The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1912-01-03
SOME ERRORS IN IRRIGATION
to be Avoid led to Ache success

The principal causes of failure in
farming by irrigation are overplant-
ing, too much water. cultivation
and improper application of water,
and these apply to all classes of irri-
cation.
Many people make grave mistakes
in assuming that by the use of large
Quantities of water in irrigation it is
not necessary to cultivate as carefully
as when the water is applied through
rainfall This is a mistake and one
that the beginner is liable to make.
First, ne must use good Judgment
in applying the water so as not to
scald the plants and cause the ground
to bake or become hard and packed,
thus damaging the crop instead of
benefiting same by irrigation, losing
your time, cost of producing the wa
ter and damaging the land, losing in
Iterest on the investment and deterior-
alton of your plant.
Water should be applied in deep
narrow burrows between the rows of
truck or tree, preferably by sub-irri-
cation, permitting the water to sub
allow the water to food the surface
of the ground, excepting on rice, and
possibly alfalfa or small grain crops.
if it can be avoided AS soon as the
water has been taken up by the soil
and the ground is in good tillable
condition, you should cultivate, filling
the burrows, keeping at all times a
good. loose mulch, such as advocated
in the Campbell system of dry farm
ing. This will prevent evaporation,
leaving the soil il a good productive
condition. 1t is best, when possible
to do so, to apply the water in the
evening or early in the morning, es-
pecially on truck.
Value of Cultivation
You will remember when nature ap-
plies the water the clouds usually
shade the earth, cooling same after
the rain, and the clouds usually con-
tinue to shade the earth until the soil
has properly absorbed the moisture
otherwise scalded crops are the re-
, suit.
Always follow water with careful
cultivation, as soon as the soil is in
, favorable condition, bearing in mind
that weeds consume water and sap
, the strength of the soil and that the
sun will absorb the water unless the
loose mulch is retained In other
words, use as little water as possible
and much cultiva ion. and then good
results will follow. In this way you
will reduce the cost of irrigation, ow-
ing to the less amount of water used,
and your land will remain in excellent
, condition.
/ The usual method of applying wa
7 ter: Flood the ground with too
} much water. li'tle cultivation and
sometimes none. The result is baked
and packed soil, plenty of weeds. yell
, low and dwarfed plants, and irriga-
ton pronounced failure, when it Is
the irrigator and his methods or lack
of method, that the failure.
In order that 1t may be clear, you
will see that a reasonable amount of
water, properly applied, keeping a
good moist sub-soll, gives the desired
results while much water improperly
applied. at an increased cost, means
; no crop, but plenty OF weeds and the
land left in poor condition.
. Subterranean Waters
J BY pumping water from wells or
, streams, where the lift is from fifty
to 100 feet, and the careful use of
the same, a handsome profit can be
, realized, depending, of course, upon
the local conditions, kind and number
of crops produced per annum and tho
prices received for the same.
We can assure you that, in our
opinion, backed by years of actual
field work, the American people are
just entering the greatest development
In the irrigation line the world has
ever known, and much of the water
used for the same Is being obtained
, from the underflows. subterraneau
rivers, sheet or ground water, all of
wS'eh are supplied by the rain, or
, SLOW from the mountains. In many
Instances the rain falls upon porous
, formations such as sand or gravel,
porous rock or boulders, disappear
ing beneath the earths surface in
said formation, passing through the
earth and in some instances the wa
ter appears miles away at the earth
surface In the form of a spring or an
artesian well that flows of it's own
accord and pressure. In many more
INSTANCES the same water is being
. lifted to the surface by the use Of
two or three stage centrifugal pumps
operated by electricity, where it is
available, gasoline or solar oil en-
gines, here this class of fuel can
be secured. Especially is the inter-
nal combustion engine to be desired
where the lift is high and a medium
amount of water is desired with
long pumping seasons. Steam plants
are sometimes preferable where large
volumes of water are secured and the
pumping seasons are short, and where
the fuel is cheap and close to the
plant.
Keep Truck Patch
One or two acres of truck at all
times means a good living for the en-