The evening times., 1900-10-13
EXPERIMENTS IN IRRIGATION.
Bulletins of the Department OF Ag-
ricuIture to BE Essued

rtcuIture to Be Issued.
Irrigation in New Jersey" is the tt
tie of bulletin soon to be issued by
the Department of Agriculture. 1t was
prepared by Prof. E. B. Voorhees,, OF the
New Jersey experiment station. and de-
scribes his experiments in irrigation for
the season of 1889 It is generally thoug ght,
1t is stated, that the necessity for irri-
CATION in the United States exists only
in the region west of the Mississippi
River, but repeated crop failures in tha
East and successful farming In the West
have called attention to the Importance
OF controlling the moisture Of soils rath-
er than accepting the conditions as they
exist. Prof. Voorhees, estimates the loss
to the hay crop of New Jersey from the
drought In May and early June, 1889. at
81, SOC, coo, while. small fruits and vegeta-
bies were even more seriously affected
than the grasses. The records kept by
him at the experiment station show
that in 1897 and 1898, years of abundant
rainfall in April and May, the yield Of
hay averaged 2.65 tons per acre, In 1893
it was a fraction over one ton, owing to
the deficiency of rainfall in April and
May, at the~ low price Of $40 ton. a loss
for the twenty-five acres OF over $500.
The yield of crimson clover forage for
1897 and 1898 was SIS tons per acre: in
1899 the yield was but Ave tons. or in a
good year the yield was 10 per cent great
er. The deficiency in the rainfall at the
critical period was alone responsible for
this difference in yield. Oat and pea for
age in 1897 and the early seeding Of 1893
averaged six tons per acre; in 1899 the
yield was but three and three -tenths tons
per acre"
To show the frequency of such droughts
as that of 1899, the bulletin cites the rain
fall records of Philadelphia: 1.-The rainfall
records in Philadelphia from 1925 to 1875
tseyenty years., show that In SS per cent
Of the years there was a deficiency of over
one inch for one month or that in sixty
two years out of the seventy there was
one month in the growing season from
April TO August in which such a marked
deficiency occurred as to cause a serious
shortage OF crop and that for the same
period there were thirty-n years in
which the deficiency extended throughout
two months. while in twenty-one years it
extended throughout three months. or in
80 per cent of the years included in this
record there were three months during the
growing period in which the average rain
fall was deficient one inch or more. 1t is
thus observed that a wide series of crops
would be likely to suffer in more than one
half OF the years for which the record Is
available. while still larger number
would suffer in nearly one-third OF the
years, for II must be remembered that
even a slight deficiency in one month may
result in serious reduction in yield and
consequent loss if it occurs at q time the
crop is making its largest development.
The experiments conducted by Prof
Voorhees, and reported in this bulletin
were for the purpose of determining
whether irrigation during these short pc
riods OF drought would result in sufficient
increase of yie.d to pay for the works nee
essary to obtain the supply OF water The
tests were made on small fruits. Careful
records were kept of the yields of plats
which received Identical treatment. except
that some were irrigated and others were
not.
The yield of the irrigated plats over and
above those not irrigated were as foliGws;
Blackberries. 1898 quarts per acre, worth
s93.4 raspherries, 329 quarts per acre,
worth S32 9O currants, $50 quarts per
acre, worth $500. The increase in yield
would not be so marked every year as II
1899, as the drought Of that year was ex-
ceptional.
The first progress report on irrigation
Investigations made by the office of Expert
ment Stations, under the supervision of Ell
wood Mead expert in charge, is in press,
bulletin. It deals with the methods in use
in the arid States in tie distribution and
use of water in irrigation, and gives large
number of measurements made to deter
mine the duty of water. the losses from
seepage and evaporation in canals, and de-
scribes the methods by which the water
supply may be more effectively and eco
nomically applied to crops. 1t contains
papers discussing the results of the year s
Investigations, by ElwoOd Mead, expert III
charge; Clarence T. Johnson, assistant;
and reports and discussions by special
agents Thomas Berry. Colorado; ". II
Reed, New Mexico: ". H. Code. Arizona;
". Irving, California; R. c. Gemmell and
George L. Swendsen, Utah: r. ". Ross.
Idaho: Samuel Fortier, Montana. and o.
Y. P. Stout, Nebraska It is illustrated by
views, diagrams. and maps showing the 10
cation and character OF the investigations
made
The Investigations described deal with
problems which sorely perplex the irriga
tors and canal builders of the arid West.
Their comprehensive study is a new fea-
tuTe Of National aid to irrigation devel-
opment of the country Heretofore the
leading object Of such aid has been to pro
mote the construction OF new canals, to
show how much land there was above ex-
ssting bitches which could be reclaimed.
and the benefits which would come from
such reclamation It is believed that this
investigation viii telili % secure these
ends, but It's primary purpose is to pro-
mote the welfare of the people living un-
der the bitches already built, to render the
farms now irrigated more profitable, 30
lessen the controversies over the distri-
button of water, and secure its more sys-
tematic and economical use.