32 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The water is conveyed from near the top of the pond, in land as high as 

 the pond, into this ditch, and from this ditch when lilled, is distributed 

 wherever most wanted, by furrows jdowed between the crops phmted, or 

 adjoining them. Forty rods bek)W this first ditch is another of the same 

 size and about 120 rods long, into which the surplus water is conveyed 

 after watering the first plat, which is used mostly for gardening pur- 

 poses. This second ditch is on the upper side of some forty acres of low 

 land, near the river, ^^■hich is usually overflowed in spring. This ditch 

 has an additional supply from another small brook diverted into it. 



Twenty rods below this second ditch is still another, 140 rods long, six 

 feet wide and two feet deep. This ditch is in the center of the forty acres 

 of low land. This is also filled with the water from the other ditches, by 

 running the same in furrows where most needed. The water in this ditch 

 by the use of side ditches and seepage moistens most of the forty acres. 

 The soil is porous, a reclaimed bayou, with considerable black muck. 



On twenty acres of this, in corn last year, for the silo, we had more than 

 ten times as much fodder corn as on twenty acres of rich upland that 

 could not be irrigated. The upland corn was of but little account; that 

 irrigated was literally immense. At the last cultivation of the corn we 

 sowed rye, and on some ten acres more not in corn. When the corn was 

 taken off the rye was over eight inches high and covered the ground like 

 a mat. On a portion of this land we planted about forty thousand cab- 

 bages, and although planted late we had a big crop — heads too large to 

 suit the retail grocers. After the removal of the corn and cabbages it 

 was pastured with sheep and horses and young cattle till the last of 

 December, and this spring till the 10th of this month (June), and then a 

 portion of it cut for hay. 



We are planting most of these forty acres to corn for the silo, using 

 mostly dent corn of early maturing variety, and some sweet corn ; and 

 but for this preparation for irrigating we would almost despair of getting 

 fodder for the cows the coming winter. One can hardly put too high a 

 value on such an irrigating plant. The water is now in the ditches and 

 is working for us night and day. refusing compensation, asking only, 

 seemingly, a vote of thanks, which is given every time we visit the field. 



Tn 1S93, the drought caught us on sweet corn. We had about one and 

 one half acres on upland, and about the same on land we could irrigate — 

 all planted the same day and on land equally rich. From that not 

 watered, we sold less than |10 worth; on that watered, over |93 worth, 

 and had an immense lot of fodder and corn left for soiling. 



We had similar results on plats set to strawberries. The strawberries 

 in size and yield were a wonder to all who saw them. This year we 

 extended the irrigation further, with results most astonishing and satis- 

 factory. 



•The little spring brook has been worth to us many hundred dollars, 

 and the end is not yet. The plant is there to stay for our benefit, and for 

 the benefit of our successors. As now controlled and utilized for irriga- 

 tion, at a low estimate we consider it worth many thousand dollars, in 

 traveling over the country we find thousands of just such little streams, 

 and a great many small creeks and lakes that might be utilized for man's 

 benefit. In many cases the streams run through several farms before 



