Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1899-06-13
WASTE IN IRRIGATION.

Turning ON Too Much water Hobs
the SOIL OF Fertility and Warmth.
The waste Of water is a familiar topic
In connection with discussions on irri-
cation, but correspondent Of the Dem
yer Field and Farm, drawing upon his
own experience. gives q suggestive and
novel turn to the subject. He says: E
''There lis nothing connected with
farming In Colorado that Il 81 such vital
Importance as irrigation, yet It seems
there are very few indeed who give the
subject much thought or study to un-
derstand the real principles Of true and
profitable irrigation. One foods because
another does. without regard to differ.
ence Of soil or slope Of ground. One IT.
rigates his crops every eight days be-
cause others do, whether that particu-
lar crop needs 1t or not. Every one
should study carefully the character Of
the soil and try to find out. by close OBJ
servation and careful experiment, the
amount of water that produces the best
results upon it. The yield Of hundreds
of acres is cut down one third to one
half by the use OF too much water.
while as many more suffer as great loss
for want of the water worse than wasted
on the others. Let me illustrate:
In watering piece Of ground I was
surprised one day to see how much wa
ter was running away from the lower
side of the piece and thence into gulch
where no one else could get 1t. There
seemed only very little trickling from
the lower end Of each row. but the
stream running into the gulch was sur.
prisingly large. >"Now." thought I.
lit seems too bad all that water should
go to waste, when there are others sad
~ in need Of it,
Happening to put my hand In I was
astonished to find how much warmer it
was than the same water at the head
Of the piece. I said to myself: "This
water is worse than wasted. 1t Is rob-
bling me and is taking up and carrying
away the very warmth that my grow
ing crop needs. I cannot stand it," 1t
had not worried me much so long as it
was only my neighbours crop that was
suffering for want Of water that I was
wasting. But when I found that same
waste water was injuring me it was a
horse Of another color. must put Q
stop to it, But how9
was doing my irrigating as all my
neighbors did. Down the otherwise dry
gulch from all my neighbors' ranches
who had the best water rights there ran
streams Of waste water one-fourth to
one-half as large as that turned into
their bitches by the commissioner while
others crops were burning up for want
of water because they had not as good
rights. went to the head of the rows
and cut down the amount Of water un.
til it did not run half way through
and so left it until morning: In the
morning I found the water just be-
ginning to run out of the lower end Of
most Of the rows. In two hours more
came back and found the stream flow.
ing from the lower end of the rows
about as large az those flowing in at
the upper end. ~ -
VII The ground will take only 80 much
water, about 20 fast. It took all it
would proatably from these rows. and
the surplus ran of, carrying heat and
some Of tho best elements Of the soil
with it. The upper portion Of the piece
had to part with too much Of its heat
and food elements. then understood
why I go often obtained the best yield
OF everything at the lower end OF side
of the piece. The water had to run too
long on the upper side before the lower
side was very wet.