American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1912-12-19
IRRIGATION ron GOOD CROPS
Maximum Of Production Usually A.
talnsd In Gardens With Moderate
but Frequent WsterInos.


After all has been said and done.
the limit Of production ID set, other
conditions being equal. by the supply
q moisture ut the right time, and
hose who depend on rainfall can hard
" have the exact optimum condition.
Dry weather IL needed to work the
corn, wei weather for the pasture. and
only under artificial application Of
moisture can these two conditions be
realized. rays . writer In the Denver
Weekly Post. 1t Ii true that we some.
times have wet weather when we do
not want It here. In ract, this sea-
o we have had rather more than
Sas necessary, but 10 q rule we can
regulate things, and with us the crop
wo shall grow IL q matter Of our Sc
lection. Some states have sections
Of q hundred miles or more almost
wholly In wheat, because hot winds
bake the corn. In many other sec
tons fall crops. such as cabbage or
potatoes, are extremely risky. Long
winter months Of cold and wet re-
duce profits, which. however, are fair.
E iCO Ou l8TkG IhTLl0
with us. even II less per acre.
No section of the country has all
the advantages, but for the smaller
farmer irrigation with an assured sup
ply Of water certainly seems best. for
mis- production Is practically only linn.
tied BY the fertility of his land. Wa.
ter will make crops grow and sunshine
10 here In quantity. So far as there Is
. missing link In irrigated agricul-
ture It Ii the lack OF manure to re-
place h great tonnage sold, and It
IL after this line that we must look for
improvement. Besides furnishing good
plant food. tho organic matter holds
moisture between irrigations and less
n n need OF such frequent appli-
cations, which are both expensive and
reduce the strength OF the soil soup,
IN our rich soils. The fact that
we get our highest production In the
years Z" greatest rainfall points to
Inc value OF a more constant and less
heavy application OF water where the
supply IL sufficiently constant.
The maximum of production Is usu-
ally attained In the garden with mod
crate but frequent w%aterings, though
care should be taken that the ground
Toes not become crusted at the depth
of a few inches and the subsoil remain
dry n hi top soaked, inducing
and shallow roofing. In the
Held. as a rule. with its deep cultiva.
lion, there Is a tendency for the wa
ter to soak too deep and run too long
N covering long rows, while on the
small patch the tendency Is the 9TH
pr way. Farmers show much skill In
cultivation which preserves the irriga-
Ion waters. checks their evaporation
1t the surface while 1t encourages
,apillarity. which returns the water to
he roots even after 1t has passed low
Down In the soil.
There Is, OF course an exact length
IT row run for water. which varies
according to the soil, to attain the
'est result from the smallest amount
u water. The looser the soil the short.
n the row should be. so far as the
OF water Is concerned,
While on heavy soils we must con-
family try the ground with a shovel
o see that the water soaks deep
'nough. Perhaps on light soils rather
han suffer the Inconvenience OF short +
1t pays to run a packer. as a
Ia run over grain ana al
AHA crops on the western slope. u
like the same effect may
70 secured on suitable land by using
mailer bitches. On other soils, on
contrary, a large head of water
Fill run a short time with less waste
han a smaller one. Some OF these
Kings may seem paradoxical, but they
vii be found true In practice and me-
close observance as to soil
o%nditions by the man who spreads
water.