The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1919-02-06


several years. Irrigation means CO.
operation. That is, to me, the chief
value of aridity."
The wind, though still blowing
through the car and ruffling the train
dust, was carrying less of grit and
sand. To the nostrils of Rickard and
his new acquaintance it brought the
pleasing suggestion of grassy mead
ows, of willOw-lined streams and fra
grant fields.
"It is the accepted idea that this
valley Is attracting a superior class
of men because of its temperance
stand. 1t is the other way round. The
valley stood for temperance because
of the sort Of men who had settled
here, the men of the irrigation type"
The engineers ear criticized "irriga-
tion type" He began to suspect that
he had picked up crank.
"The desert offers a man special ad-
vantages, social, Industrial and agricul-
tural. 1t is no accident that you find
a certain sort of man here"
81 suppose you mean that the
struggle necessary to develop such q
country, under such stern conditions,
develops of necessity strong men?"
evolved Rickard. "Oh, yes, / believe
that, too"
"Oh, more than that. It is not so
much the struggle as the necessity for
cooperation. The mutual dependence
is one of the blessings of aridlty."
"One of the blessings Of aridity!"
echoed. his listener. 'You are philos-
opher." He had not yet touched the
others thought at the spring.
"You might as well call me social
list because praise irrigation in that
it stands for the small farm unit"
retorted the valley man. "That is one
of its flats; the small unit. 1t is the
small farm that pays. That fact brings
many advantages. What is the charm
of Riverside? 1t comes to me always
like the unreal dream of the socialist
come true. 1t Is city Of farms, Of
small farms, where man may make
his living off his ten acres of oranges
or lemons; and with all the comforts
and conveniences Of city within
reach, his neighbors not ten miles off !
A farmer in Riverside or in any irri-
gated community does not have to
postpone living for himself or his fam
lily until he can sell the farm! He
can go to church, can walk there; the
trolley car which passes his door
takes him to public library or the
opera house. His children ride to
school. His wife does not need to be
a drudge. The bread wagon and the
steam laundry wagon stop at her
door,"
Nickard observed that perhaps he
did not know anything about irrigation
after all He had not thought of it
before in its sociological relation but
merely as it touched his profession.
"Not going into soil values, for that
is long story" began the older man,
"irrigation is the answer which SCI
ence gives to the agriculturist who Is
impatient of haphazard methods. Irri-
CATION is not compromise, as so many
believe who know nothing about it. 1t
is q distinct dvantage over the old
fashioned methods.
81 am one of those who always
thought it q compromise" admitted
the engineer.
Better call rain a compromise" re-
torte,. ne irrigationist. "The man
who iirigates gives water to the tree
which needs it: rain nOurisheS one
tree and browns out another. Irriga-
ton is an insurance policy against
drought, a guarantee against floods.
The farmer who has once operated an
irrigated farm would be as impatient
were he again subjected to the caprice
of rain as housewife would be were
she compelled to wait for rain to fill
her washtub. There is no irregularity
or caprice about irrigation"
"Wonder how the old fellow picked
it all up?" unused Rickard with dis
respect. Aloud he said, "You were
speaking of the value of the soil?"
Look at the earth those plows are
turning over. See how rich and friable
it is, how it crumbles? You can dig
for hundreds of feet and still find that
sort of soil, eight hundred feet down!
1t is disintegrated rock and leaf mold
brought in here in the making OF
delta. Heavy rainfalls are rare here,
though we have had them, in spite of
popular opinion. Were we to have
frequent rains the chemical properties
which rain farmers must buy to enrich
their worn-out soils would be leached
out, drained from the soil. 1 can't
make this comprehensive, but I've
monograph on desert soil. If you are
interested I'll send it to you"
81 should like it-immensely," as
sented the engineer, still amused.
1T explains the choice of the Aztecs,
Of the Incas, of Carthaginians, the
H. &I,1 CT