, 1906-04-19
Irrigation Farming.
BY Able Writers of the Iowa State
College.

E1o WIZ "ouio dttaln tne nlgneSt de-
gr ee of success in any line of work must
he thoroughly acquainted with the fun
damental principles undertaking that
particular work. If he would be a sue
~cessful agriculturalist he must work
out the aforesaid principles for himself,
either by the aid of books or by ex-
periences he has gained through the
actual doing of that work. However. it
makes no difference which way he
gains that knowledge just so he gets it,
The easiest and quickest way is by
the confirmation OF two above named
methods.
If a man chooses farm ing for his &C.
cupatien through a love for the work,
he is most sure to succeed, because ne
will TAX IN interest and tote all the
beneficial results of his labors; he will
try different methods ard use only those
which prove of economic value. AS 1
said before a man must ndarstand
certain general principles in order to
labor intelligenlty with any kind of
work. So 1t is with farming. He must
understand his soil, and the conditions
under which the crops thrive best.
Even then he must be alert, use good
judgment at all times so that he may
supply these condition.
If he is farming in humed regions he
must rely somewhat on luck for he can
not supply moisture when needed or
can he get sold Boreas'' to shine when
it will do him the most good. Not so
10 the irrigated regions, for there dur
ing the season of plant growth the sun
shines almost continuously, and the
water is under the control of man. Yet
here, a man to succeed, must need know
many things, and knowing them must
do them at the proper time. He must
try many methods, finally discarding
all except those proven by experience,
to be of economic value to him. He
must need make failures for this gives
impetus to new ideas. Finally to he
successful a man must work at the
proper time, above all things undel-
stand the crophe is growing and supply
the conditions which have proven the
most successful.
L wish to speak in this article mainly
of the mou of water used, AID how
often applied. AS L have already men
tent the moisture content CT the soil #
he will but do it. To do so, he must DO
a little experimenting in order to find
o 1T the safest methods that are applic
aole to a given crop. This is absolutely
necessary. No one can tell exactly how
applied until he has carried on a few
experiments.
There is probably no greater mistake
made in irrigation farming than the
use of too much water. The greatest
evil which results from this practice is
not visible until a great amount of the
damage is done. namely the devo'ol-
ment of alkali soils. the soul causes OF
these spots appearing in the irrigated
regions is the use Of too much water.
When you saturate a sponge to its full
capacity and then undertake to put in
a little more water there is no room for
it. So it is in saturating the soil too
heavily. Water seeks to distribute itself
evenly through the soil just as it hoes
in the sponge and when there is too
much applied for immediate use of the
p ant it must need escape from the soil,
either artifcaIly or naturally. Not
many farmers who irrigate, have their
lands ucder drained and consequently
the surplus water is forced to evaporate
from The soil naturally. The first TO-
dication of this evaporation is evidenc-
ed in the low spots, for water seeks the
lower lands, from which 1t spouts forth.
| he water, as it percolates through the
sol becomes laden with the mineral
salts which it d SOLVES and which are
deposited upon The surface at these
places. The water evaporates leaving
the salt, which render the land un-
productive in "a very short time. These
spots are distingu sh I'D by their light
ashen ,lor when the soil is dry. Plants
cannot thrive in these places because
the salts are in too great quantities.
But some will ask. "Why not under
dram these places?' Granting that an
Outleb can pe pdo, Iuere 10 soii Ills
obi ction. The water carried away by
the under drain would necessarily be
laden with many elements of fertility,
namely SIT Is, which would be total loss
While this wouid do away with the
alkali sEo.s the expense ofdrainipg ana
the loss of fertility would be rs large u,
the loss Of the land unless there were
many low spots ON tie farm. When
these low place are fed by land on
another farm The only thing to do is to