The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1913-06-28

the witer feels that in the light OF ex.
periments and observations, at least
~ inches of annual rain fall is essen.
tial for success.
Only very recently has il been
found that many thousands of acres
of land adjacent to the Salt Lake
Route are undertake with water-bear.
ing strata. Where these conditions
exist, pumps owned and operated by
the land owners, has proven an ideal
method CT supplying water for irriga.
ton. In some sections artesian wate-
has been secured and this, or course,
is very desirable method OF secur.
ing irrigations water, but even u the
water must be raised from 10 to 60 or
70 feet the cost in producing fran
crops Is not prohibitive.
The advantages Of storage in reset
vqirs is just beginning to receive at
tehtion and within the next Jew years
thousands of homeseekers vii, find
choice lands under government or
Carey act projects.
In all of these types of farming the
settler should in every instance make
personal investigation Of the land
he contemplates taking by homestead
or purchase. In an arid country, with
scanty rain fall, not enough moisture
falls as a rule to soak through the
soils and connect with the country
drainage and thus to wash the sol.
uble matters of the soil into the oc.
can. AS a result, these soluble salts
Of agricultural lands remain in the soil
aud increase with the years. Alksl'
Is the water soluble portion OF the
soil. These soluble soil constituents
are far the most part excellent plant
foods, and many of them are indispen.
sable to plant life. However, when.
ever these soluble parts Of the soil arr
concentrated near the surface their
action upon plant roots and stems is
injurious.
Plants vary in their tolerance Of =.
kali and for This reason we see -. 49,,
desert lands different kinds Of native
vegetation. 1t Is generally conceded
that wherever sage-brush is found that
there is a very small amount of alkali
present, and that the presence OF
grease wood and shad-scaie Is indi.
cative of large amount of alkali. For
dry-farming the presence of very
small amount of alkali is dangerous
whereas with irrigation, If the land
has good slope, it may be, and often
Is feasible to grow crops, by care.
full tillage actually reduce the amount
OF alkali present.
Another source of danger to the pro.
spective home-seeker is found in the
fact that oftimes the irrigation water
carries high percentage of soluble
salts. While in most cases what is
called the rise of alkali' is due to the
salts already contained in the soil and
subsoil, in too. many cases the evil is
either brought about or greatly ag.
gravated by the excessive saline con.
tents of the water used. 1t is not easy
to assign a definite limit or mineral
hnuAnl uhinh ehn,,11
be considered unfit for irrigation pur-
poses, partly because Of the nature Of
the soil and the amount of water at
command materially influences its
availability. Forty grains per gallon
Is usually assigned as limit for pot
able as well as irrigation waters. But
If, most or the whole of sucn mineral
contents should consist Of carbonates
and sulphates of lime and magnesia,
the water, while unsuitable for dom
estoc use, may be perfectly available
for irrigation, since these salts are
either beneficial or harmless in the
amounts likely to be introduced by the
water. But If the most or whole of
such forty grains should consist of al.
kali salts proper (sodium sulphate,
sodium carbonate and sodium chic.
ride) or II they should contain even
small amounts Of magnesia chloride,
they might render the water either
wholly unsuitable for irrigation, or II
used it would be needful to take the
mineral content into consideration by
regulating it's application accordingly.
It has been found in California that
practically the upper limit of mineral
content for irrigation water under the
ordinary practice lies below seventy
grains per gallon in all cases" (Soils