The Portland daily press., 1885-07-21
EXPERIMENTS IN IRRIGATION.
Which, it is Claimed, Will Revolution
ize Agriculture.

A year ago there were remarkable stories
current of experiments in subterranean irri-
CATION by A. n. Cole of Wellsville, western
New York. Mr. Cole claimed to have made
a discovery which was to revolutionize agri-
culture and obtained patent upon it, A
! few days ago party of 100 people visited
MIR. Coles home upon invitation to witness
| the results of his operation upon an expert
mental plot of something over two acres.
| The fruit says correspondent of The New
York Tribune was of astonishing size and
grew in great abundance. While l live in a
strawberry country, and am myself straw
berry grower, | cannot remember when
have seen so fine display of strawberries
growing upon the vines as | saw here There
were, however, evidence of high culture
Adjoining the strawberries were growing
different kinds of garden crops, also currants.
raspberries, blackberries, potatoes and few
fruit trees. At one point where the ground
was was terraced | noticed growing on the ragged
edge row of onions. | called attention to
tne fact that while these onions were on the
very brink there was no indication of their
beng disturbed by washing of the soil, as
might have been expected in such position.
In TACT everything showed that in no place
had the rainfall run down the surface as Or
dlnarlly, to the detriment of anything grow
ing thereon as the water passed into the
drains underlying.
We were next shown trenches in which men
were digging. These trenches run horizon
tally across the slope at depth of from five
to SIX feet, the distance apart depending on
the quantity of stOn removed from the soil in
digging, as Mr.. Cole depends entirelyI upon
the stone secured in this way. First there
are placed in the bottom of the trenches
about Is inches in depth of round stone, av-
eeraglng from six to eight inches in diameter.
InlS is covered with from four to six inches
OF small fiat stone, over which are thrown
the smaller stones which are found in ex-
cavatlng, then covering of straw, then earth
to common level. l should Judge the
trenches on Mr. Coles farm were about 20
feet apart. These main trenches have no
outlets like the ordinary drains, as they are
designed as reservoirs for the surplus water
that soaks into them from the surface. The
trenches are connected throughout the field
by shallow drains leading from the upper to
the lower trenches continuously, until the
last cross drain discharges the surplus water
into the highway gutter. The cross drains
are made smaller than the main trenches and
are simply deep enough to escape being dis
turbed by the plow. They are never so deep
within two or three feet as the main trench
es from which and to which they are laid.
Inc surface water goes into the main trench,
which retains it until full enough to dis
charge into the next lower trench, through
the shallow laterals, or until it is absorbed
by the growing plants, This is the founda-
ton OF the new agriculture
Mr.. Cole claims the following desirable re-
suits from his new method: a. The soil is
thoroughly drained, thus rendering an earlier
and later growth of plants possible, the
growing season being shortened 30 days. o.
All surface water is avoided, as the water de-
scendS to the trenches Immediately upon
falling, and the subsoil is softened 81
There is but little, if any, freezing during the
severest winter, therefore no loss by heaVing
OF frost. a. There is a permanent supply
OF moisture ready to be taken up by plant
growth as fast as it is needed. That there is
permanent supply he shows from the fact
that the lowest croSs-drain discharges a pure
stream OF water in the dryest season Thus
from the dry and barren hillside coae per-
petual streams and abundant verdure. Mr..
Cole estimates that it has cost him $500 per
acre to make his model of about two acres of
irrigated soil and that each acre thus i'm
proved Is worth $1,000. He claims it will pay
large dividends on such investments, owing
to the increased yield thus secured He
thinks he can grow 10 tons of hay per acre,
800 bushels of Strawberries, 200 or 800 bush
els of black raspberries, and other crops to
correspond, and that the size of the fruit will
SECURE cur more than ordinary prices.
The correspondent of the Tribune was
asked on every hand, what do you think Of
this New Agriculture n" | reply frankly
that, while consider that Mr.. Cole claims
TOO much, there appears to be in it much
that is novel and useful Others who try
similar experiments in different soils and To-
cations may not be able to obtain as good re-
suits. do not doubi that an acre of ground
can be made to yield an increased harvest by
tho new method, but whether it is a paying
investment is another question, and would
depend upon circumstances. For high gar
dening near large cities, where the subsoil
IS tenacious, it would doubtless be profitable,
For general field culture of common farm
crops, should hesitate to recommend it un-
great expense to be incurred.