TWENTY FIFTH ANNUAL MEETING. 203 



would cultivate the surface, and the water was thus applied about the. 

 same as in sub-irrigation. 



Q. Were the ends of the rows next the troughs more irrigated than 

 those far off? 



A. No, we found that, in shutting off the water, what was remaining 

 on the upper part would run down to the lower end of the rows. It kept 

 working down, and there was no great difference that we could see. 

 Some people have claimed that they have found they couldn't run the 

 water in furrows, but it gave us no trouble for the distance mentioned. 



Q. What kind of soil was it? 



A. Medium heavy, a mixture of sand and clay loam. 



A number of rows of early peas were planted without regard to irri- 

 gation, but when the drouth came on, water was distributed over one half 

 the plot, which was ten rods in length, and sloped at the rate of a foot in 

 three or four rods. The water was turned on and held back from the 

 lower half by a dike of soil. The water was applied three times, in May 

 once and in June twice. The first picking was on June 13. At that time 

 the irrigated peas were making a good growth, they looked vigorous, and 

 the pods were well filled. The others, without water, and yet on the 

 moistest part of the lot, had become dry; many were brown in leaf, and 

 the pods small and only partly filled, and yet with the water we only had 

 9^ pounds, and without water 11 pounds at the first picking, from sec- 

 tions containing three rows, each two rods in length. Finally, how- 

 ever, we found that we had 54i pounds from the irrigated portion, 

 while without water there was only 21 pounds, or two and a half times 

 as many with the use of water. Figuring it for the acre, we found a gain 

 of 3,537 pounds for the use of water three times. It cost us to apply 

 it about 11.75 per acre, without considering the cost of the pumping 

 plant. 



We tried it also with cabbages, upon two varieties. Of the Wake- 

 field we irrigated 700 plants, and from these we obtained 633 heads. 

 Every head that formed was in good condition, but the cut-worms had 

 destroyed the buds from a number of the plants, and that accounts for 

 the failure of 67 plants to head. 



From the irrigated section we commenced to cut on the 28th June and 

 had 1,161 pounds. Without water, the 700 plants only gave 248 heads, 

 and these were very small, as most of the cabbages were this season. 

 The others failed to form any heads at all. The average weight of 

 these was 1 lb. 5| ounces, whereas the remaining 400 and over were too 

 poor to use, and in fact the best would not sell for one half what was 

 received for the larger irrigated heads. 



Figuring the rate per acre, with water they would have weighed 

 28,000 pounds; without water, 6,400 pounds. 



Potatoes were also irrigated. We had an area planted to Early 

 Ohio, and it was divided into four sections. During the first of the sea- 

 son, a dam was placed across the middle, cutting off the two lower sec- 

 tions, and water was applied to the two on top of the hill. After the plants 

 bloomed, we applied water to sections 1 and 3 and left sections 2 and 4 

 without water. We had thus given to one section four waterings, to 

 another two waterings, before they bloomed ; a third plat had two after 

 blooming, and the fourth was grown without water at all. Before har- 

 vesting, the plants were cut off into areas 30 x 75 feet. We left margins 



