Show f w 7 ar RESERVOIR FOR DRY FARMS for gardening and other purpose purposes it Is well to make careful study of storage places A number of small dams as an well us its bigger ones constructed under the superintendence of engineers have gone out this spring and much wate water run to waste when it comes to the case of damming up the ordinary arroya or dry creek that merely was a heavy flood when a large area has become saturated beyond its holding capacity it must be recognized that we are endeavoring to accomplish something very difficult it if not in some cases impossible unless the dam can be made to act as an overflow weir in times of sudden flood or a point oi 01 diversion provided higher up tor for the flood waters have and will again need the whole space across the draw tor for their flow having in view how ever the immense importance of a reservoir to the dry farm for garden ing and other purposes it Is worth while to make a careful study of all places where water can be stored and to see it if the natural difficulties can cot not be overcome rock Is as a rule scarce upon the plains and concrete Is expensive and Us its success largely dependent on the solidity of its base approaches and overflows from the dam often necessitating long and ex pensive aprons which may become undermined and tall fail in a dry country the soil Is so absorbent that it takes a large drain age area in normal years to prevent any flow and yet only yesterday I 1 saw a gravelly soil become saturated on a side hill in forty five minutes to the point of producing a turn off on land plowed eight inches deep and the drainage area was only feet in depth or a little less the ground had been left with some back furrows and there were from four to twelve inches deep where trees had been planted soil taken for use in other places and so forth some of the holes filled and overflowed some absorbed the water in accordance with the amount of the clay mixed with the gravel only a few of them absorbed all the water where the sol soil had been removed and it tell fell on straight gravel with the furrows tun owe around the lower part of the lots the small space feet by feet man aged to practically absorb all the rain and hall but it couldn coulden t hold any more than the inch and a halt half that fell in fact did not take quite all ol 01 that the reasons why land will take a cubic foot of water under tion and be soaked with an inch and a half of rain till a run off occurs need not be gone into here the point Is how are we going to inter capt some of this water tor for future use at a reasonable outlay in the bret first place the dam must be made as an solid as possible not be piled up ae as straight as it will stand ready to trash wash and settle so soon as stress is to put upon it and in the next place it should be provided with a very ampie ample flow pipe leading water far enough away from the foot of the dam so it will not cut back during the storm period causing the dam to tall fall the lower end of the flow pipe should be led into a ditch when ble that will distribute the water on higher ground rather than allow it to run to waste down the creek the land will take this water when it al lows the rain to run off as may be seen under any irrigation ditch but the main point so far as the reser voir Is concerned Is to lead it to a point where it will not cut back where a diversion of the supply can not be accomplished above the dan dam in time of flood it Is sometimes pos sible to lead a ditch down either side of a draw and carry off the water filling the reservoir from spillways or allowing it to fill only so much as it will from the more restricted drain age area te tue T e trouble with this plan Is that the ditches themselves hem selves are vrey liable to break so when the draw Is of an a n extended area it Is better to see if a series of small ditches cheaply made with a plow which disturbs the ground little cannot be gly en says halt half the general fall of the ground to lead the water clear ol 01 the reservoir in times of heavy flood there are a good many ways ir which water can be circumvented besides building an unprotected obstruction st across its natural flow to be periodically washed out |