The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1909-09-16

l al " tou 80 IHOEOuXniy WORKED Cn8C every
man who draws water from them has q
definite hour for taking, and for stopping
his flow. Thus he will have a printed
schedule like this for his headgate:
Gully 10, o'clock a. m. until July II,
3p. m.
July %, IL noon, until July % mid
night, and SO on down the whole season.
Half an hour before his time his ditch
may be entirely dry. Then the next man
above shuts off, the ditch fills, the farm
er opens his headgate and on comes the
water-to be shut off on the minute of
schedule SO that the next man may have
his share.
There are few projects, however on
which the water is so fully taken up that
such accurate distribution is necessary.
The result is that the amateur and often
the old hand takes too much water and
hurts his land. Thus in Montana, when
Governor Norris asked farmers, before
legislative commission, how much
water their land needed, some said one
foot, some said twenty feet.
AS matter of fact, Government prof.
ects are usually based upon two-foot
supply, sometimes on three feet, and in
most Washington and Oregon projects
one foot is usually sufficient, if properly
applied. The troubles Of too much water
are manifold. Drainage is often
neglected feature on these projects, and
too much water saturates the ground,
brings up the alkali and destroys the trees
Thus the Sunnyside project in the Yaki-
ma Valley is now being put under drain
age to overcome this effect. Too much
water has entirely ruined several farms
| there, the water sweeping down from
higher ground and bringing up alkali
with it to the surface The remedy for
this is proper under drainage and the
careful application of surface water to
wash it down again.
Many OF the fumes and pipe lines for
these projects run for a score or more of
miles along the sides of mountains,
through tunnels, over hills and siphon
across streambeds, to reach the tracts
they are to supply. Every tract is called
by the ditch above it and is said to
be ''under the Teton" or ''under the
Sunnyside" ditch, as the case may be.
THE FARMERS END OF THE FLUME.
The farmers end Of the ditch may be
a wooden flume running under the road,
or little iron pipe, or an open ditch four
to six inches wide, covered with grass
and tinkling unseen by the roadside.
This divides. by ingenious contrivances
and has gates and turnouts. When he
wishes to water an orchard tract he har-
rows the ground and then with his plough
carefully burrows it between the rows,
making cross burrows from the ditch out
let to connect those which follow the
slope of the hill (Of course the study
of slope and outlet is importantly Then
he opens the gate and let's the water into
the cross furrow, from which it runs into
the first four or five long burrows through
the field. Commonly two burrows are
ploughed between each two rows of trees.
The water follows these slowly, seeping
into the ground, gradually running furth-
err. After the required amount has run
the farmer places earth dams at the
head of this group of burrows and let's
the water go to second group. One
man is kept busy removing distractions,
keeping the bitches clear and preventing
overflow. If too much water is allowed
on and it overfiows into highway the
farmer may be heavily fined.
AS soon as an orchard has been water
ed and the ground surface is fairly dry it
is thoroughly narrowed to prevent sur
face evaporation, and then takes care of
itself for ten days or even two or three
weeks, the water remaining in the soil
UClOW CLc SuI1dCS. Lie HlOIe carefully
this is done the less irrigation is needed.
Under this abundant watering the
trees grow marvellously. Shoots six or
eight feet long, an inch or more thick,
represent in early July the seasons
growth to that time. But when the
water is shut off at fruiting season the
growth entirely stops. No wood is made
after the apples are picked. In the Win
ter practically all the new growth is cut
back, the trees are kept small for easy
picking, and the result is generally a
crop every year instead Of every other
year. There are some varieties which
will not yield to this annual production,
stimulus, and these varieties are gradu-
ally being eliminated from the orchards.
The production of the orchards in fruit
is enormous, For peaches to produce
$4,000 an acre year is nothing unusual
in the Wenatchee or Yakima district.
Apples customarily produce $1,000 an acre
and $500 is looked upon as a small yield.
The cost of growing and handling the
crop should not be over S125 an acre
even on the larger yield. Water charges
are only about S1.50 an acre a year.
Fruit sells on the farm for about ST.. so
box, and from that price to S. Apples
cannot be bought even in North Yakima
for less than five cents each.
They are, needless to say, carefully
handled. Orchards are thoroughly spray
ed and guarded against pests, and every
thing is done to insure perfect crops.
Nothing could be prettier than one of
these irrigated tracts in the des-
ert From 10000 to 10000 acres of
land may be included in it. About it, in
the distance, may be seen the treeless,
dusky- brown, sage-covered hills which
are not yet and perhaps never may be
brought under cultivation. Their rolling
shoulders gradually become fresher as
they approach the actually irrigated
lands Over them appear the long, level
lines of the fumes and the pipes. Below
these is the dense mass Of green foliage
of the orchards-darker and greener
than any other trees-closely sprinkled
with the bungalow houses of the orchard
lists.
These irrigation tracts have developed
new type Of Western home which is
modification of the bungalow. Broad
spreading caves, wide porches amply
screened, and stained wooden exteriors
produce an arts-and-crafts effect. No
type could be better suited to the needs
or to the surroundings, and there are mo
prettier groups of farm houses in Amer
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