El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-10-19

his soil in the five principal plant
foods: humus. nitrogen. phosphOric
acid. potash and lime. in a well bal
anced plant ration. He has also pro-
vided his acre with a water right at
duty rate Of 100 acres TO the second
foot flow. or ~ acre inches per sea
son. or 1900 tons Of water per acre.
AS soon as the water is applied to
the land. the real duty OF water in sEri-
culture begins. 1t dissolves the plant
foods; IL supplies the moisture neces-
sary to the fullest development Of the
soil organisms or bacteria: il assists
the bacteria in the notification Of
these plant foods: and. after all the in
gradients are reduced TO the finest state
called nitrates (Which is the only con-
dition suitable for plant use), the water
holds II in solution and travels through
out the soil area and feeds all plants
with this nectar of life.
Another Function of Water.
Right here another function in the
duty Of water begins in making its
journey to the atmosphere II starts
at the terminals Of each and every
branch OF the elaborate root systems OF
all the plants and begins the distribu-
ton Of all the various substances that
make uD the structure Of the plant and
permits itself, entirely freed OF its pre-
ciOus load Of plant food. to pass into
the air in the enormous quantity Of
400 pounds to each one pound Of dried
grain OF cured hay and straw In this
have done their duty and have per
formed every function that nature has
required OF them 10 the utmost econ
Omy-
What of the Rest Of 1t.
But what OF all the rest OF the wa
ter we brought 10 this acre. We
started with 1900 tons. or ~ acre
inches per acre: II all fulfilled its Of
flee while in the soil and became laden
with nitrates; the crops were able TO
give transportation to the air OF 1900
tons of this water only. There are
vet 2600 tons in this acre that must be
disposed Of. or 1t viii fill the soil so
full of water that no plants can grow
II tries to get away by passing down
through the subsoil 10 some spring or
stream II that is not sufficient out
let, the farmer spends his money and
time in building a waste ditch TO carry
II away; always. Of course. carrying in
solution its valuable load Of carefully
prepared plant foods. and If this does
not suffice, the land is perforated with
tile drains TO offer still further means
OF escape.
Some s. experiments and laboratory
analyses have convinced the writer
that the water passing from farm lands
-obs them OF valuable plant foods
Eighteen experiments have shown
that water from the tile drains carries
in many cases. as much as 80 pounds Of
humus. go pounds OF nitrogen. 8
pounds Of phosphoric acid and %
ter discharged When We consider the
values represented here we can see that
no farm can afford TO lose any Of these
vital elements
Careful measurement and analyses
upon the writer's own tile drained farm
in ROx Elder sounty. Utah. shows that
during two years some 10 acre inches
Of waste water passed out Of this soil.
or ABOUT acre inches per year. and
conveyed in the discharged waters dur
ing these two years 800 pounds OF
humus. % pounds Of nitrogen. 20 !
posnds Of phOsphoric acid and $50 ]
pounds Of potash from each acre OF Z
ground
Cannot Afford the Leak
when We realize thar all our arid I
lands are in their natural state def
cient in humus and nitrogen. and that /
We are plOwinE under alfalfa and ap- /
plying barn Tnanures 10 build I'D these /
very elements and that 20 bushel oat /
crop takes from the soil s. pounds OF !
nitrogen. any school boy can tell me
that cannot afford this leak in my /
business.
Y believe II is safe TO assume that
there are $4,000 acre feet Of water that /
pass over or through the lands under
the Bear River canal system in Box FL /
der county Utah that are denied the /
1ul duty Of passing through the crops
to the air. and are forced to Join the I
surplus waters again every year. and {
that are laden with nitrogen enough (
10 produce three-quarters of million 1
bushels OF oats. or One-half a million /
bushels of wheat. or 10000 tons Of 1
sugar beets- Can We wonder that q |
noted soil chemist has asserted that a
century Of careless irrigation viii ex- !
haust out the best land on the CONT ,
nent.
What the Farmer ShouId Learn.
Right here. the irrigation farmer i
should learn the first and most fmpor- |
ISnt lesson in the practice Of irrigation; !
To supplant the natural precipitation /
with enough applied water to mature q !
maximum crop and no more. His land !
IS rich in plant foods and every inch !
OF water wasted from his farm car
ries away these elements in solution.
I'm conclusion it may he said that !
these losses may be avoided by serving J
70 the land only as much water as the s
crops can utilize. and while the rain
belt farmer drains his land and must /
81 omlt to the excessive rainfalls that /
leach out his soil. the arid farm irri- /
gator has the moisture conditions alb
solutely under his control and there is
no good reason why his land should
not be more fertile and productive in Z
90 49, -