The new era. (Walden, Colo.) 1906-19??, 1911-08-24
SYSTEMS MUST VARY
Soil With Very Free Drainage
Possesses Advantages.
Application Of Water Differs In vari-
Gus Sections From Gardeners
sprinkIlns With Watering Pot
to inslstsnt Irrigation.


conveying the impression that the
same system Is applied in all places
gives an entirely wrong impression:
Its application varies In different dis
tricts and soils from tho gardeners
sprinkling with q watering pot to tho
irrigation of land before crops are
planted and Its insistent use until
they are matured.
Speaking generally, the soils on the
western slope Of the Rockies are irrt-
gated earlier than those on the east.
Notwithstanding the more abundant
snowfall Many reasons cause early ir-
rigation. chief amongst them being
perhaps the nature of the subsoil
which Is often less retentive Of mois-
ture than the lands for instance from
Elton to Ault in the northern portion
of Colorado
A soil with q very free drainage has
some advantages II the water supply
is ample, 1t gives the grower more
absolute control Of moisture condf
lions than In a case where the soil IL
SO retentive that should his irrigation
be followed by heavy rains his crop
will be drowned out. or at least set
back from the soil being too wet and
soggy Such extremely frequent APP
plications of water on the other hand
are expensive and tend to leach the
soil. In course OF time making 1t
need more and more water. Examin-
Ing bed in a garden the other day.
where the plants were not doing well.
I fnfn I'D hot hoH tn
watered twice day. On examination
the soil did not appear to be too wet.
and even the fact that only foot OF
1t rested on solid rock was not SUM-
Client to account for its frequent need
of water. When some of the soil was
washed out in water an entire absence
OF humus was discovered and the mix
ture could be all kept In suspension
with hardly any residue in the bot
tom. 1t is impossible for such soil as
this to hold water in suspension. in
other words the upper roots of the
plants are constantly starved for wa
ter and the lower parts drowned. a
uniform and balanced moisture Is i'm
possible in such a soil
The remedy for such trouble is per-
fectly simple and the reason why 1t
had been difficult OF application to the
flower bed was that a certain number
of permanent plants occupied 1t and 1t
had been thought impossible to incor-
porate organic matter in the soil. The
bed was watered with liquid manure.
which helped. but only in part rem
edied the absence Of humus. -
In the case of the garden welted
turf should have been placed in the
bed and if this could not be done with
out removing the permanent plants
they should have been taken out and
reset. On the farm on such soil as
have described the remedy Is even
more simple and perfect medium for
holding water can be secured in an
easily worked soil. and at the same
time perfect moisture control.
In soil with good undertakings a
large amount of humus will never
hold more moisture than is beneficial
to plants, though in a swamp 1t may
do SO. causing aridity and stagnation.
Those soils which most need humus
are very much benefited by having
leguminous crops grazed of on them
or buried under. and where this is the
main consideration 1t never pays to
keep the stock on short pasture. but
they should have superiority to
tramp under foot for the benefit OF the
land as we'll as for their own good.
In the case Of alfalfa new growth
Will start from the bottom II the stock
is kept In the same field. or where
better system is followed Of alternate
pastures 1t should be cut and the slip
pings left on the ground when the
stock has been removed.