The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1894-08-17

Last Saturday the court house was
filed to oyerfiowing by the people of
Sherman county who came out to hear
what the farmers who took in the Gar
den City excursion had to say about
irrigation. The large attendance shows
to what extent the interest in this all
important branch of western agricul-
ture hasassumed in the past few months
and which argues well for the future of
our county. As our eye wandered over
that vast audience of farmers, their
wives and children. showing the marks
OF toll which has profited them so little,
a people hungry for the shade, fruits,
flowers and comforts of their former
eastern homes, it made picture never
to be forgotten, and causing every one
who viewed it to VOW to do all in their
power to alleviate the conditions of our
yeomen and assist them to make our
county an oasis upon which to feast
their eyes, starving for the green foliage
and grasses of more favored sections.
Hon. a. B. Montgomery, the father of
irrigation in this county and the pro-
moter of the excursion, first appeared
on the subject "Can Sherman County
be Irrigated and at What Cost" He
gave a synopsis of the trip and the
methods of irrigation at Rocky Ford
and Garden City. He is confident that
Sherman county can be as successfully
irrigated by means of pumping as Fin
ney county On the bottom lands a
plant costing $50 would irrigate 20
acres, and on the divides one costing
$3.50 would irrigate 10 acres. He is
going to erect a plant on the town site
of Goodland and irrigate 10 acres next
summer. The supply of water beneath
us, he thought, uneXhauStible and suf-
ficient to irrigate every foot of tillable
soil in the county.
G. r. Shook next spoke on the same
subject He agreed with Monty that
irrigated, Sherman county would be a
success. That any man who had mill
and well could irrigate from one to
three acres, as a starter. That to begin
on a small way and increase the plant
as knowledge of irrigation increased
was the best plan. The only difficulty
Sherman county had to encounter was
getting the water to the surface, which
could be overcome by new inventions
and industry. In soil, climate, quality
Of water, health and railroad facilities
we were a head OF Garden City and he
saw no reason why Sherman county
could not be made as beautiful by irri-
CATION as Finney county.
'"Ihe Pump for Irrigation" was treated
by Major William Thompson. He
would guarantee to put in plant that
would irrigate 10 acres for 5000. The
best pump for deep wells, in his OPP
iniOn, was the Meetheny pump, which
will do double the work of any other at
very little extra power. George Hess
was to appear on the same subject, but
could not on account of sickness.
Mr. M. B. Tomblin read an able paper
on Reservoir and Ditch, which we re-
greet our inability to secure for publica-
ton, but which will appear in some
later issue of THE REPUBnIC.
''Does Irrigation Increase Rainfall?'
was ably treated by w. II. Proctor. He
thought that a small area of irrigated
land would not materially affect the
amount OF rainfall, but if general it
certainly would. By pumping and hold
ing water in reservoirs, in his opinion,
would create deWS which is one very
important thing that this county lacks
@. A. HaywOrth made a short talk on
Forest and Ornamental Trees" The
most that he saw on the trip was cot
tOnwood and catalpa trees. They were
used by the farmers as a wind break
for their orchards and gardens. Prop
erly put out and we'll watered they
would do as we'll here as there. They
grow very fast under favorable condi-
tions. Making plenty of shade in the
third or fourth year.
1.-THE Orchard by Irrigation" was sue
cessfully handled by II. S. Groves. He
told the methods of raising fruit at
Garden City. At all the places visited
they saw loads of all kinds of fruit.
Apple and plum trees 4 years old bear
ing literally loaded, the plum trees
averaging about two bushels and the
apples about 10 bushels They irrigate
almost entirely in the winter, as lack OF
water in the Summer produced fruit
buds which caused the crop the follow
ing season. He showed branches cut
from the trees at Garden City, which
were breaking with the weight of the
fruit. A 6-inch branch of an apple tree
had nine full grown apples attached. A
12-inch plum twig which had % plums
and another of "a inches which had %
plums. Apple trees, 4 years old, were
from 81 to "a inches in circumference.
He told the farmers what he had learn
ed about the best plans of setting out
an orchard and concluded by showing
reasons why he thought Sherman coun-
ty could be successful as fruit-raising
country by means of irrigation.
L. M. Simmons treated the subject
Small Fruits by Irrigation" He said
that he never saw so much raised on
an acre of ground as he did at Garden
City. At one one place he saw a row
of asparagus, 100-yards long, from which
S125 worth had been sold. Gooseberries.
raspberries and blackberries produced
about two gallons per bush. At his
home near Ruleton he had raised by ir-
rigation as good plums trees as he saw
at Garden City and was confident that
every farmer could have all the small
fruit he needed and some to sell if they
would irrigate.
John Bray made a good talk on "Al-
falfa and Other Grasses by Irrigation. -
To the uninitiated his stories of the
alfalfa yield seemed too much to believe.
but all who made the trip coroborated
him in every particular He told of al
falfa still in the shock with the second
growth two feet high around it. OF
farmers cutting the first growth in one
end of the field and the second crop
ready for cutting in the other end. Al
falfa yields from seven to eight tons to
the acre and the seed crop averages
about 10bushels and is never less than
So per buShel. He saw a five acre field
of alfalfa upon which 60 hogs and 40
pigs had made a living all summer, and
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