El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-04-19

amount of water. The soil conditions
! will determine this to a large extent.
Keep Surface Dry as Possible.
The ideal In this method would be
| found where the moisture from adlom-
/ mo fUrrows would meet IN a reasonable
Ia6gfb of time and still not wet the top
| laver of soil much Ia depth OF i've or
| six inches was suggested IN the article
/ on cuItivatiOnl as moisture IN this top
( five or SIX inches Is lost by evaporation.
/ This moisture also cOmpacts the sur
/ face a condition which viii call Tor cul-
/ tivatiOn as soon as the ground IS dry
I enough to be worked; much OF tins cultl-
/ waiting Is saved, as well as much water, II
! this surface Is kept dry.
The best results are obtained also by
running the water slowly.
There was an article IN The Herald
of April 10, advocating deep furTON s,
which was prepared by a member of
the faculty of the agricultural college of
New Mexico. L believe it is published
IN the form of a pamphlet and no doubt
would be sent to anyone interested, or
request.
There is much that could be added
to this paper on irrigation, II the subject
were taken up IN all It's branches. But
1he object OF these papers is only to
treat these subjects IN a practical way
and to adapt the subject matter to this
section
1 believe there are many places on
the mesa where fruit crops can be grown
successfully from the rainfall alone
There are places where the drainage of
slopes lying above Is available, or could
be made available, on lower lying ground.
Also much. I believe can be done by
light planting (say about One-half the
number of trees usually planted to the
acre.. and by devising some means to
concentrate the rainfall of this district
on the planted section. This IS a purely
mechanical operation and might be ac-
cOmplished by placing the trees or vines
wide apart, ridging and cOmpacting the
center, so that the rain falling on this
cOmpacted area would run off readily
to the trees or vines, which should haze
about them an area OF thoroughly eulti-
waited soil, so that the excuses OF rain
fall could be stored and be available
when needed.
The problem is simply this, it seems
to me; If a 20 inch rainfall Is adequate
to produce a crop under ordinary cOndi-
lions. and our rainfall Is only 10 inches
then the rain that falls here on a strip
of 60 feet wide, If concentrated on a
strip 80 feet wide, would equal IN guam
tity 20 inch rainfall where no cOncen-
tratiOn had taken place. The success OF
of the soil. its depth, and the sub-sOil.
Following Natures Way.
Nature concentrates this rainfall, OF
run-Off In streams on lower ground, and
our valleys are made fertile by the soil
which are brought down by
these waters. and We simply make use
of this water Tor irrigation after 1t
reaches our streams.
Why not profit by this object lesson
and keep this moisture near where 1t
falls2
A great saving Of water could be made
in this way, since perhaps rs percent OF
the rainfall never reaches the streams, I
as the ground over which it passes alb |
serbs much of It and 1t sinks to lower /,
levels OF is evapOrated later without /
loing any useful work. The watersheds 4
hat supply our valleys with moisture 1
It their own expense. also with fertility, /
ire perhaps several hundred times the
irea OF the valleys made from them
Here, then, Is a concentration of several
hundred into one.
Then If we can make the rainfall OF /
iay three or four acres produce abundant /
rOps on one. we have done a good work. i
Perhaps there Is some published data 1
to this subject, but I do not 4
znOw of any. It Is simply a matter OF !
-easoning, and 1t seems to me to have
.Teat possibilities.
This paper concludes all subjects lead
nc up to the fruits under their different
leads. In nv next paper I take up the
rape. I believe this viii in time be
he most important fruit of this section