Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-09-24
j. p. STEELE. EDITOR.

DESTROYS of making up their minds as to
whether or not irrigation would pay even
in a so considered humid region of country.
In our former article we mentioned an ex-
tensive building called by Mr.. Hastings his
s'cuke house" ''Cuke'' means cucumber
il. Florida. In this ''cuke house. Mr.. Hast
ings raises cucumbers and other tender
vegetables throughout the winter, protect
ing them from freeze by letting in artesian
Tho ''cuke house" is simply large green
horse warmed by artesian water instead of
furnaces. AS to the cost of such house as
his q65 feet long and twenty-five feet
wide, Mr.. Hastings says it is not above
sl7G0, al complete, in Florida. 1t would
cost little more in Eastern or Northern
Texas, owing to the higher price of lumber,
but tho difference ls-uld not be very great
on account of the fact that in carpenters
work, common labor, sash and glass lies by
far the heaviest cost, and these things rate
as low in Texas as in Florida.
Mr. Hastings finds his ''cuke house a
paying institution most decidedly. He
raises an English variety of the long green
cucumber, which grows more than one foot
in length, and from one and a half TO two
and a half inches in diameter. 1t develops
to perfection in his ''cuke house" through
out the winter One cucumber cut up will
serve several persons abundantly at meal.
Coming fresh from the vines, as they do,
MIR. Hastings can get almost any price he
has the conscience to ask for them. So
great was the demand for them last winter
that he could not fill one-tentE of the orders
sent in from the various Florida hotels.
Early cabbage, caulif1ower, tomato plants
and so on bring in fine additional revenue
to the ''cuke house,
Mr.. Hastings does not give the rate of
flow from his artesian well. If we remem-
Der Alright it is five-inch well, and since
the lift is only thirty feet, as Mr. Hastings
states, its flow cannot be anything so large
as that of our natatorinm well in Fort
Worth and many other wells in the Fort
Worth Waco artesian area; and yet Mr..
Hastings finds his well affording ample
water for perfectly irr:glting from eighty
to one hundred acres of land under truck
farming, besides protecting his 'cuke
house from cold in winter.
On account of having hosts of new sub
scribers who did not read The GAZETTE
some months ago, it might be well for US to
go over how Mr.. Hastings protects his
plants by his artesian well. The ''cuke
house, is merely large, plain house with
-. -. H., ..Io
The plants are set in boxes or bins running
the long way of the house, their bottoms
elevated from six to twelve inches above
the floor, which last is simply the natural
earth .leveled off and pounded down to
firmness. The house sits with one end near
the well, and its floor slopes gently to-
wards the other end. When the outside
temperature falls below the freezing point
the water of the well is turned into the
''cuke house, and allowed to flow in thin
sheet all over its floor" to the furthest
end, so long as the blizzard lasts. The
house is tightly closed, of course, and the
higher temperature of the water keeps the
interior warm enough to protect the plants,
even when the outside temperature is from
fifteen to twenty dogs. or more below freez-
ing.
And allow US to here put in a few words
relative TO the possibility of such protec-
ton from artesian wells in the Fort Worth
Waco artesian area, say at Fort Worth.
Mr.. Hastings well is only 339 feet deep,
and therefore the temperature of the water
flowing from it could not be above 90 deg
F., and yet it protects tender plants from
an outside temperature of l. dogs. above
zero, as was proved by test last winter
The temperature of our natatorium well is
about so dogs. +. 1t must be plain 10 all rea-
sonable persons that with such au arrange
nent as Mr.. Hastings has the natatorium
well would protect tender plants to perfec-
ton even with an outside temperature fully
Down TO zero. OF course we never expect
any such outside temperature here, but
here is no harm in showing up our capa-
Oilities were it necessary TO make use of
them.
Mr.. Hastings has in his ''cuke house,
four beds o. boxes reaching the long way of
he building-l5O feet each in length. Upon
hese he plants his cucumbers two feet
apart; one strong plant to the hill. The
plants are trained on wires to within fifteen
inches of the glass roof-the cucumbers
lang down from the vines. The yield is
In his open-air culture Mr. Hastings has
lad fine results from irrigation. His to-
nato crop has been something wonderful to
ook upon this year. He confines his oper-
atoms mainly to understanding, making one |
,rop lap onto another the season round, |
hough ne has this year done considerab BILE |
n upland rice. 1t takes no more water for |
upland rice than for other crops, and the |
Weld is so heavy as to make the crop en- |
irely profitable. The straw gives him a |
valuable feed for his stock. After cutting |
MS main crop, second growth about two
and half feet high springs from the stub |
Die which also makes a superior forage. |
He buys no hay-the rice gives him every |
hing he needs IN that line. His present |
fall crop is Irish potatoes and turnips. A |
little later and he will be sowing Bermuda |
onions, sud starting his celery plants.
SCIENTIFIC FARMING.
m