The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1908-06-15
BEST METHODS OF lRRIeATINe.
By A. Mcpherson, Idaho.
I'm Irrigation Age.)


tai principles of irrigation. Irriga-
ton, he said, meant the supplying or
water in the right amount at the right
time. Water Is the one element neces-
sary to plant life which is under the
control of man, and the good irrigator
can control plant growth with as much
certainty, almost, as he can the shape
of his buildings. The man who does
not understand something of plant
growth can never become good ir-
rigator. Water must be applied in a
scientific and rational manner, because
it is the lever which controls produc-
ton. Water is the vehicle which car
ries food to the plant. Descending
into the soil it dissolves the chemical
food elements, and rising by capillary
attraction. carries that food to the
plants. Bear in mind that it is not the
water going into the soil, but that COM
ing up which feeds the plant.
Moisture, air, heat and plant
food are the elements which
control plant growth. Plants should
grow continuously from the time
the seed sprouts until they ma
ture. If they are supplied with
moisture in the right quantity and in
the right way, they will do So If the
soil is saturated with water to such an
extent as to expel the air, the growth
of the plant is checked. This is one
reason why irrigation by the corruga-
ton method, or in small trenches, is
preferable to flooding. Bear in mind
never to keep the soil saturated
Water in the soil forms in thin lay
ers around the soil particles. II these
particles were cubes, with inch sur
faces. there would be film OF
water on all sides of the cubes.
If this cube were pulverized, or chang
ed to a powder, there would be as
many films as there are soil PARTICLES
Therefore a fine soil will hold more
moisture than coarse soil, because
there are more interstices to be filled
Ten per cent. of moisture in these In
terstices and the balance air is about
the ideal proportion.
Thus good cultivation, in having the
soil we'll pulverized, is an aid to good
irrigation.
The roots of a plant are always
larger than it's top.> That is, the roots
extend further into the ground than
it's top does above it. The roots may
run along near the surface or may be
made to penetrate deep into the soil.
If the soil is kept wet when the plants
begin to grow, their roots will keep
near the surface. But If moisture Is
withheld, the plants will hunt for 1T,
the same as an animal, and send their
roots deep after it. The deeper the
roots go the larger the feeding ground
of the plant, and the thriftier the plant
will be.
Thus, by the application of water,
the irrigator may benefit or injure
plant growth. A plant with roots near
the surface will require frequent ir-
rigation. One deep-roOted requires
much less water. Thus by starting
right the irrigator may either make or
save himself work.
AS between the corrugating or flood
ing methods, he preferred the former,
for two reasons: better and quicker
distribution of water, and less liabil-
ity of checking plant growth. In the
cOrrugatiOn or furrowed method, fur
rows three or four inches deep, and
two feet apart, should be made in the
field Immediately after planting, be-
fore the seeds sprout. These burrows
readily conduct the water, carrying 1t
across field in much less time than
when flooding is resorted to, and dis
tribute the water more evenly. The
rise of an inch or two in a few square
rods of ground is scarcely noticeable.
Yet water cannot be forced upon such
ground without impounding it by dams
and making the low places wet while
the high ones are getting moisture
enough to make the plants grow.
Where a furrow four inches deep is
made through such high places the
water flows without interruption, and
soaks in about twelve hours from one