The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1912-03-15


different parts and apply different
amounts OF water to each one. Water
was measured and varied in this man,
ner on sixty different farms during
1910 and on as many more during the
past season. Several factors in regard
to the use OF water have been very
strongly emphasized, the principal
ones being that the amount of water
required depends upon; f1) The
character OF the soil and sub-so.I. The
texture OF the soil as regards poro.
sity has more to do with the amount
Iof water used than any other one
thing and 1t has been found that
adobe soils may be irrigated with a
total application of but two or. three
aero inches while In some instances
from one to two acre feet are re.
quired to spread over and thoroughly
irrigate an acre OF very gravelly soil.
All least 2-3 of this latter amount is
almost invariably wasted as 1t either
passes into the ground water or per.
coiates beyond the reach OF the plant
roots. II coarse soil II underlaid
with an imperyious stratum, the
amount of water necessary is ma
teriaily cut down, while II the imper
vious stratum Ia lacking, some irriga.
tion system must be used which will
food the ground quickly before the
wn1er has time 70 penetrate too deep.
ly II q high duty Ii 10 be secured
f2) Climatic Conditions. The an.
nual precipitation and its seasonal
distribution, together with the temper,
allure, humidity and wind movement.
al A.,V a. aid aFY
the amount OF water required.
t3l liberalization OF Farm
Crops. Where farm is all devoted
to one crop such as grain, hay or po-
tatoes, the greatest need for water
usually falls within comparatively
short time. and there Is but little use
for IL during the rest OF the season,
while by diversifying his crops, the
farmers need for water will be more
constant and he Is better able to
make good use or continuous flow
or the ditch throughout the season.
(4) Use or riotation.--It is well
known 10 most irrigators that little.
can be accomplished by lrigating with
small heads Of water, and much
larger and better nse is secured from
the water where larger heads can be
used Rotation systems, by means OF
which farmer can exchange water
with his neighbor and use larger
heads for shorter periods, are now
being used with success In many lo-
calities and the saving of water Ia
very material.
t5l Preparation Of the Land
crop production can not be
secured without uniform wetting of
the soil and this Is impossible II the
land is not properly prepared and
leyeied for irrigation. Rough, uneven
land, II Is plain to see, requires more
water than smooth land, for 1t has to
be held on the land long enough to
soak up the high spots. Careful prep
aration OF the land Is an absolute
necessity II the best use is to be Sc
cured from the water,
co Kind OF crop grown whether
cultivated or non-cuitivated and length
of season that Ii needs water have a
very direct bearing upon the amount
of water that viii be required by the
crop. Spring grains. on account OF
their short season OF growth, requires
considerably less water than alfalfa,
hlNWS AA0lu Shtl1 pRIAt7
late fall. Winter grains. all other
things being equal. require less irrl.
cation water than spring grains. be.
cause of their ability to utilize more
of the moisture deposited In the soil
from winter precipitation. A crop
that can be cultivated will need con
siderably less water than a non-culti
waited one, because of the great saving
that can be made by the reduction OF
the evaporation through cultivation.
II is as easy to apply too much
water rs H. Is TO apply too little, and
every bit as harmful. The expert
ments carried on this year at Good.
ing show up the results of overirri,
cation very clearly We had twenty
one different plots OF wheat consist,
ing OF three varieties of seven plots
each, These were planted and hand
led In exactly the same manner ex,
cept that different amounts of water
were applied TO each plot, all three
varieties being handled alike as q
check one upon another. The water
applied to each OF the three series oil
plots was varied all the way from
nothing upon the first plot of each
series, TO an average depth of APP
proximately two and half feet
where the greatest amount was ap,
piled With the dry farming where
no water was applied, the yield was
approximately 1000 pounds per acre
As the amount of water was increased
the yield also increased until the plot
receiving an application OF approx
mately Ii feet made yield of 1900
pounds per acre. after which the yield
decreased rapidly until the plot re
ceiying an application OF from 1.6 to
IL feet yielded less on the average
than that which received no water at
all, This shows strikingly the effects
of overirrigation on wheat and shows
In addition, as do all of the other ex'
periments that we have carried on
that spring grains do not require
much water. Alfalfa and clover
throughout all of the experiments
have responded to the use of larger
amounts of water and have beer
found to require fully so per cent
more than grains. The one thing that
has been emphasized throughout al
\ Of the experiments is that careful
I s,rfN,tnA %Ny. IA Il.