33 



pipo laid in the ^[roiind cost SlOO, the water witches, etc., $25, and 

 the hose S04, inakiii«; the total cost $1S9. 



The soil is a dark loam 12 inches deep, with clay subsoil. One 

 acre can be irriij:ated in twenty hours with six sprinklers, one set of 

 sprinklers bemg run at a time. It takes one day's labor at $1.25 

 to irrigate an acre of land. Crops are irrigated in dry weather every 

 two weeks, receiving at most three irrigations in a season. Water 

 is not applied in the heat of the day, but usually at night. 



The average cost of water is $100 per year. The price of land in 

 this vicinity is liigh, due largely to its speculative value. Two crops 

 are grown in a season. Irrigation sometimes saves the entire crop 

 from failure, and the owner estimates that the value of the crops, 

 which averages $1,000 per acre, is increased 40 per cent ])y irrigation, 

 which insures better quality and earlier crops. 



No. 36. Arthur Robinson, of Hudson County, irrigates 2 acres 

 from the city waterworks, paying $1..50 ])er thousand cubic feet. 

 Three water witches 9 feet apart, connected together by a hose, are 

 mounted on a wooden frame 18 feet long provided with two runners, 

 so that it can be easily dragged about. This is fed by a ij-inch hose 

 connected to a 1-inch main running through the farm. The water 

 witches irrigate a space 10 feet wide and run twenty or thirt)'^ minutes 

 in the same place. One man can easily move them. They use 1,000 

 cubic feet in a twelve-hour run. The owner estimates that irriiration 

 doubles the yield in average seasons. Celery and cauliflower are 

 watered once a week in very dry weather. 



No. 37. W. Gurnheit, of Hudson County, irrigates 15 acres in 

 truck with water from the Hackenside Water Company, at a cost of 

 $1.40 per thousand cubic feet. A 2-inch main runs through the farm^ 

 provided with 1-incli branches every 100 feet. These branches are 

 provided with f-inch valves every 20 feet. Four sprinklers, mounted 

 on vertical pipes 10 feet apart, extending upward from the f-inch pipe, 

 are operated at the same time. These will irrigate a space 10 feet 

 wide. They are usually run for an hour in the same place. Three- 

 quarter-inch hose, in lengths up to 150 feet, is used to connect the pipe 

 line with the water-witch line. In dry weather the crops are. watered 

 once a week. The annual cost of water is about $150. Radishes 

 are not so sensitive to overirrigation as spinach, lettuce, and beets. 



There are about 50 irrigated farms in the vicinity of Seacaucus 

 using similar methods of irrigation. Nearly all obtain water from 

 the same company. 



NEW YORK. 



No. 38. F. Schumacher, of Queens County, irrigates 15 acres of 

 truck from a spring. The supply is reinforced by three 2-inch driven 

 wells 40 feet deep, in which the water rises and flows into the spring. 



