Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1873-02-05
UndergrOMnI Irriolfinn

Every farmer knows that the alluvial
soils, composed as they usually are, of
slllclous materials, when lying only a
few feet above the surface of the water,
are seldom afflicted by drouth, and as
a rule sandy loans extending to good
depth below the surface, also stand dry
weather better, than when resting upon
lmpervious clays near the surface.
For this reason probably the alluvian
of the California valleys, boarding on
streams, stands drouths to an extraor-
binary degree. A simple circumstance
has suggested to a California farmer
underground irrigation. In summing
up its advantages, the Pacific Rural
Press says:
Every farmer, gardner or nursery
man, Will at once see and comprehend
the reasons why water applied, say one
foot below the surface, will do more
good to growing plants of all kinds
than it applied on the surface of the
soil. These reasons may be stated
briefly as follows: It induces the roots
to work downward to meet it, thus
giving them a deeper and better hold
on the soil and enabling them to secure
a greater amount of the plant-sustain-
ing elements. Water thus applied
softens up and loosens the whole
ground, and does not, like water ap-
piled to the surface, induce a crust to
form on the surface. Much less water
will be needed if applied underground
than If applied on the surface, because
the evaporation will be less. There
can be no danger of sun scaldlng plants
thus irrigated, while this is the great
drawback or danger attending surface
irrigation III the summer.
"For the proof of what we say, we
Will give the following facts: II, Clark.
OF Sacramento, about half a mile east
OF Suffers fort site, has piece of land
Familiarity known III that neighborhood
as harp-pan land. The soil is a stiff
adobe, some Of it pretty sticky clay of
reddish cast, and not over ten inches
deep. He has been trying to grow an
orchard and garden on this land for a
number OF years, by surface irrigation,
with very poor success, Indeed, his
efforts for garden may be said to have
been failure. Last season he noticed
a small strip of peas which he had
planted, were growing very thrifty, and
matured good crop, while all the rest
OF the peas, planted at the same time,
and cultivated and irrigated, so far as
he could see, i'll the same manner pro-
duced nothing.
lie determined to know the cause
of this strange fact, and commenced an
exploration with the shovel. He soon
developed a gopher hole about a foot
underground, running parallel with
and very nearly under the row of peas.
that had proved so much more thrifty
and prolific than the balance. Into this
hole the water had penetrated, and
from hence had worked it's way up to
the roots Of the peas, which had also
penetrated deep into the soil to meet it.
This suggested to Mr.. Clark new
idea, underground irrigation, and he
Immediately determined to put this
idea to a practical test. This season
has afforded him an excellent oppor-
tunlty to do SO. Being a manu-
facturel Of crockery and various kinds
OF earthen and tile pipe, he made up
lot Of the latter with two inch bore in
pieces one foot each IN length. His
trees were in rows sixteen feet apart
He dug trench about foot deep in
the center between these rows. In
these trenches he buried his pipe, lay
ing the pieces end to end,s leaving the
ends the eighth of an inch apart. Over
these little broken joints or openings
he threw pieces of broken crockery, so
as to permit water to run out and pre-
vent the earth from working in. Across
one end of the piece 50 laid with pipes,
he set pieces of the same kind, and
ength upright, so that each upright
pipe connected with the end of one
Inc Of horizontal He then dug an