Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1898-09-22
IRRIGATION.


Awake In the Matter.
"Here'in the east, where we have ex-
cessive rainfall and drought, we are apt
to think ourselves helpless in the mat
ter and to depend on Providence to send
us the proper quantity of moisture for
our crops. and at the right time. We
are helpless as far as rainfall is con-
cerned, but many are independent, to a
great extent, as to drought. Quite a
share of the farmers living in noun
famous or rolling sections OF the coun-
try are asleep to the subject of irriga-
ton and the opportunities they have
for irrigating the whole or parts of
their farm land " A farmer who ex-
presses himself thus in Country Gentle
man further says:
know of but three irrigating bitches
in use in the northern part of New Jer-
sey, one of which own. This has been
in use for at least century and covers
four fields. AS long as can remember
the water has been turned on the fields
and run through the grass until near
haying time, when it was turned off
for the ground to dry out sufficiently
for the haying to be done, after which
it was again turned on and flooded the
meadows as before and continued
through the rest of the summer. By this
method large crop Of timothy hay was
each year secured regardless of rain.
We can give the water entire credit
for the large crops, as they grow only
within couple of hundred feet of the
ditches after which the grasses grad
ually get poorer in quality and less in
quantity toward the lower sides of the
fields. The grass near the ditch grows
up, falls down and grows up az lin,
and we have trouble to get it properly
cured when cut, unless everything IA
vors. The hay now sells for SO. so per
ton in the NOW, which shows the quail
ity.
The ground irrigated is upland made
from gneiss rocks, containing consid-
cradle quantity of felspar and conse-
quently potash. The head of the ditch
is by a small dam across a stream 10 to
Is feet wide, and poles are SO placed in
the fall of the year that most of the
leaves and floating material are turned
in the ditch and eventually enrich the
meadow. In the spring open the ditch
at point above ground | wish to en-
rich and turn out a large stream of wa
ter, and then with a garden rake stir
up the muck and leaves, thus flooding
that part of the field, my object being
to carry the fertility down to the poorer
portion of the field and past where in
the preceding years it had been allowed
to stop. The ditch is ree-fifths of a
mile long, and if it were not for the
water power rights it might be enlarged
and extended 10 miles along the north
west side of the valley, watering farms
all the way.
Where the water is cold in summer,
as, for instance, spring water or snow
water from mountains, the irrigating
ditch should be made wide and shallow
and have very slight grade, so that
the water may become warm before 60
ing on the fields. l may be flooding the
ground too much for the real good of
the grass, but am getting better crops
all the time from the enrichment of the
ground.
In New Jersey farmer has right
to use water from a stream, but must
turn it back into the stream before it
passes water power.
The above is my experience in irrigat-
ing grass land, but in ever SO many in
stances bitches can be taken out by the
individual or several farmers the water
being used but little during wet sea-
son, but during dry one extensively
used, thereby getting large crops, or at
any rate average ones, when, owing to
the failure Or partial failure of the
crops of those who do not irrigate,
prices are high,