Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (March 26, 1911)
PAGE SIX MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, OREGON, SUNDAY, MARCH 26, 1911. '- i ? i m : ) tt rf ' g M&J3 ir-or-iti On the Cost of Irrigation by Electrically Driven Pumps From Transmission Services ,', fl HY W. r. WIIEEL.ER. 'ty.. ' When a transmission Hj'Btcm ar- , J Vivos at that Inovltahlo Btagc of do- 1 voloprnent wherein It reaches Into 'outlying farming coninitinltlps for the purpose of building up n pump ing load aH well as of developing the productiveness of the country that Is to be tributary to Its lines, the question that is most frequently ash ed is: "What will It cost to Irrigate an acre of land with water pumped by electrical power?" To answer this question with any closo dogroe of accuracy requires an Intimate knowledgo of tho conditions which prevail regarding several fac tors namely, tho cost of power, the ebaractor of tho lands to bo Irrigat ed, and the depth from which the water must be raised. My own ex perience Is mainly confined to the territory covered by tho transmis sion circuits of tho Northorn Cal ifornia Power companay, operating in that portion of the northorn part of the Sacramento valley continue in portions of Shasta, Tehama and Cllpnn counties In northern Callfor nla, an experience which this paper reflects. In tho popular mind Irrigation im piles a gravity or surface catchment for delivering water to tho land, but in recent years pumping has become moro and more recognized by origin eers as the most economical moans for supplying wator for nil Irrigat ing purposes, and It Ib destined to grow In importance, ns tho cost of power becomes less through tho de velopment of transmission enter prises. Lands Hint llo beyond tho economic roach of gravity supplies of wntcr aro often entirely reclalma- blo by pumping, and numerous enses exist whore both rj'bIoiiih nro avail able for use, but In practically every case tho advnntago as to cost and operating expense Is found to bo on tho sldo of tho pumping plant. Tho vagaries of tho wind make tho wind mills unreliable, gasollno engines, though very efficient as to fuel con- sumption, roqulro great caro and itro expensive to Install, steam power Is not to bo considered except In largo ( units becniiBO of tho heavy first cost and tho oxponso or oponuion ami at tendance, but with electric powor rests every advnntago In cheapness of Installation and operation. Those plants require practically no nttond nnco and tho powor Is rollnblo. Of tho many types of pumps avail able and in uso for irrigation tho most common porlmps Ib the cen trifugal pump, which Is made on the l'aclflc coast In standard sizes rang ing from two Inches to fifteen Inches lu suction and discharge pipe ilium-etei-H, and on special order can bo Hindu In any slzo required. The first cust for a complete olortrlc motor and contrlfugal pumping plant will (lopond on the bIzo of tljo plant and tho typo of motor used. For small plants capable of Irrigating one hun dred neros or less, tho first cost will ujmully range rrom twolvo dollars to fifteen dollars per Irrigated aero, while tho cost of oporatlon will be found to vary from two dollars and goventy-flvo cents to three dollars mid seventy-five cunts per Irrigated a (! in. lu this connection It will be or In (vruHt to refer to nn ostlinuto recently untile by the United States geologi cal survey for an extensive pumping syttBin designed to Irrigate some 100,001) ncros of land lu the San oqiilii valley of California. This ultimate indicated tho first cost of Uih plant to bo about four dollars pur aeru, and th annual cost of op eration and maintenance to be fifty cents per aero-foot, or approximate ly oiiu dollar per year per acre Irrl tfiitud. When It Is boruu lu niliid that thu average cost of Installation of gravity supply systems lu California ia been about thirteen dollars per Hero, and that the annual chaige for Irrigation uvui-ukcm ouu dollar and Blxty cents per ncie, the great poM bllllloti or pumping can be appreciat ed. The circuits of the Northern Cal ifornia Power company eteud down Uiu Sacramento valley from Redding its far as Vina lu Tehama couiit on the oust sid or the Sacramento rlv or, and Willows, dlenn count v on tho west Hide, and as a general state lliont It may bo said that within Huh griwt district laud can be irrigHtcir for onu hundred dsys. which coxeisj Jio period of the year during which irlgnlluii Is nwwMMiy. at a cost of Iwo dollars and fifty-four cents per aero. In this tuw wtor which will ho distributed U equivalent to a twuiity-four-inch rainfall. This estl lliato is based on ulir being lifted from n dopth of thirty feet to Irri gate n tract of one hundred acres of land, and tho expenditure neeoksnn for doing so would amount to fifteen dollars an acre for the Installation of ii centrifugal pump Ulmt-ilrluui b a flftoon-horso-power Induction mo tor. The cost for Kwer for iIiIh pe riod of ono hundred da In the ter ritory dtiflnod, s at the rate of thlr- l-flv ilollnra Iiur hojt-iowi'r-eiu llcally nothing. In fairness, however, due cognizance mtiBt he taken for the Interest on the money Invested and as the cost peracre for a pumping plant to Irrigate a ono-hundred-acro tract Is fifteen dollars, tho Interest on this Investment for one year at six per cent Is ninety cents. This amount should bo ndded to tho two dollars and fifty-four cents paid for power, making the totnl cost per acre for tho Irrigation necessary dur ing ono year to be three dollars and forty-four cents. If to this ho add ed tho very liberal estimate of six cents jtcr acre for Incidentals, the total cost will not bo far from three dollars and fifty cents per ncro per year. Some specific Instances will prove cenvincing: At Redding there Is n pumping plant consisting of n flfty-horse-power typo G Westlnghouso In duction motor, belted to an eight Inch horizontal centrifugal Jnckson iiiinin that dollvers eighty miners' Inches of water per square Inch, and with a suction lift of fifteen foot through 1500 feet of eight-Inch riv eted pipe. This plant supplies wii tor for gardens, orchards and nl fulfil lauds, and tho wator is sold at the rato of ton cents per Inch per twon-ty-iour-hours service. About one inllo south of Redding a Bovon and ono-half-horso-powor typo G Induction motor, bolt drives a four-Inch Jackson centrifugal pump of tho vortical towor typo, which lirts 27H galloiiB or water a minute to n holght or twonty-Boven root for tho Irrigation of twonty-flvo acrcB of al falfa, This plant wns Installed about thrco years ago and tho owner ir authority for the statoment that dur ing the first year or Its operation the Increased productiveness or tho lnnd, because or Irrigation, enabled him to cloar enough thororrom to pay for ono-half or tho first cost of tho plant lu nddltlon to his yearly powor bill amounting to $175, About ono inllo furthor down tho Sacramento river a somewhat similar plant Is being Installed. This plant consists or a tcn-horse-powcr typo C motor belted to n No. 5 Gould cen trHugal pump which will lift water to a height or thirty-two foot for tho Irrigation of firtecn acres or al falfa and six acres or garden land. At Anderson tho Rellevno Irriga tion company Is operating a fifty-, horse-power typo C induction motor, which Is direct-connected to a ton inch Krough "Patented California pump" having n doublo eight-Inch suction and a ten-Inch discharge opening, This equipment, which Is securely anchored to bedrock, Is plac ed over tho water on a platform that Is eight feet abovo tho low-water mark. Tho two suction pipes project about three root below tho surface of low water and are surrounded by floating wooden platrorrns, tho pur pose or which Ib to prevent tho for mation of whirlpools and tho suck ing of air Into tho pump. Tho dls chargo pipe, which Is eighteen Inches In diameter and firty-four feet long, Is made of No. 10 stool with flanged Joints bolted together and connected to the pump by means of a taper Joint. This plant shows nn effici ency of sovonty-two per cent and discharges 189.8 cubic feet or water per nilniito Into a largo wooden box locatod at tho head or tho ditch load ing to tho reservoir. This ditch Is 1800 root In length, and for n dis tance or GOO root It Is built up eight feet abovo tho ground. Its grado Is one-eighth of nn Inch to tho rod, and measures sovcu feet across tho top, four feet across tho bottom, with a dopth ot threo and one-half root. Tho reservoir, which Is nearly circular In rorm with a dlamotor of 200 feet, was formed by scraping up dirt and throwing It up Into a levee, and when filled IioIiIb approximately 1(10, 000 cubic root or water. Tho innln canal leading rroni tho resorvolr Is 7850 feot long, ton foot wido and rour reet deep, and at Its lower end thero are throe measuring boxes each feeding Interal ditches for distributing wa tor over some 400 acres of prune or chard and 100 acres of alfalfa. Wa ter from this system is sold at the rate of ton cents, Jjer miners' Inch, under a four-Inch pressure per twen ty hours. It may he added that In or nbout Anderson there arc several small pumping plants, ranging in ca pacity from one-half to two horse power. At Cottonwood there nrc also sev eral small plants of the sizes Inst In dicated, together with a number of others, one of which consists of a rive-horse-power Wagner single-phase motor belted to a three-inch vortical ccntritugal pump or Krough manu facture, which lifts 215 gallons or water per minute to a total height or twenty-six root through a six-Inch casing pipe about forty feet long. This pump Irrlgntcs twenty-six acres or alfalfa, and last year tho total cost or jiowor ror Its oporatlon was $05.40. At Red Bluff a thlrty-horse-powcr typo C Induction motor operates by belt connection an ancient type or five-inch Jackson contrlfugal pump which Is used for tho Irrigation of 135 acres of orchard lands. Tho plant raises 315 gallons of wator forty-eight foot through 900 foot of ton-Inch pipe, and last year tho cost of powor for Its operation was $314.11. Sovoral pumping plants nro to ho found at Red Illnff, but perhaps the most Interesting consists of a seven and ono-hnlf-horso-powor Wagner single-phase motor which Is belted to a No. 2 1-2 Fulton power head ror the operation of a 'cylinder five by olghty Inches In size. This cylin der Is jdnced clghty-nlno foot from the top of tho well which was bored by the county of Tehama for experi mental purposes with tho Idea or as certaining if It wcro possible to ob tain artesian wntcr. Originally the well was drilled to a dopth of 1375 root, hut as a nntiirnl Mow of water was not obtained nt that dopth, It was decided to open out tho well with dynamite. Owing to nn accident, however, tho charge wont ofr prema turely In the neighborhood of 500 feet from the top, with tho result that Its depth la now only 475 feet, but It gives nn unlimited supply of water. It is n ten-inch bored well 'with Bteol casing. Threo miles below Rod Bluff on the Sacramento river thero is a twen- ty-horse-power induction motor which drives by direct-connection a Krough contrlfugal pump that lifts 1600 gallons of water per minute to a height of twenty-six feet with n total or over all efriclency of sixty nine per cent. This plant Irrigates eighty acres of alfalfa; It runs ap proximately eight days during each tlvo wooks, and tho land It Irrigates raises annually seven crops of alfalfa at a cost or $185 per year for power. At Tehama there are Beveral small plants most of which nrc for domes tic and household uses, but ono of them Is worthy of special note In that It consists of n three-horse-power Wagner slngle-phaso motor driv ing by direct-connection a Gould triplex plunger pump which supplies the town with water. At Coming thero nro In particular two ten-horse-power plants each of which furnishes water for tho irri gation of orange groves, each motor being of tho induction typo and con nected to Its respective pump by bolt ing. In the first installation a tower typo Byron Jackson two iind one-half-inch pump lift water a total of 135 feot through lines of throe-Inch red wood pipe, each 1100 feet long, whence the water Is delivered to a reservoir from which It flows by gravity over n forty-acro orange tract. The cost of power for tho op eration or this plnnt Inst year was $225. In tho second plant a three Inch centrirugnl pump of tho hori zontal shaft typo lifts wator to a height of slxty-rivo feet through 350 feet of five-Inch standard screw-Iron pipe Into a concrete resorvolr forty feet long, thirty feet wide and twelve feet deep, whence It Is drawn through ditches for tho Irrigation of thirty acres of orango land. In this plant last year the cost ot power was $223.15. At Coming and Orland thero are sonic twenty-odd electric pumping plants which rnngo In capacity rrom one-hnir horse-power up to sovon and one-half horse-powor and nrc used for various purposes, Biich as water ing stock, Irrigating orchards, berry patches, vegetal)) gardens, lawns, and for general household purposes. Why electrically driven pumps are not moro generally used In irrigation when the service. Is rendered at such comparatively light cost of Installa tion nnd operation, Is beyond com prehension, particularly when the great Increase In productiveness which resuta thercrrom Is taken Into consideration. It has been suggested that a favorable Hold for a business enterprise exists In encouraging Irri gation by means of electric power through the organization of a com pany that will Install electric pump ing plants to bo paid far under easy terms out or the guaranteed Increas ed production or the land. That such an enterprise would bo protltablo Is not to be doubted, far while thero Is so much rain In tho upper Sacramen to valley, for instance, that farmers and orchnrdlstB can raise fair crops without Irrigation, this very fact has deterred them rrom Investigating the big profits to bo made by Irrigating their orchards and Holds. Even If they do understand the great bene fits to bo derived from Irrigation, they scorn to rest content In tho be lief that some day somo million-dollar company or the government will undertake tho great enterprise of building a canal to convey water from tho river to their bench lands. This day dream will not be realized for years, nnd In the meantime their proHts are by no means thoso which would accrue wore modern engineer ing methods Impressed In their serv ice. By Irrigating by electrical pow er each small land holder can own an Independent Irrigation system tho cost ot which may bo accurately de termined before its Installation, and similarly Its profits can be closely predetermined. There la no hazard. Tho housewife who rends ads nnd buys advertised things has the sat isfaction of patronizing enterprising nnd progressive merchants, ns well as the satisfaction of saving money something on every purchnso sho makes. Hnsklnc for Henlth Closing Out We have GO tons of hay; also ton ' tons of barley. Don't stop at tho West Side, but como to tho corner or Grapo and Eighth. Phono G402. Rcsldcnco phono G941. A. B. Tull "talent Real Estate FOR SALE Good business opportunities and lo cations, all paying. TEDDY'S DAMSITE Isn't In it with our LANDSITE. For instance, a 1000-acro tract containing over 200 acres or tho fa mous Bear creek bottom land, in al falfa, and extending to tho higher land, which is set to orchards In part, all the land being good fruit land. Some of the land Is now In bear ing trees and may bo purchased at reasonable tlgurcs, tho alfalfa land with a good stand or alfalfa for $270 to $350 per acre; young orchards, good stand. $250 per acre, and grain land at $175 per acre. This Ib an "Ideal" tract for a col ony, as It would cut up Into small or large places to an advantage, or may bo purchased In 10, 12, 20, 40, 50 and GO-acro or any slzo trlcts. Easy terms given at low Interest. Located three miles from Ashland and one mile from Tnlont, Or. A 71-acro tract 2& miles West Tal ent, good 8-room house and largo barn; 8 acres under ditch and In al falfa and garden land; 34 acres un der plow, and trees; 20 acres of or chard, of which 5 acres aro In bear ing; telephone and R. F. D.; hnlf cash, balance good terms nnd eaBy payments. For plenty of other bargains call or address G, A. Gardner TAIENT, OREGON. MaiMaaaaftaaaiMaiaaftaaaaia l t A Showing of 1911 Merchandise Worthy Your Most Critical Inspection (live ns a look on our Trunks, Suit Cases and Bags Leather Suit Cases $4.00, $5.50, $0.50, $8.00 and $10. j52$35yi Twice the Wear Our Shoe Dept. is full of tho best values to bo bad. Re member, wo bandlo only tho solid leath er kind. Now lasts, now toes, best ma terials, best fitters. Try us. Ladies' Muslin Drawers of dainty materials, neatly trimmed with lace or embroidery, at 33c, 50c, 60c, 85c and $1.00. Little Folks and Big Folks Clothing in Abundance Just received 1'rom America's best tailors. Glen's Suits of pure wool fabrics, made to fit and hold their shape, $8.50, $9.50, $10.00, $12.50, $16.50, $18.00, $20.00, $25.00, $30.00. AVo are handling an extraordinarily high class line of Ladies' Undermuslins cut full measure of the best materials, dain tilv trimmed and, best of all, moderatelv priced. lira I Patent Finger-Tipped Silk Gloves 50c up We sell Kaysorplovf at the price of the poorckt. Y t they outwear common j,lnvrs twu ever. I..iytr gloves k" thro-i ' fi.iy operation to att.nn tlie rrleitioii yuu sco, "Kaytcr" lu every hrm. Wo are showing an extremely swell line of Ladies' Suits in tans, grays, navy, mixtures and blacks. A dandy pure wool Suit $11.90 Others $13.50, $15.00, $17.50, $20.00, $22.50, $25.00, $30.00, $35.00, $40.00. COPITWM 1911 . ItK rloutecl KuppeobeuDcf QuCAgQ Clothingj Clothing!! Clothing!!! I Dry Goods for Less A beautiful line of India Linon at 7c, 10c, 12c, 15c, 20c, 25c and 35c. Best Amoskeag Apron Gingham, 8 l-3c. Best Prints, 5c. Draperies, 8 l-3c to 45c. 72x90 Bed Sheets, 49c; others 75c, 85c, 90c. Ask About Our Profit Sharing Plan ....THE GOLDEN RULE.... St Marks Block AKINS, BENTON & CO. mm tho rur innintui.H.M.. ,, Yrrrrrrrryr,rrryrri,rr.,rrrrr.aYrYr.r,.llrYrrrrr .ei...d..e,ei....Yrrrrrr.',y''i,'u'irTrvTjfuuiruuuMM -! '