The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-08-17
1rrirntIon. can You Adopt 1t


ters not what crop be grown,
would be far more sat
isfacrorv occupation if irrigation could
onlv be practical. Our lands that have
been cultivated so long that the humus
has become almost entirely exhausted.
cannot withstand drought now like they
did when they were fresher. Nowadays
during the. growing season which includes
al the hot dry parts of the year. our rains
come seemingly in the nature Of thunder
e-orms-beavy downpours that come sud
denly and are soon over. Only small
norrion of the water is absorbed by the
soil much If not most of it going off into
4be pulIies. either old or new. The smaller
norton that is absorbed on billy uplands,
is soon evaporated and the rain that some
years ago would have sufhced TO Keep
crop growing for ten days or two weeks,
with good cultivation OF course), Is now
able TO supply the crop for no longer imam
a week if that. Soil destitute, or nearly
SO Of vegetable matter, as humus' cam
not retain moisture very long under our
scOrChing sun, when for a week or more
the mercury rises to SO and several de-
grees higher. With frequent rains a SOIL
having only a small proportion of humus,
may be made by judicious cultivation TO
produce very fair crops of
one thing or announcer Dul
such a soil subjected to drought OF Two or
showing usually. The time is at hand
when ii becomes a farmer to inquire into
fully whether it is possible within a rea-
soma BILE expense to adopt the practice OF
irrigation to his work even If he can apply
il to only a limited portion of his soil.
Even a few acres. cultivated in quite
number of different crops, can be made TO
produce a very good support for fam
ilv. we frequently hear of truckers get
ting such returns from few acres under
irrigation. In fact. two or three or nVe
acres yielding. money returns far greater
than FIVE. ten twenty 1--WE acres OF
like or different crops, where irrigation is
not made use Of. There are some crops
that 1t is almost useless to attempt here in
the south unless one can supply moisture
artif1cially. Celery, straw berries cduH-
flower, spinach are notably crops of this
kind bur there are many others the
growth OF which could be multiplied great
iy If they could only be watered a few
times in the course of month or six
weeks. In this latitude there
is hardly a crop of anything
usually grown by our farmers and truck
ers that is not more or less uncertain
when planted after June and before Octo-
Der. Our great fall crop turnips, are
oftener than not, and with great many
nothing short of failures owing TO dry
weather in August and September. 1t is
no difficult matter for a trucker with irri-
cation facilities to grow fine crops Of late
second crop Irish potatoes. Without
such he knows, if he has had any expert
This is true of number of crops that
might be very protitably grown, but for
this drawback.
OF course it is only a very small proper
ton of farmers in any one county that
are so situated as to render irrigation
practicable, even on a few acres by
merely utilizing the water courses but
taxing altogether those who could within
a reasonable expense make such availa-
ple. with the use of rams and dams and
another class making use of wind mills
and artesian wells there would be in the
aggregate quite a large number qualified
10 cultivate more or less area under this
system. New settlements if they continue
70 be made after the order of Fitzger-
ara, could, to great advantage, be influ-
ehced IN the matter of location by this as
prime consideration, the ability to es-
tanilsh system of irrigation and to ac-
crue TO every individual member so far
as 1t may be practicable. This implies
methods similar to those established in
the far west 49,
Anyhow it is quite the proper thing for
every man engaged in the business of
cultlVat1ng the soil to ask himself the
question If it is possible for him to make
irrigation practicable for any part of his
IdIla- mis- implies a reasonable expendi-
.LIe, II implies too, that the man owns
ne lanu and that he purposes to make
we cultivation Of a part of 1t his life
"UrK or until he acquires a competency.
we nave no doubt there are thousands
Vi persons of this character in the south
, W%no could with proper effort make irriga-
- Jne stepping stone to an abundant
anu altogether satisfactory success
axe such view Of the question as cir
Ce.S14In n permit, but before answering
W take fun view of very imnor
tahl question that must present ITSELF IA
every Intelligent cultivation.