Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1896-03-12


ALLOW me to suggest to your lrriga-
tors that now is the good time to pump
water wherewith to irrigate their land.
Do not neglect this. Fall and winter
irrigation is what counts on the fol-
lowing seasons crops. You want fall
winter rains. why not supply this mois-
ture by artificial means at your COM
mand? When rains fail to put in an
appearance, irrigate your orchards,
groves, track farms, and if you can ex
tend it any furthir, your potato patch
for next seasons planting, or five or ten
acres of alfalfa ground or the same
amount of ground that you aim to cul-
tivate to corn, oats or barley. If this
is thoroughly watered during the fall
and winter you will be sure of crop
and no mistake. Now is the time to
begin. Water put upon the ground
when it is frozen will enable you to
cover a greater area. While it may
freeze little, do not mind that as it
won't hurt the ground to have it cover
ed with sheet Of ice. it will do it
good. My pump is at work aud doing
better work now than in the late fall;
when there was alack of wind to move
it. My reservoir, 10Ox1O0 feet, is bank
full now, after irrigating my orchard of
five acres and alfalfa patch, another
five acres, aud hope to cover ten ad-
ditional acres with water before spring
with the same plant. Why not o it
then? Look your mill over and see
that 1t is is in a good fix. Oil it well
the work it was intended it should do.
At the same time see that your pump
is in good working order, and see to it
that it cannot freeze up and cause a
break, possibly both mill and pump.
This is important. And while you are
at it, stiffen up the enbarkments sur
rounding your reservoir and thus make
/ it hold little more water, as you may
want good deal more water next
spring than you had last.
But then there are so many people
in the state of Kansas who have such
vast landed estates that they never can
consent to come down to tilling five.
ten. twenty or even forty acres, even if
they knew they could artifcially supply
all the water it needed. as this would
be too great a comedown and too small
for those who want to cultivate large
tracts and make a fortune in a year,
adhering to the ''single crop" idea,
either wheat or corn, and as rule get
about one good crop in seven years,
which must buy and pay for what is
consumed by the Large farmer" The
dispised small farmer-especially by ir-
rigation, with five or ten-acre lot
will beat the large farmer clear out OF
sight, with his 160 acres of ''singie
crop" farming, simply from the fact
that he will produce on his truck patch
all that his family may need and more
besides his orchard, though small, will
give him good return; a couple of
COWS, all the milk and butter he can
consume and to spare; three or four
shoats will grow into as fine porkers as
he may wish to buy; a dozen good hens
will give him all the eggs he may want
4 to use either for Matching purposes or
table use or both; colony Or two of
bees will add to the luxuries of hi
table, and they will come very nearl!
caring for themselves, as also The isi
will do in bis pond if he will only give
the chance; you can keep a horse o.
two besides the two cows. and raise
hay and fodder of various kinds or
your five or ten-acre patch to feed
them the year around. If you don
believe it, seed five acres to alfalfa an(
water it thoroughly-if but once dur
the winter-and see what it will pro
duce for you. Why, your COWS and
; horses will be ''in clover" the yea
around. tell vou the "big farmer
isn't .in it for little Bit" The maj
with the small farm under irrigation
Is strictly in it" In Kansas, even u