The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-09-18

light as fertilization or any other
means Of securing large returns from
the soil, and the agricultural depart
ment is under the same obligation 20
study irrigation that il is to study
any other phase of farming in that
region.
The east has ore great advantage
of the west in irrigation-it has a.
much larger water supply. owing 70
the heavier rainfall. The question OF
"A water supply is. therefore. of much
less relative Importance than IT is ~
the west In the east the main ques-
ton is the agricultural one; VIII
irrigation pay? This OF course, in
cludes the study of methods which
viii make il most profitable. Our
work in the east has gone far enough
10 show that in raising small fruits
and vegetables, at least. irrigation
pays well. Experiments have been
carried on in New Jersey for num-
Der of years. Our reports show that
for the years 1898 and 1899 irrigated
blackberries yielded about "a per
cent more than unirrigated, the in
creased yield being worth more than
$93 per acre.
Increased Yield.
The increased yield of currants
was 43 per cent. worth $3.50 per acre.
The increased yield of sweet corn
was SIS per cent, sweet potatoes. I26
per cent worth St3.6S per acre. Lima
beans 23.S per cent. WatermelOns 40
per cent: and Irish potatoes. 1874 per
cent
These returns were from expert
mental plats and. from market gar
dens. In almost every case the in
creased yields for a single year were
enough to pay the entire cost of the
plant necessary TO furnish water and
the operating expenses. leaving the
increased yields Of future years above
operating expenses as profit. Not
every year would SHOW equally good
returns. as in some years the rain
fall is sufficient TO produce good
crops. but our agents estimate that
in every year the yield of some i'm
portant crop viii be greatly increased
by the application Of water. and in
many years all crops viii be i'm
proved. New Jersey is typical OF a
large area along the Atlantic coast,
and the question Of the profitable
ness Of irrigating there is considered
settled. We have. therefore, gone on
to experiment with different methods
of distributing and using water TO
lind out how to produce the best re
suits under the varying conditions OF
soil and crops.
Wisconsin has been chosen as
typical of the middle west, and we
have carried on cooperative expert
ments at the agricultural experiment
station of that state to determine the
value Of irrigation in raising general
farm crops. These experiments have
covered. number of years. The av-
erage net profit after deducting all
expenses of operation, including in
terest on the cost of irrigation works
and the depreciation of the plant has
been. for hay. $50 per acre: corn. $1l
per acre: and potatoes, S73 per acre
What has been done at Madison can
be duplicated anywhere in the middle
west. and the possibilities of increas-
ing the products of our farming areas
in this way are almost unlimited
Experiments in Wisconsin.
I'VE are carrying on another series
of experiments in Wisconsin which
may prove of great value to the
sandy areas around the Great Lakes,
although this has not yet been dem
onstratcd These lands retain so
little moisture that all attempts 10
farm them have failed. The expert
ments have included the use Of both
manure and water Manure alone
proved Of little use, as there was not
water enough to make the plant food
available. Water alone produced
good results but the application OF
both gave the best results. The cost
of irrigation on the detrimental
farm was $50 per acre. ami the net
gain from irrigation i'm 1901 was,
Potatoes. $50 per acre; corn, 81 per
acre: watermelons. SIS per acre.
mUskmelOns. $40 per acre. From
these experiments It seems that with
special crops irrigation Of these sandy
lands is prOfits bic, but with corn the
increase in yield is not enough 70
Justify the expense of securing
water supply. These experiments
are being continued. as they have
not covered a long enough period nor
a wide enough range of crops TO jus
tify any conclusions as to the posi-
bnity of retaining large areas of the