HORTICULTURE WITH IRRIGATION. 363 



directly in the path of a building I was moving; I could not go 

 around it, to pass over it was sure to destroy it, and there was no 

 choice but to dig it up, which I did at midday on one of our hot 

 summer days, with the tree in full foliage, replanting as soon as the 

 building was out of the way and watering copiouslj'. I was still 

 surprised to see that the foliage did not even droop or differ from 

 that of other trees in the vicinity. 



EXPERIMENTAL HORTICULTURE WITH IRRIGATION 

 IN SOUTH DAKOTA. 



Pres. J. M. Underwood accepted last Hpring the position of man- 

 ager in the experiments in horticulture by the aid of irrigation, on 

 the Hunter-Salzer farm at Mellette, S. D. This farm is also an experi- 

 mental station under the supervision of the Brookings Agricul- 

 tural College. In pursuance of this work, the Jewell Nursery Co. 

 sent out there at that time a carload of trees and plants, com- 

 bining a great variety of forest and fruit trees, shrubs and siuall 

 fruits, a little of most ever3-thing worth trying there. This farm is 

 irrigated by an artesian well, supplying an unlimited amount of" 

 water delivered at the surface of the ground with force enough to 

 run a mill. As Mr. L^nderwood is "one of us," and knows our needs 

 fully, these e.xperiments are fraught with unusual interest to us, 

 and we have good reason to expect to learn some things from his 

 experience there on the subject of irrigation as affecting horti- 

 culture of great practical value. That he is enthusiastic in 

 this enterprise you maj- judge by the waj^ he writes. Sec'y. 



"When Mr. H. F. Hunter called upon me and first told me of the 

 flowing wells of South Dakota, being comfortably seated in my 

 office and in a receptive frame of mind, I was a ready listener to 

 the marvelous tales he told of the irrigated districts and the partic- 

 ular development of this most wonderful provision of nature at 

 Mellette and on the Hunter-Salzer farm adjoining. With ears and 

 mouth wide open I readily took in all that he said, and it was not a 

 three inch stream either, but like the well on the farm, a full sized 

 eight inch flow and all turned on; but my reservoir is big, and I 

 just filled up. However, a departing train was all that saved me, 

 for it bore Hunter away just before my capacity was reached. In 

 the weeks that followed, evaporation went on, and I was beginning 

 to think that it was a case of more talk than facts; but I have since 

 paid a visit to Mellette and the farm, and I am now fuller than ever, 

 and if I don't open the flood gates and let others know of what I 

 saw, there is danger that the banks of my mental reservoir will 

 burst. To you. who have not seen the wonders of irrigation and the 

 power developed by the artesian wells of South Dakota, let me say. 

 be sure to avail yourselves of the excursions that will be run to 

 Mellette this summer by the C. M. A: St. F. R. R. and study into them. 

 To encourage you, I will promise that you will find a wide awake, 

 generous, hospitable community, located on an ideal spot for a 

 garden, and a big one, too. Far as the eye can reach the land is 

 level or gently undulating. The soil is a rich loam, with just 

 enough sand to make it pleasant to work and with a deej) clay sub- 



