The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1901-10-12

FARM AND GARDEN.
MATTERS OF INTEREST TO AGRI-
0ULTuRlsTs.
:some Up-to-Date Hints About Guilt
walton Of tho Soil and Yields
Observation-Disclosures, vlticulture and
Notes on Wisconsin Experiments.
The writer recently had the pleasure
fof looking i've some Of the expert
mental work in the fields at the Wis
consin station. It was noted that irri-
cation is still being carried N. but ii
Is all Of q surface nature. For a mum
Der Of years Professor King carried on
experiments in sub-irrigation, and the
reports Of the work done were duly
published. After that the matter was
dropped so far as the sub-earth work
was concerned. We notice that this is
the usual result. The fact Is. sub-ir.
rigatfon for large fields is impractical
fble, for the reason that it requires g
vast outlay in the way Of labor
In trench digging and pipes to
convey water, to say nothing Of the.
attendant factors of expense. It is
evident that In a country where fros1
penetrates the ground to the depth Of
two and three feet, the pipes must be
so laid that they can be emptied OF
water before freezing up. This would
require the work of an engineer. . II
mas been found, too, that the pipes
have to be numerous and be laid quite
closely together to insure q watering of
the ground, as the lateral movement Of
water in compact soils is slight. Sur
face irrigation is by all odds the least
expensive. The land has merely to be
laid off in a way that will permit the
water to run in burrows, and it will
take. care Of itself. It will move lat
orally s3 easily as in any other direc-
tion, when it has only air above 1t
Irrigation from below is a method that
catcher the fancy. but it is not prac.
ticable outside Of the greenhouse.
At the present time some. very inter
esting experiments are being carried
on in the irrigation Of corn. A consid-
cradle area is devoted to this kind Of
experimentation. On one field the
corn has been grown for seven years
with no fertilizer. but with alternate
strips with and without irrigation.
The desire has been to e just what
would happen to a field under the
two treatments, with and without
water. The object lesson Is a good
one, and we only wish it could be
viewed by myriads of farmers that
have access to water for irrigating
purposes, yet do not use 1t. Where IT.
Tigation has : been applied the corr
stands seven or more feet high and
is heavily cared. Where water, has not
been applied the corn is stunted and
has not made q half growth. The ears
a small and not too numerous. II
fairly represents a good many fields
that can be seen in the drouth-stricken
region this year. The cost of applying
water to the irrigated portion has beer
small, and in this year of high prices
for corn the returns for money thus
expended will be great. Nj. II. F
Whiteson, who accompanied the writer:
said that investigation had shown that
the water applied to this corn field
had sunk down directly into the soil.
FIN 1nn <hnt NnWM N1onf0 fhanGa1vaQ
the ground was generally found to be
very dry, even though the soil between
the rows was saturated. He also called
attention to the fact that the, use OF
the land for seven years without the
application. of any fertilizer had re.
suited in the apparent decrease of nj
trogen to a point where the further
successful growing Of such crops would
be a problem unless nitrogen were ap-
piled. The lack Of nitrogen was no
ticeable In the following Of the leaves
along the mid-veins at q time when
the lower leaves still remained green.
In spite Of all that has been said
against alfalfa by the professors at the
Wisconsin station. alfalfa is being sue
cessfully grown there this year. Pro
lessor Moore says that he is becoming
quite enthusiastic as to its possibilities
in some parts Of the state. OF course
the amount Of sunshine this year has
been great and the lack Of sunshine
has been perhapsth most potent cause
in the ~non-success with alfalfa in Wis
consih in past years. One field has
this year already yielded two and one
half tons Of alfalfa hay. per acre. The
experiments at the stations are not the
only ones. that are to be employed in
demonstrating whether or not alfalfa
can be successfully grown in Wiscon-
sin. The students that have graduated
at the short course have formed an
experiment associations for the object
of further calculating the problems
that are being solved by the station.
This association comprises between 800
ana 400 students. and at this time over
100 are carrying on experiments in the
raising Of alfalfa! When the reports
from these different sources come in
they will give very valuable data a.
to that plant in Wisconsin. 4