PROCEEDINGS OF THE WINTER MEETING 83 



Mr. Morrill : Do I understand you that the one tenth of one per cent, 

 was considered an exorbitant commission? 



Mr. Gurney: I don't know, but the majority of the farmers thought 

 it might be provided for in some other way, and they were afraid more 

 would be taken out, or not accounted for, or something — at any rate, the 

 by-laws were not adopted. 



Mr, Hale: As nearly as I can judge from Mr. Hutchins' remarks, the 

 only way is to get the men to go and buy the fruit; and then, he says, 

 the fruit netted just about the same, and I don't yet see the remedy. 

 What Mr. Gurney has advanced is good, if it can be put in practice. I 

 think he is wrong about the parties not being willing to agree to one 

 tenth of one per cent. I think the executive board was never called 

 together to make the arrangement. 



Mr. Morrill: There is an organization at Fennville which has a fund 

 on hand. They take a certain contribution out of the shipping of the 

 fruit, and after paying their expenses they have a surplus which they 

 have applied to the mending of the roads. Grand Kapids has also done 

 something in this direction, and there ought to be a way for you to do 

 something. 



AN EXPERIMENT IN IRRIGATION. 

 BY MR. W. S. BURDICK OF HART. 



I have been requested to give my experience in irrigation. I would 

 say that what little I have done in that line has been on the surface, and 

 my experience has been rather limited, as I had only a small stream of 

 water to do with and many difficulties to overcome; but, as great doings 

 sometimes grow from small beginnings, I will tell you how I used the 

 stream of water, and it may help others who are like situated. 



I had two and one half acres that I wished to irrigate. One half of 

 this was in fodder corn, and we were very anxious to save it, as it was 

 our dependence for feed. We plowed a dried-up meadow on which to 

 plant this corn. It was planted the 18th of June, right in the drouth. It 

 came up, and that is the most it did do. The rest was set to blackberry, 

 gooseberry, and tomato plants. We also had a narrow strip of potatoes, 

 planted by the side of the stream about the middle of May, that I was 

 anxious to irrigate. We had two dams across the stream, one at 

 the head, the other about eighty rods below. The first dam being out 

 of repair, we irrigated the potatoes from the other pond by cutting a 

 ditch at the side of the pond and turning the course of the water and 

 leading it between the rows of potatoes. A few years ago I had potatoes 

 on the same ground that I wished to irrigate, and not knowing just how 

 it should be done I turned the cold water on the plants and kept it 

 there until the plants were thoroughly wet. The result was, the plants 

 were chilled and nearly drowned; but since then I am careful not to 

 let the cold water touch the plants at first, but by leading the water 

 between the rows the warm sand would take the chill from the water 



