means of little embankments or ridges of earth from 6 inches to a foot in height, so arranged as to convert the fields into checks of a size often absurdly diminutive. This system of watering has, indeed, been very largely modified by most of the American irrigators, so as to facilitate the use of machine tools in handling the crop; but the water is still wastefully used. It is to be hoped that in the present general development of irrigation more progressive methods will be inaugurated for both the distribution and the application of the water.

The early history of irrigation in Texas is hidden in the unwritten annals of the past. Several of the valleys of the Trans-Pecos country show signs of having once supported a teeming population. The lines of their irrigation canals can yet be traced for miles, while arrowheads, stone implements for grinding corn, and other relics can be found in considerable quantities. It must, however, be left to the

 

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archaeologist to determine who these aboriginal irrigators were and the probable antiquity of their work. The Pueblo Indians say that these ditches were made by the Yuma Indians, who were driven gradually westward by the Comanches and Apaches, finally settling in their present home on the Colorado River. On the Rio Grande below El Paso are several ditches, which are probably the oldest now in use in the United States. They were built by the Pueblo Indians, who, according to their traditions, migrated to this place from New Mexico at a very early date, certainly before the advent of the Spaniards under Coronado. This explorer mentions finding well-established systems of irrigation among the Indians in this vicinity in 1540, when he passed on his expedition northward. The old Spanish mission ditches around San Antonio, mentioned on later pages, are also worthy of note as among the oldest in the United States.

RETARDATION OF DEVELOPMENT.

Taking into consideration the climatic conditions and the object lesson furnished by the old ditches, it is somewhat remarkable that irrigation has not been more generally developed in Texas. The causes for the slow growth of this method of agriculture in the State as a whole are found in the persistent attempts of the settlers to extend methods of farming applicable in the humid East, and in the existing laws modeled on those of the well-watered region. There has been in Texas, as well as throughout the whole of the Great Plains region of the United States, a belief, founded upon hope and the representations of interested land agents, that the rainfall would increase as settlement progressed and tracts were brought under cultivation. In the sub-humid region the annual fluctuations of water supply are always relatively large, but no permanent increase is shown by official records. The average distribution of rainfall in the western part of the State is favorable for agriculture, 19 per cent of it coming in the spring and 36 per cent in the summer, but in spite of this the crops are often either a total or a partial failure. In the country near the arid line this is the case about three years out of every four, because of the fact that a drought almost invariably occurs during the growing season, rendering useless all of the rain that falls afterwards.

Another cause of delay in irrigation development has inhered in the customs of the people. Their chief interests have been in cattle, and the results of so many years of nothing but stock raising have left them with neither the knowledge nor the inclination for the laborious occupation of the farmer.

But the principal bar to the spread of the industry has been the unsatisfactory condition of the laws relating to it. So long as the common-law doctrine of riparian rights was recognized as the only one having any force in the State, irrigation 6n a large scale was out of the question. At common law the riparian proprietor is entitled

 

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to have the water flow through his land in quanity and quality as it was wont to do when he acquired the title thereto. There have been several instances in the past where progressive men who wished to use the water from some stream on their lands were prevented by actions brought or threatened for infringement of the riparian rights of the owners of the property lower down.

In 1875 and in 1888 laws were passed by the legislature for the encouragement of irrigation enterprises, but in both cases they proved inadequate. In 1895 the twenty-fourth legislature passed a new law regulating "the aquisition and use of water for irrigation, mining, milling, the construction of waterworks for cities and towns, and for stock raising." This law applies only to those portions of the State in which "by reason of the insufficient rainfall, or by reason of the irregularity of the rainfall, irrigation is beneficial for agricultural purposes." By this law the unappropriated waters of the above- mentioned portions of the State are declared to be public property, and provision is made for the appropriation of the same by private persons or corporations for the uses mentioned above. The riparian rights of a person owning property along such waters are recognized to the extent that the waters can not be diverted to his prejudice without his consent, or without condemnation proceedings carried on in a manner similar to those used in obtaining ' land for public purposes. The appropriator first in time is first in right. The law provides ample means for certifying to the appropriation and for regulating and protecting the corporations which may be organized for the purpose of using the waters thrown open to use by it. This middle course, in regard to the doctrine of riparian rights, is that adopted in California, Washington, and Oregon, and seems to have been successful in those States.

In 1897 there was passed by the twenty-fifth legislature a joint resolution to amend the constitution of the State by adding there to a section which provides for the formation of irrigation districts without regard to county lines. Under the terms of this such districts could only be formed west of a line drawn through the State in a general north-south direction at about the eastern boundary of what is here described as the semiarid region. This amendment proposed that irrigation districts should be bodies corporate and have all of the rights and liabilities of ordinary irrigation corporations. They might issue bonds to cover cost of construction of their irrigation works, subject to the same restrictions as county and city bonds. The indebtedness for the construction of irrigation works in these districts could be created only by a vote of the majority of the landowners resident in the district and having lands susceptible of irrigation by the proposed works. The proposed amendment was submitted to a vote of the people at a special election on August 3, 1897, but was rejected by a heavy majority.

 

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THE USE OF WATER

The "duty of water" is the term used to express the relation between the quantity of water used in irrigation and the area upon which it is employed. The present duty of water in Texas can not be ascertained with the data in hand, but is in most cases very low. The duty assumed by most of the projectors of new irrigating enterprises is 100 acres to the second-foot. This, in the semiarid section at least, ought to prove sufficient, for by the time the amount of land under irrigation from each canal reaches the maximum the people will have learned how to use the water more economically than at first, and the land will not require so much. A careful estimate of the amount of land under irrigation in Mexico, just across the international border at Eagle Pass, gives a duty of 137 acres to the second-foot. There the crops are mainly corn and cotton, the latter needing very little water.

The investigations upon which this discussion is based revealed the fact that there are in the State not only a great variety of gravity systems of supplying water but also all kinds of pumping devices operated by steam or gasoline engines and by water wheels or windmills. The latter are of more importance than the data obtained would seem to indicate. Throughout the arid and semiarid regions nearly every residence has its windmill to pump water for domestic uses, the surplus of which is often used to irrigate a few vegetables or fruits around the house. Although a small area is watered by each mill, yet the aggregate must be considerable. Data were obtained from the few plants constructed for irrigation use only, which will give an idea of the comparative merits of windmills as a source of irrigation. The least cost of a windmill-irrigation plant was found to be a little over $16 for each acre irrigated, the largest area watered by one wheel being 30 acres. This is in the humid portion of the State. In the arid portion half that amount is all that can be supplied. The average cost is about $47 for each acre irrigated, and the area commanded by each wheel amounts to only about 7 acres. The number of acres irrigated from each steam or pumping plant varies from 5 to 1,000. The cost of these irrigation plants ranges from $15 to $50 for each acre irrigated. The efficiency of most of the pumping plants could and should be very largely increased. There is a great lack of experience shown in the management of many of them, and consequently they have not been operated at anything like their full capacity or made to pay a reasonable dividend on the money invested. Few of them have reservoirs into which to pump the water; thus they can be used only while the actual irrigation is going on, whereas to be operated economically they should be run day and night, at least during the irrigating season. There are

 

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a number of plants in the State with a capacity of as much as 2,500 gallons of water per minute. Such a plant, if worked to its full capacity, will give a stream equal to 5.57 second-feet. Allowing one-third for loss by seepage and evaporation, there is left 3.7 second-feet. The usual duty of water is estimated at 100 acres to the second-foot, but in new irrigation districts it very often amounts to only half as much. Even with this low estimate there should be more than 180 acres irrigated from the plant. Such a plant, it is estimated by H. M. Wilson, can be erected for $5,000; this will give a cost of $28 per acre irrigated.

For estimating the quantity of water used in irrigation, various units of measurement are employed. For bodies of standing water the cubic foot, or, where that is too small a unit, the "acre-foot" is used. The latter is the quantity of water that will cover an acre of ground 1 foot deep, or 43,560 cubic feet. The gallon is also very largely used for stationary bodies of water and for pumping plants, especially those for municipal supply. In considering flowing water some unit must be used which expresses the capacity of the stream in a given period of time. That most commonly used is the second-foot, or the number of cubic feet of water which flow by in a second of time. The "miners' inch," so generally quoted in California and Colorado, is not used in this State. In the following table are given some convertible units of measurement:

DISTRIBUTION OF RAINFALL.

The most important element of climate in its relation to the present discussion is precipitation. In Texas the rainfall is greatest in the eastern portion of the State and decreases steadily toward the west. This decrease is at the rate of about 4 inches every 60 miles, being about 50 inches in the extreme east and 9 inches at El Paso. The

 

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isohyetals, or lines of equal precipitation, run through the State in a general north-south direction, as shown by the map, fig. 1.

The customary definition of "arid region" " is one having less than 20 inches of mean annual rainfall. This, however, is not sufficiently complete, for it does not take into account the distribution of the rain throughout the year. In certain parts of the country, where the greater portion of the precipitation occurs during the crop season, wheat and other cereals are successfully raised when the rainfall is far less than 20 inches; while in other parts of the United States, as,

for example, near the Pacific coast, where the greatest precipitation occurs during the winter months and the summers are practically rainless, irrigation is necessary during a part, at least, of the crop season. Thus the distribution by months is almost as important an element as the total quantity occurring during the year.

The accompanying diagram, fig. 2, shows the quantity and average distribution of rainfall by months at a number of selected stations fairly typical of the State as a whole. The first of these is Galveston, on the coast, in the eastern part of the State. Here the average

 

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rainfall for twenty-seven years is 49.6 inches. As shown by the diagram, the months of heaviest precipitation are September and August, but in every month except February an average of over 3 inches of rain has fallen. This is fairly typical of the distribution of rainfall along the Gulf coast. The diagram next above this is for Austin, where the average rainfall for thirty-nine years is 33.4 inches. Here, also, there is an excess of precipitation in September, and a second maximum in May. Relatively to these months, June, July, and August are somewhat dry; but in every month throughout the year there has fallen an average of over 2 inches of rain.

The next diagram in fig. 2 above that for Austin is that for Fort Clark or Brackettville. This is constructed from the average for twenty-nine years. The mean annual rainfall is 22.7 inches. Fort Clark is remote from the coast, and the distribution of its rainfall, though somewhat similar to that at Austin, having maxima in September and May, shows reduction in quantity, especially during the winter months. Next above the diagram for Fort Clark is that for Fort Elliott, situated far up in the Panhandle of Texas, near the Oklahoma line. Here the quantity and distribution are fairly typical of the Great Plains area. The diagram is derived from the mean of observations extending over eleven years and giving an annual average of 23.2 inches: The month of greatest rainfall is May, September being below the average. The rainy season may be said to extend from April to August.

In the upper part of fig. 2 are two diagrams illustrating the typical distribution of rain in Trans-Pecos Texas. This has been named by General Greely the Mexican type of rainfall. In these, particularly in the diagram for Fort Davis, obtained from twenty-six years' observations, the rainfall is seen to increase regularly from February to August and then to decrease rapidly to the end of the year. The greater part of the precipitation occurs during

"

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Nat. Geog. Mag., Vol. V, 1893, p. 51.

 

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June, July, August, and September, at the time when most needed by many crops. The diagram for El Paso, from thirty-six years' averages, shows a relatively uniform but small precipitation throughout the year, with the exception of the months of July, August, and September.

CLIMATIC AND GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS.

In order to discuss the present condition and development of irrigation in Texas it is essential to pursue some systematic order of arrangement based upon climatic or geographic factors. The simplest arrangement is that of taking first the humid region, or that having 40 inches or over of rainfall; next the subhumid, with from 30 to 40 inches; then the semiarid, with from 20 to 30 inches of rain; and last the more arid portions, having less than 20 inches of annual precipitation, this being in the western part of the State, and including the Panhandle and Trans-Pecos regions. - The greater part of the irrigation works are, however, in the southern half of the State, or near the coast, and these divisions, especially those of subhumid and semi-arid, extending, as they do, in a north-south direction, though simple, do not afford a wholly satisfactory grouping. In the central part of the State the irrigation works are small, and there is no essential difference between those in the more humid and those in the semiarid areas. In fact, the actual amount of annual precipitation has less to do with the necessity for artificially applying water than the local conditions of soil and character of crops.

From the above-mentioned conditions it has been found desirable to adopt a somewhat arbitrary classification, based partly upon the distribution of rainfall and partly upon geographic position. In the following pages, therefore, a description will first be given of the irrigation plants in the humid area near the coast, particularly those lying within 50 miles or more of Galveston. Next in order are the small irrigation projects scattered about the center of the State from the humid areas east of Brazos River westward nearly to the borders of the arid region and southward to the vicinity of Austin and San Marcos. The third division is taken to include the old irrigation works at San Antonio, with small irrigation projects found at intervals down to the coast. Next in order to these are the irrigation works planned or constructed along the Nueces River and the lower Rio Grande. The fifth division to be considered is that of the Llano Estacado and adjacent areas, including the greater part of Panhandle Texas; then the lands watered by the Pecos River, and finally the irrigation works in Trans-Pecos Texas, extending to the extreme westerly end at El Paso.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF IRRIGATION WORKS AND PROJECTS.

EASTERN GULF COAST REGION.

The humid part of the State may be considered as that having a mean annual precipitation of 40 inches or more. This comprises the greater part of the State east of the city of Dallas and of the lower Brazos River. The rainfall over this area is usually abundant, and irrigation in the northern and central portions of this humid region will not probably become of any considerable importance, but in the southern end, along the coast, there exist large tracts of land adapted to rice growing, and the greater portion of this will probably be used for this purpose.

This land is mostly a flat prairie, locally called swale land, covered with a coarse growth of grass and having such a gentle slope toward the sea as to be but little removed from a marsh during a large part of the year. It extends inland for several miles and is cut by numerous bayous, in which the tides from the Gulf ebb and flow and the waters gradually become brackish as they near the Gulf. Most of the rice farms lie along these bayous, and from them the principal supply of water is derived. The farms are so located as to insure a supply of fresh water. The soil along the bayous is much richer than the prairies and yields heavier crops.

The manner of cultivating and irrigating is very different from the South Carolina system, where the water is held by artificial storage reservoirs or raised above the level of the fields by the action of the ocean tides, which back up the flow of the rivers at each tide to a height sufficient to reach the fields. In this part of Texas storage reservoirs are used in only a few cases, most of the fields being supplied by pumps placed on the banks of the bayous and operated by steam power. The land is laid off in much the same way as on the eastern plantations. The work in this State is newer and therefore rougher, but the main features are the same. The fields are surrounded by low levees to hold the water on the land, and are ditched to permit. drainage at the lowest point.

Nearly all of the land planted with rice is irrigated, as those who have attempted to grow it without irrigation have lost their crops two years out of five and made only very short crops during the other three years. As previously stated, the water is supplied to the fields by pumps run by steam power, rotary pumps of the Menge pattern being most frequently used. These are operated by engines of from 10 to 70 horsepower or more, and have a pumping capacity of from 1,500 to 8,000 gallons per minute, or from 3.34 to 17.82 second-feet. The lift varies from 9 to 12 feet, and the pumps are run night and day during the irrigating season, which lasts from sixty to ninety days, thus delivering from 400 to 3,000 acre-feet of water. For the prairie farms the water is carried in canals, either on the surface or

 

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excavated but little below it and confined by levee walls on each. side, for a distance sometimes of 1½ miles.

The area in rice is increasing rapidly. One planter, Mr. J. E. Broussard, of Beaumont, has 750 acres this season (1897), whereas last season he had but 250 acres. He estimates that the total area watered from Taylors Bayou alone, in Jefferson County, in 1897, was 8,500 acres. From his statements the following facts were derived: Planting of early rice is begun in March, from about the 15th to the 25th, if ground and weather are suitable, and continued until the 1st of June. Many persons plant as late as the 15th of June, but this is probably too late to make a good crop. As soon as the rice is up to a height of 6 or 8 inches, if the ground becomes too dry for it to grow well, the usual practice is to give it a good soaking, but not to hold the water very deep upon it the first time. As soon as the rice becomes well rooted, the land is flooded and the attempt is made to keep it in this condition until the rice is ready for harvest. Most farmers turn the water off about two weeks before harvesting, although there is considerable difference in this matter. The size of field inclosed under each set of levees depends altogether on the lay of the land; if very level, there maybe as much as 50 acres in one "cut," but where the land has much fall the average piece under one set of levees will be about 5 to 8 acres. The lands are so level that when the water is from 4 to 6 inches deep over the lowest part it will wet the highest portions. The depth of flooding rice in this section is about 5 or 6 inches; some farmers prefer deeper water, while others do not care for so much. Experience has shown that when water is held very deep on rice all the time the quality of the grain is not so good; it is sufficiently heavy but is somewhat " chalky." There are several farms that have from 500 to 1,000 acres under cultivation in rice. The average yield is reported to be 40 bushels to the acre of rough rice, or 10 barrels of clean. One hundred pounds of rough grain will make about 72 pounds of clean rice.

Mr. F. H. Catron, of Orange, has been one of the most successful planters. He has been irrigating since 1891 with a Menge pump, operated by a 50-horsepower steam engine, pumping from a bayou into a surface ditch 1 mile long and 20 feet wide, the lift being about 8 feet. The total cost of the canal levees and ditches was $5,000, and the engine and other parts of the pumping plant cost $1,500. The pumping capacity is 5,000 gallons per minute, or 11.14 second-feet. In 1896 he irrigated 500 acres of rice.

Irrigation of orchards and gardens is resorted to in this humid region, particularly in the vicinity of Galveston and Houston. This is due largely to the fact that artesian water can be had, and the land is so nearly level that water can be readily applied. In spite of the abundant rainfall, experience has shown that fruit and garden crops are greatly improved in quantity and quality by the application of

 

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moisture during a portion of the year, particularly at times of summer drought. Operations on a considerable scale have not been attempted, but many small gardens are being watered. Nearly all of this land requires drainage, and this is especially the case when irrigation is introduced. The prairie land in this region is not notably rich, but it is easily worked, and as a rule ground water is near the surface.

The source of water for the city of Galveston is at the suburban town of Alta Loma, 18 miles distant from Galveston. Here are 27 wells 7 inches in diameter and 3 wells 9 inches in diameter, from 750 to 850 feet deep, all located in a direct north-south line, 300 to 750 feet apart, making a total distance from end to end of 16,350 feet. The wells, at 2 feet above the ground, showed a static pressure of from 5 to 7 pounds per square inch. Water is derived from several horizons, and the combined flow is 12 million gallons per day, or 18.60 second-feet. The pressure is sufficient to deliver 5 million gallons daily, or 7.73 second-feet, at the city of Galveston, 18 miles away, through a 30-inch pipe having a fall of 1 foot to the mile. A portion of this 30-inch pipe is depressed about 10 feet for a distance of 2½ miles, from the mainland to the island, under West Galveston Bay. These wells have been flowing for three years. The cost for the installation of the entire plant was $790,000. Analysis shows that the water is usually pure, and the people of Galveston are highly gratified in having a water supply of such excellence.

The water- bearing strata underlying this portion of Texas are so uniform in character that contractors do not hesitate to guarantee a flow of from 25,000 to 50,000 gallons daily, or 0.04 to 0.08 second-feet, for a specified size of well at any point in or near Galveston County. There are 5 artesian wells at and about Clear Creek, 1 at Shell Siding, 10 in the vicinity of Dickinson, 2 at North Galveston, 1 at Texas City, several at Hitchcock, 2 or 3 at Alta Loma in addition to those already mentioned, and 2 at Arcadia, making a total of not fewer than 55 for the county. In some localities sufficient flow for smaller wells is obtained at a depth of 490 feet, though occasionally the extreme depth of from 1,000 to 1,100 feet is required.

Water for irrigation is also provided by using windmills. There is a stratum of water-bearing sand at a depth of from 30 to 60 feet which furnishes an abundant supply for irrigation by the smaller land holders and market gardeners. For example, Mr. H. Sampson, an orchardist near Alvin, has a surface well 12 inches in diameter and 36 feet deep, in which he put an 8-inch tubing. He asserts that from 15,000 to 30,000 gallons can be pumped from it daily by a windmill of sufficient size. Within the town limits of Alvin, Mr. W. H. Nash has a similar well which he states has never been pumped dry by a 10-foot windmill. He irrigates all the berry and garden crops which he "

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Engineering News, Vol. XXXIX, No. 9, March 3, 1898.

 

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thinks it advisable to grow in between the trees of a 10-acre bearing pear orchard.

This will convey a brief but positively reliable idea of the underlying water supply of the Texas coast for irrigation purposes. It remains to add a word concerning the use of water for irrigation purposes in this section. The structure of the soil is somewhat peculiar in that it is naturally subirrigated; that is to say, there is plenty of water within from 7 to 15 feet of the surface. An ordinary barnyard well does not exceed in most instances 10 to 12 feet in depth. Almost all the varieties of trees planted in the orchards here readily send their roots to this and greater depths, and hence for commercial orchards irrigation is not essential. This is especially true if timely, judicious, and frequent cultivation be given. With the berry grower and market gardener the conditions are different. His crops must be made within a specified period to obtain the best results and greatest returns. To accomplish this it is essential that a good supply of water be at command to force the crops when conditions of great heat and drought develop. At the same time it should be noted that perhaps 90 per cent of the berry growers and gardeners have not yet provided irrigation works, and they have been, in a measure, doing business with a small but very uncertain margin of profit. They have hoped each year that it would not be necessary for them to irrigate. Two successive seasons of drought, however, have induced them to prepare to avail themselves of the ample supply of water. Within two years from this time probably the greater part of the most intelligent berry and truck growers will be fully equipped with an irrigation plant of some description.

The advantages of having irrigation facilities were abundantly illustrated in 1896. Those who had such equipments were not only selling more products at the same time that their neighbors were offering theirs, but were selling long and profitably after their less fortunate competitors could not produce sufficiently to make an attempt at marketing advisable. This is especially noteworthy in the case of the strawberry growers in the coast country.

CENTRAL TEXAS.

This second division has been arbitrarily drawn to include the irrigation plants, mostly small in size, situated within the central part of Texas, from about the vicinity of Brazos River westerly to the edge of the arid region, and from the vicinity of Austin, on the south, northerly through the State. This area falls between the lines of mean annual precipitation of 20 and 40 inches, and thus includes the tract of country having sufficient rainfall to raise crops in ordinary seasons. The precipitation is fairly uniformly distributed by months, as shown by the diagram of mean monthly rainfall at Austin in fig. 2 (p. 23). The black, waxy soil which covers a considerable portion of

 

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this district is retentive of moisture and resists droughts, as does the land along the Brazos and Colorado river bottoms, located mainly within this area. The region to the south and southeast of Austin, although having the same mean annual precipitation, has not been included in this division, because the rapidly increasing temperature toward the Gulf, as well as the different character of the soil, renders irrigation somewhat more essential and its development is more nearly comparable to that of the arid region to the west.

In this central portion of Texas, where crops are raised successfully each year, irrigation is not felt to be a necessity except by truck farmers and nursery men, and many of these have introduced it in a somewhat experimental. way. The results, however, demonstrate its value, and this method of cultivating the soil is being extended. Water, is usually obtained from a well or small storage reservoir, and pumped by means of a windmill, or occasionally by a small steam engine.

The most easterly of the irrigation works in this section are those at Mexia, near the head of Navasota River, a tributary of the Brazos, and near Bryan, on Brazos River, at the State Agricultural and Mechanical College. At this latter point storm waters are impounded in a reservoir formed by building an earthen dam 10 feet in height and 100 feet long across a small draw. This covers about 1 acre, and from it so far about 7 acres have been regularly irrigated, the crops watered being garden truck and alfalfa. In addition to the storm waters, the reservoir is so situated as to receive the waste water from the college ice factory and from the natatorium when necessary, but as this water, coming from an artesian well, carries in solution considerable mineral matter, it is not allowed to enter the reservoir to any considerable extent.

At Mexia, in Limestone County, J. W. Stubenrauch has been very successful in the use of a small irrigation plant for fruits and vegetables. This consists of a darn across a ravine, catching the storm waters and forming a tank covering about an acre of ground. From this the water is lifted to a height of 25 feet by an 8-foot windmill into an earthen reservoir 50 feet long and 100 feet wide. This reservoir is now being enlarged to have double the present capacity. The total cost of the system was $300, including 700 feet of piping; 7 acres have been irrigated, but it is estimated that 15 acres could be watered. Mr. Stubenrauch is also putting in another system with a reservoir covering an acre of ground, the dam having a height of 5 feet above the outlet pipe, for filling which he will use a 12-foot wheel. This he expects will enable him to irrigate 30 acres at one time. He states that the total cost, including 600 feet of 2½-inch pipe for discharging the water into the reservoir, was $485. He pumps from a storage tank made by damming a big ravine.

In the northern end of this district-that is, north of the Colorado

 

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River-irrigation is little practiced. There is a well-developed plan to irrigate a large tract of exceptionally fertile land in the Wichita River Valley. The storm flow of this river is to be stored at a favorable site about midway of its course. The catchment area above this storage basin will be about 1½ million acres. The area to be irrigated is about 270,000 acres.

Careful flood-flow determinations indicate that the supply is largely in excess of requirements. The region has a rainfall of about 28 inches, which it is necessary merely to supplement. That is, the duty of water here will be comparatively large. In fact, the greater part of the area is at present utilized as farm land. But, though the lands are rich and easily tillable and the average yield is considerable, there is yet a disastrous variability of yield on account of droughts. Therefore, relating to a subhumid rather than to an arid region, the project will have this advantage over irrigation undertakings in the

arid lands proper, that the amount of water needed for abundant crop yield is comparatively small. The plan, which has been developed fully, is based upon careful and elaborate engineering work. Before the present reservoir site was chosen, other possible sites, along the Pease River to the north and the Brazos River to the south, were examined with a view to diversion of these streams to the same lands. The present selection appears to be an exceptionally fortunate one. The depth to bed rock at the dam site is slight and the river valley here is constricted to a canyon.

The dam is to be of earth, 80 feet high, designed to hold water to a depth of 70 feet. Both spillway and outlet are to one side, well away from the dam-the spillway over bed rock, the outlet through a tunnel in bed rock. The capacity of the reservoir will be about 12,000 million cubic feet, or about 275,000 acre-feet. There will be two canals, designed to irrigate both slopes of the Wichita Valley. At their head these canals will have a width at bottom of 40 feet, a depth

 

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of 8 feet, and a grade of 1 foot to 5,000 feet. The total cost is estimated at a little over $1,000,000.

Careful determinations of flood flow made by the company's engineer, Murray Harris, indicate that the supply is much more than ample. They are as follows:

Farther south, near Brazos River, in Young County, not far from Graham, are reported two small gardens irrigated by windmills, such as are found scattered all through the semiarid region.

The Lytle Water Company, in 1897, began to build a dam across Lytle Creek at Abilene, in Taylor County, the main object being to furnish good water to the town, but it is also expected to irrigate 300 acres by a canal 1½ miles long. The dam is of earth, riprapped with rock on the inner slope and sodded on the outer. It is 800 feet long, raises the water 15 feet, and has a masonry spillway of 300 feet. The total cost of the plant will be about $25,000. The reservoir formed by the dam will cover 120 acres and have a capacity of 300 million gallons, or 920 acre-feet.

On the ranch of Hugh Lewis, 8 miles north of Ballinger, in Runnels County, is a stone dam built in 1896 across a small creek which originates in a spring a short distance above. The dam is 80 feet long, raises the water 6 feet, and supplies a ditch some 200 yards in length. Ten acres in fruit and vegetables were irrigated in 1896, but at least 50 acres could be covered. The total cost was from $150 to $200.

In Tom Green and Irion counties the water facilities furnished by the Concho River and its numerous branches and tributaries are among the finest to be found anywhere. These have only been partially used by individuals and small companies in separate systems, making the cost of maintenance much greater than if consolidated. Nevertheless, they have been fairly successful, and have certainly reduced the cost of living in that section, making foodstuffs, especially vegetables, much cheaper and more abundant. There are ten of these plants reported in those two counties; three on the South Concho, one on the Main Concho, and two each on the North Concho, Spring Creek, and Dove Creek. The total area irrigated is 3,200 acres, 2,000 being in Tom Green County and 1,200 in Irion County.

The plants of C. B. Metcalfe, of San Angelo, and J. J. Glenn, of Water Valley, may be taken as types of the systems in vogue. Mr. Metcalfe's canal takes its water from the east bank of the South Concho River 12 miles south of San Angelo. It is 4 miles long, with

 

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an average top width of 12 feet, bottom width 8 feet, and depth of water 1.5 feet. It was begun in 1887 and the first mile was completed the next year, but it was not entirely completed until 1896. It takes its water by means of a brush-and-stone dam 200 feet long and 7 feet high, which extends across the river and cost about $500. The main ditch cost $500 to the mile, and the laterals, of which there are three, cost $250 to the mile, making a total cost, with incidentals, of $7 to each of the 470 acres now irrigated. The repairs, which are maintained by the tenants, may be estimated as amounting in labor to 75 cents per acre. The crops irrigated in 1896 were : Johnson grass, 40 acres; cotton, 120 acres; corn, oats, wheat, truck, etc., 220 acres; total, 380 acres.

The ditch of J. J. Glenn is located on the North Concho 1½ miles west of Water Valley, and is 3 miles long, 8 feet wide on top, 4 feet wide on bottom, and 2½ feet deep. It was first used in 1886, and is supplied with water by a rock dam across the river, 100 feet long, with an average height of 8 feet. The total cost of the system was $3,500, and it commands 350 acres, of which 250 have been irrigated, two-thirds in cotton and the remainder in the different sorghums and oats.

The most successful field crops in this region are oats and cotton, the former producing from 30 to 90 bushels with great certainty, and the latter usually 1 and sometimes 1½ bales to the acre. Corn is a poor crop, by reason of the dry winds, but sweet potatoes, melons, and celery do very well, especially the last named.

In Sterling County there are two systems on Concho River, only one of which has been reported in full. It is located 5 miles from Sterling City and is owned by the McGee Irrigation Company. The main ditch is 2 miles long, has a top width of 6 feet, is 4 feet wide at the bottom, and carries about 1 foot of water. It was begun in 1892 and first used in 1894. The water is raised by a loose-rock darn, 125 feet long and 6 feet high, built across the river. The total cost was $1,500, and it commands 250 acres, only 75 of which are really irrigated. The principal crops, in the order of their importance, were cotton, corn, sorghum, oats, sweet potatoes, alfalfa, and vegetables. Repairs are maintained by each stockholder doing his share of the work on the ditch.

At Brownwood, in Brown County, about 120 miles east of the above works, considerable interest has been taken in irrigation during the last few years, there being a large area well located for irrigation on a considerable scale. This scheme was abandoned for lack of capital to complete it. Meanwhile several steam pumping plants have been erected for irrigating smaller areas. The most important is that of the Swinden Pecan Orchard Company. This consists of a centrifugal pump operated by an 80-horsepower engine and pumping 3,000 gallons per minute, or 6.84 second-feet. The water is carried by a flume

 

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4,000 feet long to a reservoir formed by building an earthen dam 4,000 feet long and with a height varying from 2 to 15 feet. The dam is at the foot of gently sloping land, and forms a triangular reservoir covering 55 acres. The reservoir is designed to irrigate the 400 acres of level land lying between it and Pecan Bayou, from which the water is pumped to fill it. A small stream is also dammed and turned into the reservoir. The 400 acres commanded by the reservoir are planted in pecan trees, making the largest orchard of this kind in the world. The irrigation plant was put in mainly to enable the owners to practice truck farming and small fruit growing between the rows of trees while waiting for the latter to mature. The soil is a rich black and chocolate loam. The great mistake that has been made in this plant is in having the reservoir so large and shallow. Evaporation and seepage are in this way so increased as to become a serious source of loss.

Immediately east of this, in Mills County, are several pumping plants on Colorado River. That of J. B. Baker, 11 miles southwest of Goldthwaite, was completed in 1896, and consists of a 32-horsepower boiler operating a Worthington pump. The plant cost $2,000, and the expense of operating it is about $7 a day of twelve hours. It has a capacity of 1,220 gallons per minute, or 2.72 second-feet, and commands 80 acres, 75 of which were irrigated. The crops raised were corn, cotton, and oats. J. D. Willis, of Ratler, has attached pumps with a capacity of 50 gallons per minute, or 0.11 second-foot, to the shafting of his gin and grist mill, irrigating 5 acres in fruits and vegetables. The power is furnished by a turbine under a 5-foot head of water from a dam 300 feet long across Colorado River. At Regency, G. W. Alldridge, with a 20-horsepower engine, pumps 450 gallons per minute, or 1 second-foot, and reports that he can water about 5 acres per day, which would give 50 to 75 acres under command of his pump. None of these men use reservoirs.

On the south side of Colorado River, in San Saba County, J. H. Lindsey owns a steam pumping plant on the river, 20 miles north of Sari Saba. It consists of a 30-horsepower engine and a pump with a capacity of 840 gallons per minute, or 1.87 second-feet. The plant cost $2,000 and is worked eleven hours a day at an expense of $3, irrigating 40 acres in corn and cotton. There are also several small areas irrigated iii this county from the numerous springs which issue from among the hills. The total amount of these is 250 acres. - Farther down the river, in Burnet County, the only irrigation reported is one windmill irrigating a garden 50 feet long and 150 broad, and also 1¾ acres watered by a spring and reservoir. Both are very successful.

At the head of San Saba River, in Schleicher County, William L. Black has been irrigating since 1894 with a plant consisting of a 6-horsepower engine, pumping 580 gallons per minute, or 1.29 second-feet, and a 6-foot overshot wheel with a capacity of 167 gallons per

 

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minute, or 0.37 second-foot. The latter is run day and night, no reservoir being provided, and the total area irrigated is 50 acres, in corn, potatoes, and sorghum. With his water wheel he uses four 10-inch cylinders worked horizontally, and with the engine a link-belt box elevator, which gives satisfaction. Farther east, in Menard County, on San Saba River, is a pumping plant owned by Emile Vanderstucken and consisting of an 18-horsepower steam engine operating by a belt a Menge centrifugal pump with a capacity of 1,167 gallons per minute, or 2.60 second-feet. The total cost of the plant was $1,500. No reservoir is used, the water being carried in a flume to the highest point on the land and distributed by ditches. On account of the abundance of rain in 1897 it was used but very little, In 1896 it was operated from March to September, irrigating 100 acres and making good crops, with practically no rain.

The following description relating to the condition of irrigation in the vicinity of Menardville is taken from a statement prepared by Mr. Robert S. Dod, of Brady, Texas, county surveyor of McCulloch County. This method of agriculture has been a great success in this vicinity, as is evident to anyone passing through the county examining the fields and conversing with the farmers. The system has not always been successful, but early failures were mainly the result of inexperience and arose from accidental and not from essential defects. Mistakes have been gradually remedied, and by well-directed energy and enterprise great improvements have been brought about, progress being still made toward even better methods.

On crossing San Saba River 5 miles below Menardville, the traveler enters upon the irrigated part of the narrow valley lying between the river and the low hills, and is impressed by the signs of energy and activity. The fences are good and in repair; the gates have two hinges and swing clear of the ground; the fields are clear of grubs and clean of weeds; the ditches are straight and well shaped and clean; the cotton as seen when visited stood 28 to 30 inches high all over the fields, of good color and as clean as possible. The corn was 10 feet high or over, and the dark green of its leaves was accounted for by the water running in the furrows at its roots. To the right was an orchard of peach trees filled with fruit, and beyond this a stubble field already plowed and harrowed, ready for reseeding for another harvest. Near this field stood the stacks, the proof of the success of that crop at least, yielding their stores of grain to the efforts of the busy crowd about the thrasher. The active movements of the men at work there and in the neighboring fields, and the rate at which the teams traveled carrying the grain to the barn and returning to the field, showed that the success apparent everywhere was due to systematic, well-directed effort-the kind of effort that men put forth when reasonably certain of the reward of their labor. Such animation men do not display when disappointment and failure year after year have sapped

 

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their energy and made them cynically hopeless of success, when under "dry farming" they have degenerated into the almost brutish attitude of contentment with surroundings that could be improved and toleration of losses that might be avoided.

All the way from the river to Menardville the road passes through irrigated farms showing success in proportion to the amount of care and labor expended on them. The vegetable gardens, the orchards, the green lawns, and the flowers and vines around the houses make this valley the picture of contented prosperity. The farmers with whom conversation was had gave many facts applicable in contrasting their methods and results with those of the dry-land farmer. They raise from 1 to 2 bales of cotton per acre, the difference in yield depending largely on how much damage the worms do in a given season and how much rain falls in August. The drier this month the better the cotton crop. On new land with few worms and a dry August 2 bales would be expected. Their corn yields from 40 to 80 bushels per acre. One man suggested that a light rain or shower was needed when the pollen was ripe in order to obtain the best results. Oats yield from 50 to 80 bushels per acre. During the years from about 1888 to 1895 the farmers irrigating in Menard County were raising from 1 to 2 bales of cotton to the acre, 40 to 50 bushels of corn, and 80 or more of oats, while in contrast to this them- neighbors without irrigation were working perhaps equally as hard, bringing together what little cane and fodder could be raised to save the stock from starving to death, and producing only enough marketable stuff to keep the interest on the mortgages paid up, and perhaps not even that.

These beneficial results are produced by a little water and a deal of hard work. The water rate is $2 per inch, and 1¼ inches will irrigate an acre of their land, so that $2.50 per acre and a little extra work make the difference between one-third of a bale of cotton and 2 bales; between no corn and 40 to 50 bushels; between 80 bushels of oats and a dead failure.

It has been proved by experience that one man can not give proper attention to more than 25 acres of this irrigated land. He will need help in cultivating if he plants corn and cotton, but could tend rather more land put in small grain. He will require for these crops a little over an inch of water per acre, and will need to turn the water on about every twenty days.

At Menardville corn and cotton are irrigated by running the water down the furrows between the rows from openings in the ditch. The amount of labor required for the operation and to make the water run properly depends upon the general level of the field and the care with which the furrows are laid off with regard to the slope. Small grain and fodder crops are laid off by throwing two furrows together, back to back, as a border, every 8 or 10 steps, to hold the water, and flooding the land between these borders. Some farmers use an Acme

 

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harrow to finish off the land after planting, running it between the borders so that the small furrows left by it help in directing the flow of the water.

As to the amount of water required per acre, one man who irrigates 40 acres of land uses 40 inches of water, and occasionally needs a little more. On another farm they use 15 inches of water on 12 acres of garden truck. On the upper part of the ditch above town the water is measured and distributed by the inch; that is, if a man wants 20 inches of water, the gate opening on his ditch is set for a 20-inch flow and so remains through the season, giving him his 20-inch constant flow. From town down they use the water in rotation, as, owing to a mistake originally made in laying out the distributaries, the use of water above interferes with the flow below. So they alternate every seven days, those above using all the water that reaches them for that time, and then the lower owner having all the water for the next seven days; this farmer, having some 500 acres under irrigation, distributes the water over them as necessary.

The amount of water required for an acre of ground here is more than that needed for sandy fields. The soil at Menardville is a clayey loam containing a large proportion of lime. Both soils require the same amount of water for the first irrigation, but the sand packs and requires less at each succeeding irrigation, whereas it is claimed that the limy loam seems to rise instead of pack, and requires as much water for the later irrigation as for the first.

The ditch which supplies these farms is nearly 10 miles long. The dam is built across San Saba River some 4 infles above Menardville and returns to the river some 5 miles below the town. The charter was obtained by the Vaughan Agricultural and Improvement Company in 1874, and the ditch was built soon after. It is claimed that this company put $12,000 in the work. This was excessive, an extra expense being incurred by the refusal of right of way in one instance, forcing the company to make a cut 16 feet deep and several hundred feet long. Further, the methods of work were rude and costly. Wheelbarrows were used to move the dirt, and in the cut the dirt was thrown on staging and passed from man to man. There are 97 shares in the company, valued at $180 each. One year $1,200 was spent in improvement; another year $1,000 in the same way; but the ditch pays all running expenses, cost of improvements, and 10 per cent on the shares at the above quotations.

The grade of the ditch after construction was found to be irregular and unsuitable, so work has been done each year-cutting and filling, to reduce the slope above Los Mores flume to a nearly uniform grade of 30 inches to the mile. At the flume is a fall of 14 inches in 128 feet. At the point of the mountain where the ditch curves with the hill and runs through rock it is lessened in size and has a much steeper grade. The grade of 30 inches to the mile was established

 

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experimentally, and satisfies as nearly as possible the necessity of avoiding silting on the one hand and erosion on the other. The ditch runs through coarse gravel part of the way, and there is a heavy loss from percolation.

The straightening of the ditch, reduction of the grade, and tightening of the dam have given an available flow of water sufficient to irrigate 2,000 acres of land, which is the amount estimated to be under irrigation from this ditch at the present time. This taxes the flow to its full capacity.

The dam is built of rough limestone quarried at the spot, averaging, where seen on the front of the dam, 2 by 3 feet by 10 inches, laid in courses without cement. The blocks are tied by bolts fastened to a log under the dam at the bottom and passing up through the dam and fastened at the top by taps to cross-ties lying along the top. The dam is slightly concave and is about 200 feet long and 5½ feet high at the middle of the front, with an irregular batter. It is 13½ feet wide on top at the center. It rests partly on rock, partly on gravel, and is backed with earth with a slope of nearly 2 to 1. The water stands within a few inches of the top of the dam and runs over at every rise in the river. There must be 10 or 12 feet of water passing over it at times, judging from the high-water marks. Below the dam is a pile of loose bowlders which holds the leakage through the dam and forms a water cushion to receive the fall. The dirt is washed from the back of the dam at every high rise, and is at once replaced when the rise goes down, by scraping the dirt from the north side of the river. The dam backs the water up about 500 yards, the deepest hole being about 15 feet. The water is taken out on the south side 100 or more yards above the dam and carried in a cut to the sluice gate a little below the dam.

A section of the ditch made a few hundred yards below the sluice gate gave the following: top, 15.2 feet; bottom, 8 feet; depth, 2.7 feet; wetted perimeter, 16.5 feet; area, 29.83 square feet; maximum surface velocity, 2.17 feet per second; mean velocity, 1.54 feet per second. The velocity was measured for 100 feet above and below the section, where there was no very, great difference in the dimensions of the ditch. The fall of the surface was found to be at this point 0.1 foot in 195, or 1 foot in 1,950, or 2.7 feet in a mile. This, with a coefficient of N=0.03, would give a velocity of 1.57 feet per second, which is very nearly the observed velocity of flow. This gives a discharge of 46 cubic feet per second, or 2,300 inches, estimating 50 inches to 1 foot.

Taking the estimated acreage irrigated as 2,000 acres, we have from our calculated flow a little over 1 inch per acre, which is the allowance in actual use, as above stated, and a water duty of 44 acres per cubic foot per second of flow for the water entering the main ditch. These measurements were made at but one point and can be considered as only approximate for the whole ditch. For accuracy they should be

 

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repeated at a number of points and proper allowance made for percolation and leakage. In general, the estimate is that three waterings of 4 inches will make a crop. From the above it is readily seen that before a calculation can be made with any degree of certainty as to what water is necessary to irrigate a crop in this country, there must be further experiment and careful consideration and comparison of

soil and subsoil, percolation, evaporation, and the best method of applying the water to the crop. The duty at Menardville is, under the present system, 44 acres per cubic foot of flow per second, or a trifle under 1¼ inches per acre.

At San Marcos is found a system of water wheels for raising water for irrigation. They are all of the same type, consisting of an undershot

 

 

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wheel of a size varying according to the height of the river bank. The wheel is run by the direct current of the river, which is quite swift, and is brought against the wheel either by a wing dam of planks, which turns the current against it, or by a ditch taken out about 50 or 100 yards above. The river, coming from immense springs which burst out about three-quarters of a mile above the town, as shown on Pl. I, is not subject to rises, the only flood on record having occurred when a flood in the Guadalupe backed up the water of the San Marcos for eight hours. This renders secure this seemingly unsafe way of locating a wheel. There are three of these wheels on the river, all used by truck gardeners. The wheels are of wood and are the simplest form of undershot wheels, with a metal bucket fastened to the perimeter of one side of the wheel, in front of each paddle, as shown in Pl. II and fig. 4. These buckets fill in succession as the wheel turns and empty into a trough above, thus raising the water very nearly to the height of the diameter of the wheel.

The wheel owned by Capt. John Richards (Pl. II) is the oldest and the one on which all of the others are modeled. He states that before he built it he tried a number of pumps, which required too much attention and repairs, and afterwards several kinds of water wheels, with no satisfaction until he finally hit on the present arrangement of his buckets, which has lasted satisfactorily for about ten years. The wheel runs day and night, and needs no attention save oiling twice a week. It is 20 feet in diameter and 8 feet wide, and is supplied with water by a ditch 150 yards long, taken directly from the river and running through low ground to the wheel. It pumps into an artificial reservoir of about 50,000 gallons capacity. The average speed is three revolutions per minute, and in that time it raises about 90 gallons, or 0.20 second-foot. The water is used to irrigate 3 acres of grapes and vegetables for the market.

The wheel at D. C. Garrett's place, shown in fig. 4, is larger and carries 16 buckets of 6 gallons capacity, pumping on an average 144 gallons per minute, or 0.32 second-foot. He uses no reservoir and irrigates about 12 acres in vegetables.

These wheels furnish a cheap and convenient method of irrigation, being easily built, and running expenses being practically nothing. They are highly successful at San Marcos, but would not be elsewhere where the conditions are not similarly favorable. Here the river has a swift flow and steep banks, from which the wheel may be hung with relatively little expense for scaffolding, and the stream, coming from a great spring, has an even flow summer and winter.

At Austin, the State capital, is one of the largest hydraulic works of the country, impounding water of Colorado River. Although this was built primarily for the purpose of furnishing power, there was at the same time a belief that the surplus water could be used for irrigation above the lowlands along the river at times of summer drought.

 

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This project for thus employing the surplus flow of the stream was abandoned, if not completely destroyed, by the low water of the summer of 1896, when the surface of Lake McDonald was lowered some 5 feet below the crest of the dam. Thus, although there is an immense amount of surplus water carried by the river, it is probable that other works must be built to utilize it, for the steady increase of demands for power tends toward the requirement that the stored water shall be held for this use during the summer months.

The dam at Austin was built by the city with the intention of supplying water for municipal purposes and power for lighting and for manufactures. It is located at a point about 2 miles west of and above the city, where the river flows in a narrow valley between limestone cliffs. At this point the Colorado River drains about 40,000 square miles, and has a usual summer flow of 1,000 second-feet. In times of flood it rises to from 200,000 to 250,000 second-feet, a contingency which necessitated the construction of a strong masonry dam which could be submerged by the highest floods.

The dam is 1,150 feet long, with the crest 60 feet above low-water mark and having a maximum height of 70 feet. It is 66 feet thick at the bottom and 16 feet wide on top, constructed of solid limestone rubble laid in imported Portland cement, faced on each side and on the top with cut granite blocks from the same quarries that furnished the stone for the State capitol. In order to provide for the great volume of water coming down the river in flood times the dam was so designed as to allow the surplus water to flow over it in a sheet of uniform thickness along the entire length. To avoid the impact and erosive action of the falling water, which may sometimes be as much as 15 feet in depth at the crest, the front of the dam was given the shape of a reversed curve of ogee form. This allows the water to glide down its face without shock and expend its force in a horizontal direction against the pool in front of the toe.

There are three iron sluice pipes 36 inches in diameter inserted in the dam, near the west end, for use in possible emergencies. The total cost of the dam, exclusive of the sluice pipes and engineering expenses, was $611,300; the latter amounted to some $58,000 more. The total cost of the whole enterprise, including dam, power house, electric lighting, and waterworks system, was nearly $1,400,000. Lake McDonald, formed by the dam, is over 25 miles long and averages three-fourths of a mile wide. The power available is estimated at about 14,000 horsepower. The power house, shown in Pl. III, is located on the same side of the river as the city and just below the dam. The water is carried directly to the turbines through iron penstocks.

The water for the city is pumped from the lake into the mains, the pumps being directly connected with the turbines operating them. The management is preparing, however, to move these pumps some

 

 

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distance down the river to beds of gravel forming natural filters, from which perfectly clear water can be obtained at all times. This is the same water as that in Lake McDonald, but it is purified by filtering through these beds. It will be obtained by sinking cribs in the gravel and pumping from them by electrical energy transmitted from the power house At present the amount of work done varies from 800 to 3,000 horsepower. This is employed for waterworks and electric lighting, and for running all the car lines and most of the manufacturing enterprises in the city, such as planing mills, printing presses, and many others. It has been demonstrated that it is cheaper for a man who uses no more than 200 horsepower to rent his power from the city in the form of electrical energy and to use an electric motor instead of a steam engine.

Up to the present time most of the earnings of the plant have been spent in improving and adding to it; but it is hoped that in the near future these will increase and materially relieve the people of the heavy burden of taxation under which they now labor and enable them to pay off the debt incurred in construction.

Another notable water power which may in the future be partly used for irrigation is that supplied by the Comal Springs at New Braunfels. These springs burst from the base of the hills at many points for a distance of a mile or more and form the head waters of Comal River. New ones can be made at any time by blasting in the limestone rock along the line of those already existing. The fall is so great for the first half mile that no difficulty is found in carrying the water by a simple canal to the point where the accumulated flow can be utilized to good advantage. At present the power is used to operate, a cottonseed-oil mill, a flour mill, and an electric-light plant owned by the Landa estate, on whose property the springs are situated. The power used amounts to about 500 horsepower, which can be increased almost indefinitely, if desired.

SAN ANTONIO AND VICINITY.

Under this head is included a description of irrigation works at San Antonio, and also in the areas southerly and southeasterly near San Antonio and Guadelupe rivers down to the Gulf coast. The irrigation ditches at San Antonio are historically the most interesting in the State, for here are found the earliest systems and structures, which have been in use for more than a century. Additional interest is derived from the association of the ditches with the early missions and with the efforts of the Franciscan fathers to settle the Indians upon these lands and employ them in agriculture. The old missions, now in ruins, were rendered habitable by these ditches, and the lands adjacent were the garden spot of the frontier, making possible the growth of the city which now is the center of civilization and trade of the Southwest. These ditches are now almost completely concealed

 

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by the ancient trees and the luxuriant verdure that line the banks, and through the lapse of time they have assumed the character of natural drainage channels, so that it is almost impossible to believe that they were artificial works. The facts concerning the origin and present condition of these ditches were obtained mainly from Mr. Z. O.

Stocker, of San Antonio, who has made a thorough study of them, both from an interest in the subject and with a view to developing irrigation enterprises in the vicinity. A view of the river, illustrating its size and character, is given in Pl. IV.

 

 

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The original mission ditches built by the Franciscan fathers between the years 1716 and 1744 are the Pajalache or Conception ditch, the Alamo Madre, the San