The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-10-06
Irrigation for strawbarries.

put up an extensive plant in Illinois, for
she purpose of trying irrigation on straw
berries and other things, says q writer in
the Farm and Fireside. My well, 1O4 feet
deep, inexhaustible. was ON the highest point
on my place. The water was pumped up by
wind power into large tanks. where it was
allowed to become of the warmth of the air
before using. IL was conveyed by pipes to
the strawberry beds, and was applied both
by running it between the rows and by
showering overhead. The results ia either
case were not nearly SO good as l had an
tlcipated, but very much the better where
the water was applied between the rows.
Where it was showered on the plants from
above, there was too much disease-rusts
aud blightS. Where run between the rows,
there was but little more of these than on
plants not irrigated. 1t is true, l got a
much larger andlonger season Of fruit from
the irrigated plants,
And here comes in point that was quite
mysterious to me at first, but / believe |
| have 1t studied out correctly now. 1t is
| this:
One season l was irrigating some plants
| that were rooted over to prevent their tops
| foliage from wet. 1t was u season when
there seemed to be fully sufficient rain for
| Strawberries. The surplus water from the
| above plants ran down quite freely into
| bed Of Strawberries just below. Those
| where the water reached them made an i'm
| mense crop OF very large berries. NV ex-
PLANTATION OF this is, that the pressure of the
atmosphore-state cf barometer, as we term
it-has a great deal to do vita the size of
Strawberries and most other fruits When
| the barometer is low. therefore the air pres
| sure less, the berries swell out big. When
| the air pressure Is above normal, they can
| not do this.
l irrigated Strawberries one season when
| it was very dry. The berries on the irri-
gated plants were but very little larger than
| on those where water was not used, though
there vera many more of them. Toward
| the end of the season there came a light
| sprinkle of rain, with quite a low barometer
| for time, when the berries on the irrigated
patch swelled out wonderfully large, while
it seemed to injure rather than help those
not irrigated Therefore, it follows that we
| can pump the water in, but we cannot pump
up the low barometer to give us big ber-
| ries.
Strawberries and raspberries are irrigated
| here in California by flowing the water in
| burrows between the rows the plants grow
ing on slight rides, and the secret of their
wonderful and long continued healthy pro-
ductiveness here is that their foliage is sell
dom wet except by dews, aud these are gen
orally dissipated in the morning while the
sun is obscured by fog; therefore, their
| foliage is, as rule, very healthy.
In fact, the tender European straw berries,
that are generally worthless east from
foliage disease, do finely here. And one
other thing, the reasons foc which l have not
| studied out as yet, the berries here swell out
as they do east under very low barometer,
no odds how fair and dry the weather may
| be. ~s
the strawberries seem to be peculiarly
adapted to climates with but very little rain
| fall, in casa their roots can have moisture
enough. Therefore, the proper way Of irri-
| eating them is first by running water be-
| tween the rows; second, aud by far the best,
| subirrigation, combined with thorough I'M
derdrainage. This seems best for nearly
every tree or plant on which it has been
tried, not only because it gives the growing
| plant, every moment of its life, exactly the
right amount of moisture for the best re-
suits, no more or no less, but also because it
| prevents, so far as possible, moisture in
contact with toe foliage, entirely so in rain
less summer climates like California; it also
permits Of the surface Of the soil being dry,
for my experiments in Illinois proved that
the near presence of moisture in the fur
rows generated foliage disease
| | had said in my articles that sabirriga-
tion combined with undertakings was I'M
doubtedly the best for all climates. 1t is
very expensive in the start, but If put in
right. think il would pay better than buy
| ing United States 5 per cent. bonds at 30
cents on the dollar. II the water can be
| had and brought to the land cheaply, sur
face irrigation will pay well, applied to
| strawberries and many other crops all over
the prairie states and nearly everywhere
else, but subirrigatiou would pay hundred
fold better.