IRRIGATION OF STRAWBERRIES. 189 



to the land to be irrig-ated, it must vary a great deal with the water 

 supply. If the water supply is a small daily flow, as it necessarily 

 would be with a windmill, I think the size must be larger, for the 

 reason that it may be necessary to keep the windmill pumping in 

 the 3'ear round. In Kansas I made some inquiries in this respect, 

 and some of the irrigators claimed they would have a reservoir cap- 

 acity of five thousand barrels for each acre irrigated. Up here five 

 hundred barrels will make a great difference between a good crop 

 and a total failure. 



Mr. Kellogg: How did you apply the water to those rows of 

 strawberries? 



Prof. Green: We drove right over the rows with the tank wagon 

 with a piece of hose dragging along' behind. 



Mr. Kellogg: Has it paid since? 

 . Prof. Green: Year before last we did not get a crop, but my ex- 

 perience is so limited I cannot say whether it has paid since or not. 

 I believe where a man is so situated that he can put up a cheap irri- 

 gating plant to supply 500 barrels per acre he had better do it. 



Mr. Busse: Were those rows mulched? 



Prof. Green: The rows had been mulched, and the mulch had 

 been scraped to one side to make room for the water. That ditch 

 was full in our loose soil after waterinjr. 



Stimulating Plant Growth.— A French scientist, M. Ragonneau 

 has just discovered how to make a plant grow from the seed in 

 thirty minutes as much as it would under ordinary circumstances 

 in thirty days. Heretofore nature has shared this secret with the 

 Yoghis of India alone, and the methods pursued bj'^ these clever 

 magicians in performing this trick have been often described. They 

 plant a seed in the earth and cover it with a cloth. In a few moments 

 the cloth begins to be pushed upward by the growing plant, which 

 in a short time attains the height of several feet. Various theories 

 have been advanced as to the modus operandi of this miracle, one 

 of the latest being that the spectators are all hypnotized by the 

 magician. 



During his travels in India, M. Ragonneau saw this trick performed 

 frequently and noticed that the Hindoos always inbedded the seed 

 in soil which they brought with them especiall}^ for that purpose. 

 At last he learned that they obtained this earth from ant hills. 

 Now, as every one knows who has inadvertently eaten one of these 

 industrious insects, ants contain a large proportion of formic acid, 

 with which in time the soil of their habitations becomes charged. 

 This acid has the power of quickl}-^ dissolving- the integument sur- 

 rounding a seed and of greatly stimulating- the growth of the germ 

 within. 



After a little experimenting with this acid, the learned Frenchman 

 was able to duplicate perfectly the Hindoo trick. His further 

 researches have led him to believe that this discovery may be 

 profitably employed in agriculture. By infusing ants in boiling 

 water, acid as strong as vinegar can be obtained. M. Ragonneau 

 has achieved the best results and most perfect growth by using- 

 earth moistened with a solution of 5,000 parts of water to one of acid. 



