The Progress. (Shreveport, La.) 1892-1900, 1896-03-28
PROGRESS.
,nesa ", are enabled TO irrisste by

snesa We are enabled TO irrisste b!
bitches. We were at first greatly pu1'
Zled to know how 70 get over the raw
ines and bitches in the field. for we
could not be all the tine moving mat
heavy iron pipe. We HGally hit on
plan to make water run up hill we
did that by means of big homemade
hose constructed Of duck. We put TINS
duck hose on the end Of an iron pipe
and lead the water where we want 1t.
1t is 50 constructed that we can couple
it quickly. We have about 200 feet or
this hose in use, and it answers the
purpose very well, but of course will
not stand much pressure. We have
had little experience in trying this on
bearing fruit trees. We tried it on 400
! peach trees. and those trees bore fruit
much more heavily than usual. we
! also watercd an orchard Of cherry and
| plum trees with strawberries between
the rows The strawberry plants were
about ruined when we began the water
! ing, but they revived at once. Most OF
! our irrigating this last GEAR has been
On young growing trees and on common
! field crops, such as peas, beans and po-
! tatocs. We now have our machinery
and fields ready to begin operations
the coming year. While We realize that
some of our work is yet in the expert
mental stage, yet we are not di6coUr"
aged for the future. We believe that
| if the profit to our young trees could
be shown, It would be seen that WatCf-
ing them was very profitable.
Q.-How do You irrigatc corn
Awe run the water along the rows
Of corn and can thus water about four
acres per day. In watering trees, we
can water about eight TO ten acres per
day. The cost Of running the engine
ard tank is s. to Sc per day.
Q.-What is tho total cost of plant
like yours with capacity to water twenty
acres?
Ave have machinery to irriSate
eighty acres. and the cost for engine,
pump and pipes would fall between SOU
and $1,000 ordinarily, but we got a
secondhand engine. A $1,000 plant
should irrigate about eighty acres.
ON surface irrigation, at what
time of day is it best to make the appll-
cation of water?
AIT any time of day. If we could
run our plant all night, we would make
the application during the latter part
of the day.
Professor Tracy would like to say
that it is not so much the contour of the
land as it is the character OF the sol
!; that concerns irrigation. Some people
think that because they have a stream
that is in good position for irrigatine
therefore they can surely irrigate.
, Q.-Is it possible to irrigate from {
| two or thres-inch well, where you have
to draw the water for seventy feet?
, Professor Taft think so, and i
you can't do it with one we'll. drive
7 three or four and have a reservoir. Blu
that 7O-foot lift is rather hard ques
2 ton to consider
Professor McCleur.-There is on
> place in Illinois where irrigating is be
;, ing done, and that is at the insane asy
! lum at Kankakee. They have there on
pump, and they pump water from tn
river. They have not done any expert
menting. They got man from tn
West who was perfectly familiar will
the work of water. I happened to b.
there this fall, and saw them irrigatin
.. cabbage field. They were runninI
the water between every two rows
each row being forty rods long. TIL
water must have been six to eigh
inches in depth. They had watere
. that field from one to three times. an
they said that was enough. They sal
, in a general way that there was n
, doubt but that their crop was at leas
double that of last year. They used S
4 much water each time that the groun
; was too soft to walk on. One could nc
step on it without sinking down som
distance. The water ran between tn
(, rows, which were rounded up prett
we'll. They seemed to retain the moist
{ urn for 2 long time ,..''