IRRIGATION FOR SMALL FRUITS. 181 



buds which came on in a natural way, and we had very few knotty 

 berries, such aa we had without water. Our crop wa.s very much 

 larpfer, and when other herry raisers were done picking or had only 

 a few dried-up, knotty berries, ours were ^ood, smooth berries until 

 the last. When the others were done selling-, we had plenty and the 

 whole trade to ourselves. Prices came up from eight cents per box 

 to ten cents per box. 



As irrigation was a new thing at first, I did not know how to go at 

 it, so I made inquiries among those who, I thought, might know, but 

 did not get much encouragement, as they were in the same fix as 

 mj'self. Some jjarties had ijeen to California and Colorado, but we 

 have no mountain streams to flood our lands, and I soon found we 

 must pump the water we used. One friend told me it would not 

 work, for well water had not the virtue in it that rain water had, and 

 it would not do any good; another said well water was so cold it 

 would do more injury than g^ood, and it might kill the plants unless 

 it stood in tanks long enough to get warm. Then we read that in 

 watering the garden it must have a good soaking, or it would be 

 time thrown away, but I found watering often in the row is as good 

 as, if not better than, a flood. 



In watering blackberries or rows of bushes of any kind, lay j-our 

 pipes between the rows in such a way that with the hose you can 

 reach threeor more rows on either side. I remove the mulch near the 

 hill and dig a hole large enough to hold threeor four pails of water 

 and lay the nozzle in and let it run until the hole is full, and while 

 it is filling dig more holes and fill in those that have been watered 

 with mulch, but not with earth, so that next time j'ou will have to 

 take out the mulch only. I lost most of my blackberries in '9.5, as mj- 

 well gave out entirely, it being what is known as a surface well, but 

 since then I have put in a tubular well, with plenty of water, with 

 tank sixteen feet above the highest land and shall use a small one- 

 horse power, so I can have water whether the wind blows or not. 



I suppose you have read something about sub-irrigation. For 

 such things as blackberries, raspberries and such bushes, that can 

 stay for years in the same place I think it would be just the thing-. 

 I intend to try a few rows the coming spring. By plowing a ditch 

 one foot deep and laying two inch tile in it where you wish to set 

 the row, applying the water at the highest place in the row and fill- 

 ing the tile from the tank as often as needed, it would be the cheapest 

 and take less water than any other waj'. When the tile are once laid 

 down, it will do for anything else for a long- time. 



Apple Tree Leak Folder.— Apples and roses are al.«io verj' fre- 

 <iuently infested with a leaf-rolling caterpillar, belon^ring to the 

 family of Tortricida-. In some seasons the Russian apples are in- 

 jured to such an extent as to lose all their leaves and are forced to 

 do two years labor in one, which is of course very weakening to 

 these plants. Roses that are not constantly watched will soon lose 

 most of their leaves by such insects. Karly and repeated applica- 

 tions of Paris-green or London purple would prevent all these 

 damages.— Minn. Ex. Station, Bulletin No. 4.1 



