Graham guardian., 1912-02-16
FARM BY IRRIGATION
There Are Three Principal Rea.
sons for Many Failures.
Many Mako Mistake In Assuming That
by Use OF Large Quantities Of
Water Careful Culture 10 Not
Necessary.

The three principal causes of fail
ure In farming by irrigation are over
planting, under-cultivation. improper
application Of water, and these apply
to all classes Of irrigation.
Many people make grave mistakes
In assuming that by the use of large
quantities OF water In irrigation 1t is
not necessary to cultivate as care
fully as when the water is applied
through rainfall. This Is q mistake
and one that the beginner is liable
to make.
First. one must use good Judgment
In applying the water 80 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 water
and damaging the land. losing inter
est on the Investment and deteriora-
ton Of your plant.
Water should be applied In deep.
narrow burrows between the rows Of
truck or trees (prefsrable by sub-irri-
gation). permitting the water to sub
irrigate as much as possible. Never
allow the water to food the surface Of
the ground. excepting on rice and pos
sibly alfalfa or small grain crops. II
1t can be avoided. Az soon as the
water has been taken up by the soil
and the ground is in good tillage con.
dition, you should cultivate. filing the
burrows, keeping at all times good
loose mulch. such as advocated in the
Campbell system Of dry farming. This
will prevent evaporation, leaving the
soil In a good. productive condition.
1t 10 best, when possible to do so. to
apply the water In the evening or
early In the morning. especially on
truck.
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 watering with care
ful 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 pos
sible and much cultivation and then
good results will follow. In this way
you will reduce the cost of irrigation.
owing to the less amount Of water
used, and your land will remain In ex.
cellent condition.
The usual method Of applying wa
ter: Flood the ground with too much
water. little cultivation and some
times none. The result is baked and
packed soil. plenty of weeds. yellow
and dwarfed plants, and irrigation
pronounced failure when It is the
irrigator and his methods. or lack
of method, that Is the failure.
In order that 1t may be clear, yon
will see that a reasonable amount OF
water. properly applied. keeping a
good moist subsoil. gives the desired
results. while much water improperly
applied at an increased cost means no
crop but plenty Of weeds and land
left In poor condition.
BY pumping water from wells or
streams. where the lift Is from 80 to
100 feet. and the careful use OF same.
handsome profit can be realized. de.
pending. of course. upon the local con-
ditions, kind and number OF crops pro.
duced per annum and prices received
for same.
We can assure you that. in our opin.
lon. 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 same is being obtained from the
underfiows. subterranean rivers, sheet
or ground water. all OF which are sup.
piled by the rain or snow from the
mountains. In many instances the
rain falls upon porous formations, such
as sand or gravel, porous rock or
boulders, disappearing beneath the
earth's surface in said formations,
passing through the earth. and In
some instances the water appears
miles away at the earth's surface in
the form Of spring or an artesian
well that flows of its own accord and
pressure.
provldlnu Grain for cai%s