The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1900-11-07
irrigation In the Eastern
States.

the United States Department of
Agriculture is the irrigation of arid
lands, an undertaking which is being
carried out by the Office of Expert
mens Stations in various regions of
the United States. Owing to the
great Importance of the subject to
the farmers Of the Western States,
for whose success irrigation is a
positive necessity, the greater part
OF the experimental work of this
Office is being done on the arid lands
which were formerly known as the
Great American Desert. but which
under the influence of irrigation have
proved to be remarkably productive.
II must not be supposed. however,
chat the need Of irrigation exists only
in the region west of the Mississippi
River for the many crop failures
which have occurred iu the Eastern
States have drawn attention to the
necessity 10 this region also for stor.
ing the. food waters of the rainy
season. or If that be not practicable,
OF erecting pumping plants to make
good the shortage in seasons of
Drought.
Although the losses due to drought
are not anything like 90 serious in
the East % in the West. they are still
sufficiently large to justify the ius.al
lstion, Of irrigation plants Professor
4. B.. Voorhees,. of the New jersey
Experiment Station. estimates that az
the result Of his observations and
experiments in 1899 be found the
loss to the hay crop of New Jersey
from drought during May and early
June OF last year to be $1,000, 900,
while vegetables and email fruits suf.
fered even more seriously That
damaging droughts ere not infrequeut
is shown by the rainfall records ip
Philadelphia during the 70 years from
1926 to 1895, which prove that 10 SO
per cent Of these years there was q
deficiency Of more than one inch for
one month that is to cay. in 62
years ont Of 10, there was one month
III the growing season 10 which there
was 90 marked . decrease of rainfall
that serious shortage of crops result
ed, For the same period there were
80 yesrs in which the deficiency
extended throughout Two months.
while In 81 yesrs the de6cinucy
extended throughout three months.
the average rainfall during this grow
ing period being deficient by one
inch or more.
The investigation by Professor
Voorhees, was made for uhe purpose
Of determining whether the increased
yield.resulting from irrigation during
these three nonths would be suffi
cient to pay for the necessary storage
or pumping plants Careful records
were Kept Of the yields of plots of
ground which received The same
cultivation. except that some of these
were irrigated and others depended
upon natural supplies of moisture.
The increase in the yield of the
irrigated plots over the others varied
from 339 quarts of rsspberries Der
acre. worth $22 80. to 1880 quarts
of bIackberries per acre, worth
$93 AZ.
The cost Of plants of the size
necessary to supply 10 acres Of email
fruits sno garden crops has varied in
the different experiments from $3.50
to $500. While returns have not
been made from ali of the plants
which were under observation, the
owners are 10 every case satisfied
that their outlay has been returned
with considerable profit +; while 10
nearly every case they state that they
paid fos tie plant with the receipts
OF increased crops during the first
year il was in operation
The results obtained by Professor
Voorhees, are Of uuques,ionable
va'Oe ; for the climatic conditions of
New Jersey are fairly typical of the
IInitoA Skaton nocA xr Al