The Elbert County tribune., 1919-02-28

develops OF necessity strong men? ?"
evolved Rickard. "oh. yes, L believe
that. too"
"Oh. more than that. 1t Is not so
much the struggle as the necessity for
cooperation. The mutual dependence
is one OF the blessings of aridlty.'
zone of the blessings of aridIty I"
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
ist because I praise irrigationsin 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 a man may make
his living of his ten acres of oranges
or lemons; and with all the comforts
and conveniences of city within
reach, his nelghbors not ten miles OF
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 farml He
can go to church, can walk there; the
trolley car which passes his door
takes him to a public library or the
opera house. His children ride to
school. His wife does not need to be
n drudge. The bread wagon and the
steam laundry wagon stop at her
door"
Rickard 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.
mot 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 a compromise, as so many
believe who know nothing about 1t. 1t
is a distinct advantage over the old
fashioned methods.
II am one of those who always
thought 1t compromise" admitted
the engineer.
Better call rain compromise" re-
torted the irrigationist. 'The man
who irrigates gives water to the tree
which needs 1t; rain nourishes one
tree and browns out another. Irriga-
tion 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 upT' 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
1t 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
frequent rains the chemical properties
which rain farmers must puy 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"
II should like it-immensely" as
sented the engineer, still amused.
ut explains the choice of the Aztecs,
of the Incas, of Carthaglnians, the.
Moors." observed the stranger. 'They
chose the desert, not in spite of the
soil but because of 1t. doubt If they
were awake to the social advantages
of the system. but 1t was their CO.
operative brotherhood that helped
them to their glory. We are centuries
behind them. I'm getting out here
Imperial. If you come up to Imperial
look me up. Brandon's my name. I've
no card these daysl"
''There are several things / want to
hear from you" answered Rickard,
following brown necktie and pointed
beard to the platform. 'T'll be sure
to look you up. Mines Rickard'
The breeze which was now entering
the car windows had blown over the
fields. Its message was
sweet and fresh. Rlckard could see
the canals leading OF like silver
threads to the homes and farms of the
future; "the socialists dream come
true" Willows of two or three years
growth outlined the banks. Here and
there a tent or remada set up
brave defiance against the hard con-
ditlons of the land 1t was invading.
leaned out of the window and
looked back up the valley which was
by the range now wrapping
around Itself gauzy, iridescent drap-