The Globe-republican., 1903-02-26
Irrigation by Pumping.

From Farmers Review: Where the
lift Of water is less than ten feet and
water near at hand irrigation will pay
on ordinary crops. Where the lift Is
greater 1t will only pay on costly and
profitable crops like small fruits and
vegetables where high quality Is a
factor in the markets. My experience
has been with strawberries only and
largely for nursery purposes where 1t
was desired to grow plants under the
most favorable condition in order to
fully develop their fruit producing or
ganism and therefore imperative that
they should not be injured by pro.
tracted drouths.
A twenty-five horse power gasoline
engine and No, 6 centrifugal pump
lifts about 100000 gallons Of water
thirty-fve feet high and forces Vt
through twelve hundred feet OF a
six-inch iron pipe and thence through
an eleven-inch duck hose to any part
Of the farm up to a half mile where 1t
Is distributed with a hose having an
arm tube four feet long and four
inches in diameter every four feet,
letting the water out into narrow
About 10000 gallons are applied to
an acre at one watering, only one man
being required to superintend the
distributing. OF course the amount
used varies according to conditions.
The main point is to get the water
into the subsoil and then let 1t perco'
late out under the plants and rise to
the surface by capillarity, so that the
plants never suffer from saturation
)ut grow naturally. The application
Of small amounts to the surface is
very bad under any circumstances. 1t
packs the surface so as to exclude air
from the roots and capillarity Is so
active that the water would evapor-
ate before the immediate surface
would be dry enough to cultivate, and
in an incredible short time the plants
would be seen to wilt.
We are very careful never to flood
the surface but cultivate the ditch full
as soon as possible and stir the sur
face every week afterwards and SO
even in the hottest weather the wat
ering will keep the plants growing In
prime condition for fifteen days, but
we keep the pumps running and man
age to make the round Of our IS acres
Of Strawberries in less time than indi-
Gated. The engine Is run to its full
est capacity and consumes about for
ty gallons Of gasoline in ten hours,
costing at present IL cents per gallon,
or $3.50 for ten hours.
1t requires the time of the hoe squad
Of about 80 men who lay down their
tools walk directly to the hose and
pick up the whole and carry 1t to new
ground where couplings are quickly
made and water again turned on. 1t
also requires one man and horse to
make the bitches and another to cul-
tivate. | estimate the total cost at
$l2 per day Of ten hours.
If a wind mill were used storage
tank would be necessary and the
water should be applied at night so 1t
would soak deeply and the surface BIO
cultivated the following day.
The water should be carried to the
distributing point in hose because the
seepage in ordinary soil would be
large. The hose should be literally
large and made Of No. cotton duck,
edges hemmed and stitched together
on a harness sewing machine, the
connection being made by inserting
tube like a stove pipe and strapping
the hose to each end
For ordinary crops the same amount
of expense and labor expended in till
age to conserve spring rains will ma
ture full crops and except where the
lift is small and water in abundance
good results In strawberry growing
can be had by fall mulching and hold
ing the water down by leaving 1t until
after berries are picked in spring.
Few people realize how much water
Is required to properly fill the soil Of
an acre Of land and If the area to be
irrigated is large an ordinary well
would hardly meet requirements.-R,
NJ. Kellogg,