Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1895-05-23

second to none. III peedB no bIBu-
ment to convince the average farmer
that with the change of climatic con-
ditions that confront us, and the
lower prices for all products together
with the increased demands OF the
people as they become better educat-
ed, land we might say more civilized(,
that the methods of farming and the
means of production must be rsdi-
cally changed to meet these new con
ditions. Some ma think that water
or irrigation is OF more Importance
than cultivation. In answer to such
/ will say that they both go hand IN
hand, without either profitable farm
lngRis improsslhle The irrigation
board in their talk dwelt especially
on the benefits to he derived from ir-
rigation. Whatever may be the pro-
fits from irrigation to very very
large portion Of the farmers, such a
thing is utterly impossible. In the
first place a large share OF the farm
era are renters who cannot make any
improvements on land, Again l
don't believe there is sufficient water
with land favorably situated on half
the farms in the county, / may be
mistaken, but am irrigating with
the smallest size wheel Is FOOT and a
suitable pump, and / know some
thing of the amount Of water it takes
to supply it. Then again of those
that have land and an underhow, but
few have the means this year at least
to erect the necessary outfit. But
must the upland farms be abandoned,
or the people that till them continue
to live from hand to mouth and hall
to do without even the barest necessl
ties Of life every dry year as they
have done in the past2 / hope not
think not.
i will repeat some statements tina
| I have heard time and again, "W'
can raise q crop here on less waite
than anywhere else under the sum
Taking all the years together there il
enough rain one year with another tt
raise crop every year, 80 that It i
were possible to hold the surplus wa
ter from one year for the next tots
failure Of crops would be a thing o
the past, hard times would loose III
terrors, farmers lot would be a para
disc compared with the past, homeI
would be something more than Skin
and bones, while improvements would
be showing up in every hand.
To try to picture the advantages o
good crops is to picture the fondes
ideal OF every husbandmsn. Blu
alass! How useless it is 10 draw sucI
pictures. Who dares to figure OF
even horse feed for the coming year
But with the supply Of water that WI
have from year to year IS there no
some way we can hold it from tn,
time it comes till we need lt2 Fo
ten years the answer has been yes
and vet one don't hold it, but eacl
year even to the last week sees heaV!
rains come with dash and run OF
all the sloping ground into the draw
thence to the rivers and away to tn
sen, while the small part that got
into the hard ground 10 only able Il
soak down few inches at the most
and the strong wind following tn
rain leaves nothing in few days t.
show that there had been rain within
month, and SO what has been 81
generously applied by mother nstur
from her hard earned store bal
been recklessly wasted and like th
triAing son with the indulgent father
IN a week we are asking for more.
They have offered us as q solution
for this problem that we dam tn
draws and store the water and let
evaporate again aud thus this will in
crease the rainfall. After five year
OF as thorough trial as the plan
likely to receive, two years OF whic
we had continued rains which file
every dam, Except those that wen
Quit, the result Justify me in condem
ing the system, and / shall give m
reasons in no uncertain terms. In tn
FIRST place not one tenth OF the waite
that runs of can be stored up in thi
manner. il often happens that W
have five or more freshets in success
sion. One fills all the dams AM
more too, and the other all runs OF