The Springdale news., 1889-12-06
SOUTHERN AGRICULTURAL.
Sub-lrrigated Gardens.


 ua, and the results achieved have been so satisfactory that the area of this method of culture is being largely and rapidly increased.
 By sub irrigation the cultivator be- comes ln great measure independent ot the weather It matters little to hlm whether the heavens give or with hold regular and sufficient supply of moisture. In the first case h1s irri- gatlng trenches carry off all supera- bundance of moisture, in the latter the supply Is kept up by artificial means; by the use of flowing wells or by pumps worked by steam, by hand, or by Windmils. The latter, however, develop so small an amount of power that they arc of very little use.
 A very small sub-irigated garden Is required to supply all the vegetables that can be used by d family. Some who have used them to grow vege- tables for sale, and have kept record of the quantities produced and sold, find on figuring up the results that their returns have exceeded tbe rate of two thousand dollars per acre. Fur thef, that large variety of vegetables can be successfully grown any month in the year, the constant supply of ma Hure giving q uniformity of growth | that in q great degree seems to dis pense with the usual effects of the diff ferent seasons of the year.
 One important feature of the method i is the fact that it emphasizes the i'm portance of intensive cultivation. It shows the folly of spreading one's self i out thin over ten acres, when much more satisfactory results can be se- cured from one acre, if the fertilizer and the effort be concentrated on the smaller tract. It brings in sharp con- trast the position of the gardener and the tiller Of the soil, the laborer on large fields. greatly to the advantage of the former. Success with small plots Of land means the multiplication of homes where plenty abounds
 Though sub-irrigated gardens can not fail to be of great benefit in all parts of Uncle Sans broad domains. South Florida is evidently the locality in which they will doubtless secure their highest development X few of the more pertinent reasons are that this section is exempt from destructive frosts nearly the whole year, there be- ing occasional exception, in December and January. but at no time suffi- ciently severe to injure hardy vegsta- bes; the temperature rarely going lower than 8 or 40 degrees Secondly, the several weeks of dry weather each spring and autumn make sub-irriga- tion a prime necessity to supply the daily needs of=the people as well as secure to the planter the most satis- factory practical results. They would also be of great advantage in produc- ing vegetables for shipment to sections locked fast in ice and snow, and also, in supplying canning factories at other seasons. Finally, they will tend to concentrate effort on smaller areas and greatly increase the wealth as well as the comfort of increasingly prosper ous communities.
 Varied modes are being adopted, the standard garden being about as fol- lows: Trenches four feet wide by 22 inches deep are dug across the garden II feet from center to center; in the bottom perfectly leyel'be of cement is laid, and the sider brought up four inches, making a trough four inches deep and level from side to side and end to end. When this has hardened it is given a thin coating of cement to make it absolutely water tight. This is then filled with shell. fragments of rock. or of wood or boards lX4 inches are set on edge about an inch apart and small spaces left between the ends that the water may pcrcolate freely. At intervals of few feet boxes made of six-inch boards arc set upright, reaching above the level Of the ground to give a supply of air. The shell, rock or boards are then covered with grass, palmetto leaves, bush. etc. and the trench filled with the earth removed, or with more fertile soil \ pipe connects each trench with the source of water sup ply, and the inhowing stream is reg uiated by stop-cock. An outlet is dlso provided to carry off all surplus water In case of continued wet weather the trenches act as drains; is there drought, the water in the cement reservoirs is drawn up by capillary attraction. and the plants are supplied at all times with the exact amount of moisture required The cost of the work is from $500 to $l. GOO per acre. Other plans and modifica- tions of this plan are being tried. of which may give an account in a future article Adams, in American Garden.