41 



being $100. The spiiiiklci' will cover a 20-fi)ot circle, and is run lor 

 half an hour in the same place. The Dwner estimates that in 1905 

 irrigation was worth at least $200 an acre to him, increasing the yield 

 about one-third. 



On a farm near by 5 acres were formerly irrigated by |)umping from 

 four driven wells 2 inches in diameter and 20 feet deep. The cost of 

 the plant, wliich consisted of a 25-horsepower boiler and a No. 6 

 pump, (leliyering 28 gallons per minute, was $500. Five hundred 

 j)ounds of soft coal, at $4.50, were used in twelve hours. The water 

 was supplied to the farm through 500 feet of 3-inch pipe and 100 feet 

 of 2.\-inch {4re hose, tlie full flow refjuiring twelve hours to water an 

 acre to a depth of 0.7 inch. The annual cost of fuel and labor for 

 operating the plant was $250. The cost of labor is $1 .50 per day. 



No. '53. H. W. Locke, of Middlesex t'ounty, irrigates 10 acres of 

 celery and cabbage from the city waterworks. A 1 .\-inch main pipe 

 distributes the water under 25 pounds pressure to f-inch hose. The 

 pipe is run on top of the ground and moved as desired. One man can 

 water an acre in a day. As a rule irrigation is used only for planting 

 and shortly afterwards, although occasionally four or live irrigations 

 are applied. The cost of water averages $75 a year. Irrigation 

 frequently saves the crop. 



No. 54. Lovell Brothers, of Middlesex County, irrigated 2 acres of 

 celery for the first time in 1905, using water from the Metropolitan 

 Water Company, at the factory rate of 20 cents per thousand cubic 

 feet. The w^ater is distributed by means of |-inch hose. The soil 

 is clay and does not require so much moisture as the sandy soil of 

 surrounding farms. The land was irrigated for planting only. One 

 man irrigated half an acre a day. 



No. 55. Pierce Brothers, of Middlesex County, irrigate 6 acres from 

 the city waterworks, using a l^-inch main, provided with outlets 

 every 75 feet for |-inch hose. The furrow^ system is also used occa- 

 sionally, the 'furrows being 300 feet long and 6 feet apart. The flow 

 from the hose will irrigate one furroW' in an hour. 



The soil and subsoil are a gravelly loam. Crops are irrigated every 

 three or four days in dry weather, each crop receiving from five to ten 

 irrigations. From one to three crops are grow^n on the same ground. 

 In a dry season it w^ould be impossible to grow crops without irriga- 

 tion, and in average seasons irrigation increases the ^aeld of the land 

 fully 25 per cent. The cost of water is $100 per year. 



No. 56. James W. Russell, of Middlesex County, irrigates one farm 

 at Winchester and another near Medf ord . On the first farm 5 acres are 

 irrigated with city w^ater, costing $1.50 per thousand cubic feet, with 

 a discount of 50 per cent for every 1,000,000 gallons (134,000 cubic 

 feet) used in a year. In 1904 and 1905, 5 acres w^ere irrigated. The 

 cost of water in 1904 was $60 and in 1905 



