626 



ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



Off. Doc. 



THE REPORT OF ONTARIO EXPERIMENTAL FARM 



L«ttuoe. 



Each Row 25 Feet Long. 



« 



S 



03 



o 



Date Harvested. , 



■2 



OS 



b» 



a> 



01 



CI 



o 



^1 



{IS 



I 

 bo 



I 



CS 



a 

 o 



Leal, 



Head, 



Cos, 



20 lbs. 5 02. 

 26 tbs. 15 oz. 

 16 lbs. 3 oz. 



11 tbs. 3 oz. 

 9 lbs. 1 oz. 

 6 lbs. 9 oz. 



The quality of tlie irrigated lettuce was excellent, while that of 

 the non-irrigated was decidedly inferior owing to bitterness developed 

 under the very hot and dry conditions. The non-irrigated plants 

 remained in edible condition only a short time and began showing 

 seed stalks at a very early date. The irrigated plants were not only 

 ready for use considerably earlier (as will be noted by reference to 

 the table above), but it seemed to be comparatively easy to hold 

 them in good condition for a considerable time. These results go 

 to show that in times of drought, artificial systems of irrigation may 

 prove of the very greatest value to the market grower. 



Greater results than these have been obtained by many practical 

 growers but in all fairness to these results and to the practice it 

 must be stated that in normal seasons the increase in pounds, bushels 

 or tons may not seem worth the cost of irrigation, but if quality is 

 considered worth anything today, the increase in that direction alone 

 will always pay a profit on the investment. In dry or abnormal 

 seasons greater differences are of course shown and then it is that 

 prices are higher and the man who irrigates Avins out. 



It may be even now some of you are asking yourselves "where 

 would I get the water to irrigate, supposing I wanted to." ^lany 

 of you may be located near small rivers, or creeks where a lift of 

 20 to 25 feet by means of a windmill, gasoline or steam engine or 

 if near an interurban trolley line an electric motor will do the work. 



Many insignificant little brooks will often flow five gallons in 

 two minutes or .3, GOO gallons in twenty-four hours, 108,000 in one 

 month or equal to four inches of rainfall on an acre. 



There are many wells from 20 to 50 feet deep capable of fur- 

 nishing 275 gallons per minute if we only knew it and at this rate 

 it would take only a four-horse power engine 24 hours to cover 

 four acres four inches. Suppose you don't have such a constant 

 supply, then the qirestion of storing the water in tanks or reservoirs 

 becomes necessary, and in most cases it is not a difficult problem to 

 solve, especially when one can make use of a low, boggy place where 

 with a little excavating and the use of some concrete a first-class 

 storage may be made to hold sufficient water to not oidy pull a crop 

 through two or mor*e weeks of dry weather but might prove of in- 

 estimable value to nearby buildings. Those who are trucking or 

 who are in the greenhouse business in or near large cities or towns 

 can easily afford to make use of the municipal supply at rates ranging 

 from 4 to 10 cents per thousand gallons. 



