The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1901-11-16
~ So. 81 So -
FARM AND GARDEN.
MATTERS OF INTEREST TO AGRi-
OULTURlsTS.
Some Up-to-Date Hints About Culti-
walton Of the Soil and Yields
Thereof horticulture, yiticuIture and
Horticulture. ~ n

s&AN
Horticulture. s. e
Notes ON Wisconsin Expert M ON Is.
The writer recently had the pleasure
Of looking over some of the expert
mental work in the fields at the Wis
consin station. It was noted that irri-
cation is still being carried on, but II
10 All OF a. surface nature. For num-
her 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-
rigation for large fields is impractical
BILE, 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. 1t is
evident that in a country where fros;
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. L,
has been found, too, that the pipes
nave to be numerous and be laid quite
closely together to insure a watering Of
the ground, as the lateral movement OF
water in compact soils is slight. Sur
lace 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 :>s easily as in any other direc-
ton, when it has only air above it
Irrigation from below is 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 see 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 it. Where IT.
rigation has been applied the corr
stands seven Or more feet high and
is heavily cared. Where water has moi
been applied the corn is stunted and
has not made half growth. The ears
are 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. Mr.. H. 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
Under the corn plants themselves
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 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-yeins at a 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 perhaps the most potent cause
In the non-success with alfalfa in Wis
consin 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 300
and 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 as
to that plant in Wisconsin.
Horticultural School at Madison.
The ACCOMMODATING illustrations show