36 



apart and will irrigate a space 9 feet wide. They run one-half hour to 

 an hour in the same place, antl it re(|uires three men to move the line. 

 Three-c|uarter inch liose in lengths up to 300 feet is employed to feed 

 the water-witch line. Two-inch and 1 i-inch pipe, provided with 1-inch 

 valves 30 feet apart, supply the farm. 



The soil is a light sandy and waxy loam 7 inches deep and is inclined 

 to bake after irrigation. Truck is irrigated every week in dry weather. 

 The total cost of the plant was $400. The annual cost of water is SlOO 

 Irrigation has paid well, and in 1005 was ])articularly useful in starting 

 crops. 



No. 43. John Schumacher, of Queens County, irrigates 4 acres of 

 truck from the city waterworks. Five water witches are mounted on 

 7^--inch vertical pipes connected to a U-inch water-witch line, which it 

 requires four men to handle. The water witches are 16 feet apart 

 and water a tract 16 feet wide. They run from thirty minutes to an 

 hour in the same place. The main is 2-inch pipe with 1 ^-inch branches. 

 The total cost of the plant was $750, and the annual cost of water is 

 $100. The value of the land in this vicinity is $1,000 per acre. 



Truck is irrigated not more than twice a week in the driest weather. 

 Irrigation doubles the value of the crops in average seasons. Two to 

 three crops per year are commonly raised on the same land, and in 

 dry seasons irrigated land can grow one crop more than the land not 

 irrigated. 



No. 44. Bender Brothers, of Queens County, irrigate 17 acres of 

 truck with water from the pipe line of the Bowery Bay Improvement 

 Company, at a cost of $1 per 1,000 cubic feet. Five sprinklers 

 mounted 16 feet apart on §-inch vertical pipes are usually operated 

 from the same line. Three to four lines are operated on the farm? 

 requiring four men to move them. The water witches irrigate a space 

 16 feet wide and run on the same piece of land from one-half hour to 

 an hour. They are supplied through a 1-inch connection and a f-inch 

 valve, the water supply being under SO pounds pressure. Twenty- 

 five hundred feet of 2-inch main is employed in distributing the water 

 over the farm, and f-inch hose is employed in lengths up to 600 feet. 

 The land is irrigated every week or two in dry weather. 



The total cost of the plant including the meter was $830, of which 

 $150 is for hose. The annual cost of water on the farm is $125. As 

 a rule water is applied from the latter ])art of the afternoon until mid- 

 night. The owner says that irrigation doubles the value of hotbed 

 crops — lettuce and sou]) greens. The plant will irrigate 12 acres of 

 land in six days. Labor costs $1 to $1.25 per day, and $18 to $20 per 

 month, with board. 



