Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-12-15
TESTS OF IRRIGATION.

Irrigation Investigations have beei
conducted for several years past by tn
Utah Experiment Station at Logan
and the results. which are of genera
interest, are embodied in bulletlI
(No. 1869 just issued. 1t is written b,
Dr John A Widtsoe
TIE writer states that the work ha:
hsd for its direct object the study
Of the mutual relations of plants, soils
and water. as these relations may in
dicate the most economic use of water
for plant production. 1t becomes nee
cssary to follow the movement OF
water in soils under Irrigation condi-
tions and To determine also the re-
Iiiive amounts of water vaporated di-
rectly from the soil and taken from
tie soil by plants. Considering the
needs OF the practical farmer. three
great questions continually presented
themselves to the investigators: Cd To
what extent Is ii possible to regulate
the amount of water that eyaporates
directly from the soil? 90 Is 1t possible
10 regulate the amount Of water taken
from the soil by plants? and Cd Is
II possible to prevent loss of water by
seepage?
Four kinds of soils were employed in
the experiments In testing these IL
was found that the College loan and
Sanpete clay average about one-fourth
of one per cent, of water soluble
material. which probably includes all
80, Ill
while the clay and sand contain some
what less than one-half of that
amount
First the effect of cultivation, by
which is meant the stirring of the top
soil usually after the crops have been
planted. was investigated 1t was found
that on all the soils. excepting the
sand cultivation increased the yields
of dry matter from the cropped pots
The increase due to cultivation. is sur
prisingly high; on the clay 1t was nearly
81 per cent. on the College loan and
Sanpete clay it was neary and II
per cent. respectively Certainly, such
Increased crop yields fully compensate
the farmer for the labor of cultiya-
ton --.f,
Inc amount of evaporation from bare
soils, with and without cultivation.
during three years, showed one rather
singular result. The beneficial effect
of cultivation was strikinkly marked
on all of the soils with the execution
OF the College loan. which was not at
all benefited. Cultivation reduced
evaporation from the clav e2.5 nor
cent; from the sand s41 per cent. and
from the sanpete clay 13 per cent
Ihese results confirm the results os
former experiments and Justify tho
systematic and careful cultivation that
inc wise farmers of the arid West give
10 eheir soils. The conduct OF the
cohege loan is surprising, and shows
that many western soils must be decn-
ly stirred in order to conserve tha
soil moisture that lies beneath tho sur-
face.
Another series of tests furnished fair
~ conclusive evidence that the amount
OF water actually required for the nro:
ouction OF pound of dry matter he-
comes smaller as the available ferti,,t,.
OF the soil increases. While this law
Is not new, II does not seem to bav.
oeeh applied to the cultural methods IN
TINS country, where the limiting facto.
Is the water supply.
In england. during the dry season of
'Sfo' II was observed thT the ha.v olots
that had been well fertilized prodncad
nearly ten times as much dry matter
as did the unfertillzed plots, and that
me Increased yield could not be ex.
piained without assuming that drv
matter had been produced with less
water than ordinarily required.
In Germany. about 1876. 1t wos do
'ernnihed that the Transportation OF
plants In water cultures varied with
the solutions employed. When a mix
lure of all the necessary plant foods
was used, the Transportation was LEAST.
More recently. In 1884, IL was again
observed that the amount of water
transpired per gram OF dry oats dimiu-
lsned as more plentiful supply of
plant nutrients were offered; and in
}s9S an experiment was reported which
Fhowed that on an infertiIc soil 1.1eO
Grams OIL water were transplred for
zach gram of dry matter as against
s5o grams on very fertile soil.
In 1908. Investigations In the Bureau
OF Soils hit upon the same law. Scat
tered throughout agricultural literature
are numerous observations TO the effect
that during seasons of drouth the crops
on fertile soils suffer least. All these
statements are in support of the ind
ings Of the experiments reported in this
bulletin. that the amount of water used .