Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1895-02-07
IRRIGATION.

Over at Logan the enteprlslng peo
PIE haye organized club for the dis
cussion Of topics of interest to tht
farmers. The Logan RepNbHcan after
each meeting publishes in full one OF
more OF the papers read, and we will
hereafter take the liberty of reprint
iog such of the papers as seem to be
OF the most general interest. Last
week Hon. P. @. Wagner read the
following:
WHAT WILL MAKE IRRIGATION A SUCCESS
FOR THE SMALL FARMER.
What I may say upon this sui Ject,
l do not speak from my own personal
experience, but will endeavor to give
my views, and make some suggest
ions as to how success may be hoped
for, Iu the first place: l would say
that the suggestions are to those who
may be favorably located. The first
thing to consider is the water supply,
which may be obtained by dams or
the digging of wells, or both. After
good supply of water is insured in
this way, the next thing to consider
is means of raising the water and
storage Of same for future use. This
can be done by the use of wind pow
or or better still, the use of tread
power for shallow wells. The latter
10 my judgment would be preferable
for the reason that such power can
b. used on appliances for raising
water, of sufficient capacity to raise
hundreds Of barrels Of water per
hour, and very cheaBly considering
time to be devoted to the raising OF
water for irrigating purposes, if
the cost of construction is one
to be takes into account. The best
time to irrigate IN this LEGALITY would
be- it the late fall months and the
winter and early spring, espec'
tally for the small farmer, Apply
water during the time indicated
above and thoroughly soak all the
ground during this time that can be
done. The next thing to be consid-
ersd is what kind of crops to be
planted in order to be successful. ]
would divide the land prepared as
stated above, using for potato's all
except eneagb for general vegetables
such as beets, oni6nS. vines, and
general assortment of garden Vegete'
bles for family use. Now, the mat
ter of Preparing the ground to be
used for the growing ef potatoes, is
one that we must not lose sight Of
Ia preparing the land for use the
following season, especially for pota
toes, I would recommend fall plow
ing, of proper depth, t9 be governed
by the state of cultivation tins lSnl j
10, which is to be used; I would plov
in plats or bS1g Of one rod wide leav
ing the dead burrows open for thu
purpose of applying water in case /
is reqSired. I would advise planting
nothing but an esyly variety Of pota
\ toes. l would not plant lGtjl al
a14uger Of freezing is over, then
would cut potatoes in the ordinar,
way, then start plow and drop il
each furrow sixteen to eighteen in
ches apart. l would advise plowinI
about three inches deep, and alloy
the land to lay just as the ploN
leaves it until the potatoes are wei
sprouted AID then use a light draI
once to pulyerize the top of tn
ground and kill any weeds that ma
start. Thep l would advise usin
mulch Of old stray, bgnch grass o
tother litter, but never use litteF fror
the stable. Thoroughly cover t
prevent the growth of weeds and i
4 this way there is but little evspora
tiOR from the ground as the mule