The Kennewick courier. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1905-1914, 1909-10-15
PRATT PUTS BIC
TRACT IN CROP
eisolINE PLANT LIFTS AN ABUN-
lance OF THREE
MILES OF FlUME

,oent in a year as has the Meadow
R,ook Farm tracts in the past twelve
months. Work was commenced
LAT fall but practically the entire
improvement has been made in the
ppsent season. The central point
oi attack for reclamation was on
G, acre tract facing on the river
which is called Riverside Ranch.
The land has been leyclcd and put
il good condition for planting, be
tseen two and three miles of fiunc,
good big substantial fiuming, we'll
stand well anchored, have been
blilt and an abundant supply OF
E,ter has been furnished steadily
dlyand night by the pumping plant
Installed. The water is supplied
f-om a we'll 10 feet squire and -
feet deep. Two gasoline engines
one a II horse power Alamo and
the other a s horse power Interna-
tional, operate the two centrifugal
pamps that lift the water from the
wells to the fumes. One pump dis
charges a 6 inch stream and the
other four inch stream. In seed
ing new land an abundance Of water
isabsolutely necessary to wet up the
sill and hold it until the seed sprouts
and the rootlets arc set. This plant
his met the demand in good shape
and has been operated by two shifts
Of engineers practically without
stopping. Under these farorins
conditions of good leveling of the
gonud, good fluming and abundant
Witer, the entire 81 acres have been
seeded to alfalfa in one season.
Nurse crops of rye, wheat or millet
have been used in practically all the
fields to hold the soil from blowing
until the alfalfa rooted and grew to
size that would prevent the wind
cutting it off. Straw was also used
- cover the ground where it showed
special tendency to blow and the
method works well, the very thinest
batting of straw will stop blowing
md drifting completely. Judging
BY the fact that an adjacent ten acres
IN alfalfa has produced three big long
'tacks of hay this season the next
years. yield of this ranch will be
enormous and with the high prices
that prevail in this section for hay
will make this ranch one of the big
venue producers of the valley.
In addition to placing this ranch
U lder irrigation the Meadow Brook
Farm Co. of which r. f. Pratt is
the active manager has also put dry
turning to test to degree. A tract
Containing $50 acres lying horseshoe
IN shape following the general line
otthe Haxton Drainage Ditch has
been put in crop. That lying next
70 the ditch produced a good yield
Of oat and wheat hay. These crops
on the lower ground got the neces-
sasy moisture by sub-irrigation and
made good yield. On the higher
ground where this could not be de-
pended on, the land was sown to
fysand a good crop has grown
which hold the soil until further
cultivation. Getting the land in
.top and shape to produce revenue
:of Its owners is the result of greater
Importance but to the casual observer
we change from sage brush and
sano m hummocks to the broa d green
asres Is most remarkable transfer
n'atlon gladdening the eye.
IN addition tothe two large tracts
=; Hn'ch have been put under cuItiva-
s.:n s,on as We have indicated, there is
haa lall lett about forty acres which
naao nas ocen cleared and leveled but
laai llao'n'ng ,.g furt her done to it. This
he l"'.a lies along the river and is
!, l,;;u'liully located for nice homes.
m. % th- intention of the manage
sasa ~sn' to sell these tracts during this
ason nsa, and they have a right to ex-
whs. as 'nat they will find ready sale
ons, aA aa!acent land by actual dem
With STATION ~ shows what they can do