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Show SUCCESS ON DRY LAND FARM Most Important Factor Is Supplementary Supplemen-tary Irrigation Practice Limited Lim-ited to Water Supply. ("By W. H. I.AfCK, IrrlRntlon Investigation, Investiga-tion, V tilted States Department of Agriculture.) Agri-culture.) There are many things that make for success on a dry land farm and home. The most important of these Is supplementary irrigation. This does not conflict in any way with the dry land work, but rather assists by utilizing one of the resources which nature has provided. However, the extent to which the practice may be applied is limited to the water supply available. One of the first and most important things for the dry land farmer to ascertain as-certain is whether a water supply can be developed from the underground water, or stored during the torrential rain storms. Where a water supply cannot be developed, de-veloped, the homesteader soon becomes be-comes discouraged and he abandons his claim. The proper location for the well can often be decided upon by studying the wells In the immediate neighborhood. Where the distance is too great for this method, test holes may be put down with a two or three-inch auger and light derrick, made of 2x4-inch timbers. The points desirable to know are: (1) Depth to water level; (2) material encountered in sinking test well; (3) amount the water lowers in the will during pumping; and (4) kind of well most desirable, whether drilled, bored or dug. With this information, some Idea of the amount of water which can be expected ex-pected in the locality can be formed, thus deciding to what extent irrigation irriga-tion can be practiced. After., water has been located, the method for making the W'ell must be decided. Where competent well drillers drill-ers can be obtained, the drilled well is the most satisfactory, especially if it ' is necessary to go to any great depth. The most important thing to ascertain ascer-tain in a drilled well, as in other methods, meth-ods, is the size of perforations in the strainer the water bearing gravel will , permit. This can be determined in the test hole or the neighboring wells. The openings of the strainer should be equal to 10 or 12 times the cross sectional area of the casing or sufficient, suffi-cient, if possible, to allow the water to pass through into the well as readily as through the water-bearing gravel or stratum. Long slots, punched in the casing from the inside, with the burr on the outside, are the best in coarse materials, but quicksands or very fine materials often necessitate special wire strainers. In some localities it is also necessary neces-sary to ascertain which water bearing stratum to use on account of the minerals min-erals they may contain, and the objectionable objec-tionable water can be cased off. The style and size of pump will be determined by the depth to water and quantity that can be developed. |