The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1912-11-01

irrigation supply and Its Use should
Demand Most Thoughtful Con-
alteration Of Best Minds.

L
how much water to apply to my
crops?" There are ways by which
this can be done and the time will
come when every irrigator will avail
himself of these means. Water is the
most valuable thing in the arid region
more valuable than gold or silver
or any other Of our resources or prod
uctA Therefore, the water supply and
its use should demand the most
thoughtful consideration of the best
minds, writes Alex Mcdonald in the
Denver Field and Farm. l have found
by actual experience that l6 inches of
water, including rainfall, supplied dur
ing the growing season will produce
IS bushels Of wheat and 1870 bushels
Of oats, II properly distributed and
conserved.
More water added to the soil did
not increase its production. but rath
or decreased 1t. Less water than this
produced nearly as much as the
amount given. Hence the water that
ls added to the soil in excess Of the
needs OF the plant is wasting wealth
md 1t behooves the irrigator, or tho
men who are using water, to study
this question WELL SO that they may
make water do It's whole duty, and
shus increase the area of tillable land
Many who are not used to irrigating
often look upon It as a mysterious
work. invariably say to these men
II they pose as farmers: do you
know when soil Is in good condition."
they answer yes. then l tell them
10 keep 1t that way They do not
have to wait for rain; they can sup
ply water themselves and hence there
s no excuse for not keeping 1t In good
condition 80 far as moisture is con-
cerned.
Next, how are we to find out how
much water to apply in the soil7 |
have used the following plan: Take
l ship auger with shank tree three
'eet long or more, bore into the
ground before the crops are planted,
AXE all Of the soil and put it in re-
,eptacle. Properly cover to prevent
oss OF moisture, and take 1t to a drug
'tore and weigh 1t. Then take this
'ame soil and place It In an oven, or
anywhere temperature Of about 104
'eerees may be obtained. until thor
,ughly dried. Then weigh the soil
.gain. From this the water In the
yround can be computed Then after
rrigating do this again, and 1t will
ell you, II you do 1t Immediately aft
.r irrigatihg how much water the soil
contains when saturated, and II you
wait "a hours and take a sample in
ike manner 1t will tell approximately
low much water the soil holds In a
Orm that plants can use
In fact, successful dry farmers In
he northwest follow this plan every
rear. OF course precipitation there
:omes In the late fall. winter and
'arly spring, and they find that II they
lave equal to ~ to Is inches Of wa
er available for plants that they can
:ount on a crop. II not, they must
conserve this moisture by summer
allowing and await more precipita-
ion. Then again, other tests may be
,sed. Dig into the ground or 4
inches and take a handful of the soil
ind squeeze. II it remains In a ball,
hen 1t is unnecessary to supply mois-
lure. OF course. this pre-supposes
hat there Is moisture down below and
hat the ground is not too sandy.
Some may say this Is too much trou-
bic. but they should be willing to
rouble themselves when there IL
money in It,
l have personally observed that
men are pouring water onto their
Ioil, which II used intelligently would
rrigate from two to four times as
much land as they are now irrigating.
4 one acre of land will produce a net
income Of $50 and upward, and by a
little investigation they could, with
he same amount OF water, cultivate
'our acres and get better crops, Is II
not worth little investigation? The
intelligent farmer, whether scientific
Or not, wants to make money cut of
his farming operations. If he owns
water, he wants to turn that water
into money that he may have the
necessities, or even the Injuries of
life In more abundance Then why
waste the water by excessive .rriga.
honf While 1t is true that alfalfa
requires more water than, perhaps.
any other crop grown In the west, yet
II the soil is deep and in proper con-
dition so that the roots OF the plants
will go on down. they will be able to
reach the subterraneAn water In
greater or lesser time and materially
aid the farmer in reducing the amount
Of water necessary for his alfalfa.