CONSERVATION OF MOISTURE. 43 



bother me to find a tree of one-half that size from my first planting-. 

 This difference is due to irrigation, as trees left to their own "sweet 

 will" make a greater annual growth in Minnesota than in Colorado. 

 Thousands of trees are killed here annually by unskilled irrigators 

 leavingthe soil dishing about the tree in adobe soils. They fail to see 

 the point that all trees planted on such retentive soil must either 

 have natural or artificial drainage. 



In connection with irrigation you can employ heavy mulching- 

 with wonderfully good results, particularly with street trees. In the 

 spring of 1891, I planted 1,100 trees in small parks here, known as 

 Central Park and Fairmount, eleven varieties; only one hundred in 

 Fairraount Park, which were all well mulched, and only six mulched 

 on Central Park. All those m,ulched made a wonderful big growth; 

 in fact, they are more than double the size today than where not 

 mulched. I shall not advise you to irrigate in Minnesota, with your 

 numerous lakes and rivers, and timely precipitation (I have no hint 

 at tornadoes) to moisten the air and soil. Add intense cultivation 

 and a wagon load of stable manure to each tree, and a good drove 

 of insectivorous animals, vulgarly known as "rooters," to keep 

 things moving and to see that no vile codlin moth has time to re- 

 produce his loathsome self in a single apple. Attend to all these 

 details carefully, and you are in shape to compete with any part of 

 the Great American Desert w^here irrigation is the sole dependence. 



CONSERVATION OF MOISTURE IN THE SOIL. 



PROF. S. B. GREEX, ST. ANTHOXY PARK. 



The dry weather of the past season has brought this subject be- 

 fore the agriculturist as «ever before, and all growers of crops 

 have become impressed with its importance. The question of ir- 

 rigation would be an important one for us if there was any larg-e 

 portion of this state that was situated so as to permit of artificial 

 application of water. There are favored sections where artesian or 

 other water may be used for irrigation to advantage, but g-enerally 

 the planter must depend on the annual rainfall and by it he mvist 

 too often gauge his crops. The importance then of husbanding 

 this water is evident. 



The water which reaches the soil is dissipated; first, bj^ running- 

 off the surface of the land into the streams; second, by passing- 

 through the surface soil to the underground water system; third, by 

 evaporation from the surface of the land. The loss of water by 

 transpiration through the leaves of growing- crops is necessary to 

 success, and over it we have little or no control, and it is, therefore, 

 not discussed here. 



(1.) The loss of water from its running- off into streams is quite 

 serious on hillsides and where the land is impermeable. The 

 methods of preventing- this are numerous and must be modified 

 according- to the crops grown on the land and its contour. Where 

 it is practicable, as, for instance, where the land is devoted to small 

 fruits, and in case of some other crops, this may largely be controlled 

 by covering the surface of the land with some kind of mulch, which. 



