The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1908-12-15


gen, mentioned above, must como
from the soluble salts in the ground,
and nowhere else.
When once we understand the func-
tons of water in plant growth, then
we can see the fallacy of claiming
superiority of rain water over irri-
cation water, or the reverse, In rails
ing fruit or anything else. What does
rain water do? 1t passes through the
soil and gathers up the soluble salts
and carries them into the tree or other
plant. What does the irrigation water
do? 1t passes through the soil and
gathers up the soluble salts and car
ries them into the tree or other plant.
The function is precisely the same In
both cases. The common saying that
irrigated fruit lacks quality when
compared with non-irrigated fruit, is
founded on a misconception of what
water does for the good of tree.
The water is similar to the spoon out
of which we take our medicine or our
nourishment. Castor oil or lobelia
tea will taste just the same, and have
just the same effect, whether 1t Is
taken out of gold, silver or wooden
spoon. So water, whether coming d.
rectly from the clouds as rain, or rum
ming along in an irrigation ditch after
il has fallen to the earth as rain, Will
have the same effect. In either case
the water saturates the soil, dissolves
the mineral salts and carries them
into the tree. The claim, therefore,
that non-irrigated fruit is better IN
quality than irrigated fruit is founded
ON ignorance Sometimes, no DOUBT,
the non-irrigated fruit is superior In
quality and sometimes the reverse Is
true. but the difference is not owing
tn the manner in which the water
gets into the ground, but owing TO
some other cause. There is a fallacy
nointed out in our works on logic
called non causa pro causa which,
being put into plain English, means
a cause is assigned when it is not the
cause. We must never confound CO
incidence with cause and effect. The
old fable that a fly riding on the axle
of carriage said, what a dust ! am
raising" but it was the horses and the
carriage that raised the dust ana no'
the egotistic fly. Some people IN as
signing a cause for superiority III ap
pies, are about as ignorant as the ny.
Some one may say, sometimes trult
trees are irrigated too mucn. sup
nose they are! Does 1T not rain TOO
much sometimes? I have sometimes
seen the soil in our orchards IN miu
summer in Iowa and Missouri SO wet
that a team of horses would m1re
down If driven through them. Inen
these same orchards would, IN some
eases. be so thoroughly dried by sep
tember or October that the ground
was almost as hard as bone. Inc
chief advantage in irrigation is tnaC
we have our supply of water under
orr control. and can prevent too mucn
or foo little use of water. Wherever
+bera is enough water and at the r1gnt
time non-irrigation is just as gooa DIS
IRRIGATION. but where these condltlons
do not obtain, then irrigation mas the
front seat. ..;,o+;or is
better than rainfall, even II we 90
have an adequate supply ana aI Tue
,.;obt time. The reason assigned ior
th;s nosition is that the irrigation
rnators come down from the noun
tains freighted with mineral sai.s'
such as iron, sulphur ana magnesia,
and in this way produce a niene,
Grade of fruit than can be produceu
wirnout such freighted waters. IL ID
cutie enough in reply to. THIS sCa'e'
rnent to saw that such competent au-
thor;tv as F. H. King, in his admir-
ohIa work entitled "The Soil, SHOWS
oo COM that all soils contain all
tba iron. sulphur and magnesia that
ono aver needed in the growth of plans
or Fruits. The mineral salts that
oa,natimes run short in our soils, such
as nbosnhorus. potash, nitrogen and
lime, are not found In lrrlgaIloh
waters as they come from the noun
tains. but must be gathered by the
orb