Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1906-12-27
IMPORTANT FACTS
ABOUT IRRIGATION
Theory of Mere Water the Better is
Radically Wrong and Decidedly
Injurious to Crops.

apply the varying value of water
as Just explained to the economical
or rational use of water. If the 80
acre-inches be spread over six acres
of wheat so that the whole area of
six acres will be covered with
water to a depth of five inches,
each acre will yield 325 bushels OF
grain, or total of 1875 bushels. If
the same amount of water be
spread over four acres, that is, to
depth of y inches, the total
yield of grain will be los bushels.
Spread over three acres to a depth
of 10 inches the same amount of
water will yield 1iS bushels.
Spread over two acres to a depth OF
is inches the total yield will be
95 bushels and, spread over one
acre to a depth of 80 inches the
yield will be ~ bushels. 1t may
thus be seen that in the case of
wheat the total amount of grain
produced by 80 acre-inches of water
may be increased from AZ buhsels
to 1875 bushels by spreading the
water over more or less ground.
HCertainly the nearly five-fold in
crease of grain thus made possible
will more than pay the farmer for
the labor of handling six acres of
land instead of one, and of higher
Importance by using the water
nationally the irrigated wheat area
may profitably be increased four or
five timesawithout building another
reservoir or canal.
Similar investigations of the
oats yields would result in SIM
liar conclusion. Thirty acre-inches
of water applied to three acres of
oats yielded 81 bushels per acre,
or III bushels for the three acres.
Applied over two acres the same
amount of water yielded a total of
40 bushels, while if the same
amount of water were applied to
only one acre it yielded only 70
bushels. Here again the farmer has
it WITHIN his power to increase his
oat yield from 70 bushels to III
bushels or more by distributing the
same amount of water over differ
ent acres of land, and here again,
also, the possibility is shown of
increasing the irrigated area with
out the building of new reservoirs
or bitches. The data referring to
potatoes is similar in the conclu-
sions that may be drawn. Thirty
acre-inches applied over four acres
of potatoes yielded GA bushels
over two acres, 400 bushels, and
over one acre, PA bushels. These
great differences in yield unques-
tionably would more than compen-
safe the farmer for the handling of
the extra acres of land.
1t is to be remembered in this
connection that land without water
throughout the west sells. at from
so cents to 81 or SIS per acre, while
the water right to an acre of land,
at least in Utah, seldom falls below
$40 or $50, and in many cases it is
as high as $500 or $500. With
land, therefore, Of little value, and
water of very high value, the en-
ergies of the farmer should be di-
rected towards getting the greatest
possible returns from the water at
his disposal. A large acreage
means little in an irrigated district ;
the water right means nearly every
thing
The time in the life of crop at
which water should be applied,
whether the heaviest irrigations
should come early or late, the
methodof irrigation, whether by
flooding or by furrowing, are ques-
tions' of prime Importance to the ir-
rigation farmer. The answers to
these questions obtained from one
crop will seldom apply directly to
another. crop; and each crop must
therefore be studied independently
with respect to its water require
ments. That the time and manner
of application of water has a high
influence on the yield can be IL
Illustrated by numerous examples, OF
which the following is an ex-
ample:
During the season s acre-inches
of water were applied to an acre Of
oats in two irrigations of seven anc
one-half inches each. The same
amount of water was applied to an.
other acre of oats in three irriga.
tions of five inches each. The fielc
receiving the water in two irriga.
tions yielded 65 bushels of oats
while that receiving the water il
three irrigations yielded "a bushels
which shows difference of nine
1 4 II e