208 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



and twine from slipping. We had about 300 feet of this hose in use, and 

 it is just the thing for conducting the water over slight undulations, but 

 of course would not stand much pressure. 



Now, a few words as to the results of our experiments. We have had 

 but little opportunity of trying the effect of irrigation upon bearing 

 fruit trees. We first commenced pumping about August 1, 1894, and 

 the only bearing trees watered that season were 400 peach trees; and, 

 late as it was, these peaches when run through the grader showed a grati- 

 fying increase in size, when compared with others from the same orchard 

 not watered. That season we also watered a young plum and cherry 

 orchard with strawberries between the rows. The drouth had already 

 seriously injured the strawberries, but we had the satisfaction of seeing 

 everything within reach of the water revive and put out a fresh, new 

 growth. Last spring we commenced pumping about the middle of June 

 and kept it up for six weeks continuously, until the rains began the last 

 of July. The peaches on this farm, and the bearing strawberries, had 

 been mostly killed by the May freezing, and the only bearing fruit trees 

 watered were about 200 pears and a few apples. The pears were very 

 fine, much finer than they had been for three years before. The apples 

 were noticeably larger than those in the same orchard not watered, but 

 most of our irrigating this year has been on land set to young peach, 

 cherry and plum trees, with strawberries, potatoes, beans, and corn 

 between the rows. The trees have done finely, most of them having made 

 as much growth as we wished, and the beneficial effect of the water upon 

 the crops grown among the trees was very noticeable when compared 

 with similar crops grown upon similar land without water. Both years 

 we were delayed in beginning our work by unsuccessful attempts to 

 get our water supply from two creeks which proved inadequate, and the 

 early drouth had done considerable damage before we were ready to com- 

 bat it; and if any one succeeds in putting a system of irrigation into 

 practical operation in a new field, without meeting with some vexatious 

 delays, and without learning some things that he did not know before, 

 and paying full tuition for his schooling, his experience will be that much 

 happier than ours. But we now have our machinery and fuel ready to 

 begin operations on short notice, with an ample supply of water and with 

 everything in excellent working order; and, while we realize that much 

 of our work is still in the experimental stage, we are in no wise discour- 

 aged in our determination to test the practical value of irrigation in a 

 Michigan orchard. We have upon this farm ten thousand trees — peach, 

 pear, apple, plum, and cherry — to which we expect soon to add four 

 thousand more, all within reach of our irrigating plant; and we believe 

 that if the benefit to our young trees could be shown it would even now 

 prove a profitable venture, and as our orchards come more fully into bear- 

 ing we hope to be able to furnish convincing proofs of the cash-in-hand 

 profits to be derived from irrigation by the fruitgrowers of the state. 



DISCUSSION. 



Q. Will Mr. Williams give us an idea as to about the number of acres, 

 the area, and the cost? 



A. The question is a difficult one to answer. It depends on what 

 you are irrigating and the lay of the land. 



