| Show SIPHON PLAN BEST Allows Water to Flow Gentl Gently Without Erosion By This Plan Ditch Banks Are Not No Disturbed and Harden Until There I It I. No Danger of a Break Break Soil Soil is I. Thoroughly Soaked I batt two seasons' seasons experience as an nn Irrigator In California before I tried in Idaho writes Miller Ul l er Purvis Purvis Purvis Pur Pur- vis In the Breeders Breeder's Gazette On tho the benches in tho the foothills of the coas coast range in northern California where tho soil Is a reddish clay we simply cut the ditch banks regulate the flow through the tho cut by laying two stones In the opening and land let the Water water wa wa- ter run for tor a day or two never thinking thinking think think- ing of erosion I tried this In Idaho and within a few tew minutes all the water water wa ter In the service ditch was going down one lateral and washing a IL deep channel through the ash aeh soil solI Then someone someone told me t that at the best way to do was to make a long like box-like tube by nailing the edges o of four tour plastering laths together and sink this In th the ditch bank I was told this would prevent the water from washing Its way into one lateral latera and make it possible to divide evenly the water among all the laterals In Inthe n the Held I made a lot of these lath boxes but they did not work on my ray kind of soil as the fields were too steep A couple of ot young chaps who remembered something about physics concluded that they could carry carry the water over the banks of ot the ditches In siphons They bought some ordinary ordinary nary three fourths of ot an Inch In bore cut It Into foot five lengths bent tho the pieces over a wagon wheel whee wheeland wheeland and tried them out Then they immediately immediately Imme imme- got busy making more siphons I 1 then tried the siphon plan and the water that came came down the service ditch became so gentle and obedient that it went weIlt wherever I wished In any anT quantity I wished and with the least possible erosion of ot the land I It gently flowed through the pipes anc and trickled tricked across the fields soaking the soil thoroughly without carrying more than a small quantity with It I have watched irrigators trying all sorts o ot of plans to prevent erosion In this soil sol but not one of ot them works so well as the siphons Necessarily my various service ditches must run down hill making a swift uri current which rapidly washes deep into the soil until the water In Inthe inthe inthe the ditch Is ot available To prevent prevent pre pro vent this we uso use canvas dams or checks These are widths of common canvas fastened to a strip They arE arti long enough to reach well wel across the ditch An Illustration shows the manner In which the canvas canvas canvas can can- vas Is fastened to the cross bar so as to allow surplus water to run out at the center of ot the tho ditch In using these checks the bar Is laid across I the he ditch the canvas as spread ad o on the h I bottom and a little earth along tho the edge Each check raises the level of ot the ditch kills the current current current cur cur- rent and prevents erosion also makIng making mak mak- ing lag It easier to use the tho siphons by raising the level of ot the water The same Illustration shows the tho siphons in use where two checks are close chose gether Just here the grade pitches I down quite e steeply and on the left leCt between between between be be- tween the two checks is shown the upper end of ot a ditch which runs steeply steep steep- ly down hill It was necessary to run the ditch here to get below the crater shown in another illustration and It will be seen how steep the land lies Iles To save wasting land the ditch was run around this pile of ot lava rock and com comps comes s to a dead end By raising the cross bar In one of the checks more water can be held back or lowering It will let more water through the opening in the check It was necessary sar gary sary to regulate the flow of at water very nicely If too little came down the siphons would draw the water out and stop If It too much came down the dead end of the ditch would over over- flow a By this system the ditch banks are not disturbed and soon harden until there is no danger of at a break breal By Dy putting the siphons in deeply or less less' deeply the flow of water they deliver can be regulated There Is no danger that the water will wash out the ditch bank where they are set and the flow Is so gentle that the light soil Is not carried down the tho ditch Cuts in the ditch bank ban must be filled fined as soon as one irrigation is finished lath ath boxes must be reset at ever every Ir Ir- ana and orten several times during durIng during dur dur- ing one irrigation but siphons can be bem m moved ved from place to place at any anytime anytime anytime time and are always ready to work worl Since they ha hae e been introduced hero more and more ranchers aro are putting them In |
