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Show I RESERVOIR FOR DRY FARMS For Gardening and Other Purposes It Is Well to Make Careful Study of Storage Places. A number of small dams, as well as bigger ones, constructed under the lusttrlnttHidunue of engineers, have gone out this spring, and much water run to waste. Whim it comes to the case of damming up the ordinary array ar-ray or dry creek that merely waa a heavy flood when a large area bus become be-come saturated beyond Its holding capacity, ca-pacity, It must be recognized that we are endeavoring to accomplish something some-thing very difficult. If not la soma eases Impossible, unless the dam can be made to act as an overflow weir In times of sudden flood or a point of diversion provided higher up, for the flood watera have and will again need the whole space across the draw tor their Sow. Having tn view, however, 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 atudy of all plaoea where water can be stored and to aoe If the natural dlfflcultlea cannot can-not be overcome. Rock la, as a rule, scarce upon the plains and concrete la expensive, and Ita succeas largely dependent on the solidity of Its base approaches and overflows from the dam. often necessitating long and expensive ex-pensive aprona which may become undermined and fail. In a dry country the soil Is so absorbent ab-sorbent that It takea a large drainage drain-age area In normal years to prevent sny flow and yet only yesterday I aaw a gravelly soil become saturated on a side hlil In forty-five minutes to the point of producing a turn oft on land plowed eight Inchea deep and the drainage area was only 150 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 treea had been planted, soil taken for use In other pieces and so forth. Borne of tha holes filled and overflowed. Soma absorbed the water In accordance with the amount of the clay mixed with the gravel. Only a few of them abaorbed all the water where the soli bad been removed and It fell on straight gravel with the furrows around the lower part of the lota, ths small space, 200 feet by 150 feet, managed man-aged to practically absorb all the rain and hall, but It couldn't hold any more than the Inch and a half that fell; In fact did not take quite all of that. The reasons why land will take a cubic foot of water under Irrigation Irriga-tion and be soaked with an Inch and a half of rain till a run oft occurs need not be gone Into here. The point Is how are we going to Intercept Inter-cept some of this water for future use at a reasonable outlay. In the Bret place the dam must be made aa solid aa possible, not be piled up as straight as It will stand ready to wash and settle so soon as stress la put upon It and In the next place It should be provided with a very ample am-ple flow pipe leading water far enough away from the foot of the dam aa It will not cut back during the storm period, causing the dam to fall. The lower end of the flow pipe should be led Into a ditch, when possible, possi-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 allows al-lows the rain to run off, as may be seen under any Irrigation ditch; but the main point, so far aa the reservoir reser-voir Is concerned. Is to lead It to point where It will not cut back. Where a diversion of the supply cannot can-not be accomplished above the dam In time of flood. It Is sometimes possible pos-sible to lead a ditch down either aide of a draw and carry off the water, filling the reservoir from spillwaya or allowing It to fill only so much as It will from the more restricted drainage drain-age area. The trouble with thla plan la that the ditches themselves are vrey liable to break, so when the draw la of an extended area. It la better to aee If a series of small ditches, cheaply made with a plow, which disturbs dis-turbs the ground little, cannot be given, giv-en, says balf the general fall of the ground, to lead the water clear of the reservoir In times of heavy flood. There are a good many ways In which water can be circumvented besides building an unprotected obstruction ob-struction across its natural flow, to be periodically washed out |