<9) Dp pee a . Pus “ i 
IRRIGATION. 55 
Dr. Frisselle: You spoke some time ago about putting 
water directly on the plants. What would you do with a good 
shower? 
Mr. McGinnis: A shower comes in single drops, while in 
irrigation the water is applied in a body. 
Mr. Gould: I consider that Mr. McGinnis has made some 
very candid statements of great value to us, and it is a good 
thing to have this matter under discussion in our society. This 
thing is pretty broad, and one man cannot know it all. He may 
have had experience, but it may not have covered all conditions. 
Now, the first thing I speak of to criticize the statements of 
the gentleman is that he discouraged the idea of irrigation on 
clay land; he stated that distinctly. Now, I came to the con- 
clusion a good many years ago that the fact was worth a 
great deal more than the theory. I happen to know a fact in 
connection with this subject that would be proper to mention 
here. Last year was the dryest year and the toughest one on 
small fruits, including strawberries, raspberries, etc., I have 
ever known, and I have been in the business almost thirty 
years. One man had a half acre of strawberries close to a 
swamp; it was right up by the side of the road about a quarter 
of a mile from where I live. This man put water on his straw- 
berry plants at night. Part of the time he hired a man with 
two horses to haul the water, when he could haul several bar- 
rels at a time, and sometimes he used only one horse. He got 
his water right at the end of the rows. He used pails to dip up 
this water with. He hauled this water every night, and they 
threw it on the plants with pails; it was rather a bungling man- 
ner of doing it, but they went over ali those rows of strawber- 
ries and they got there all the same, and that man sold from 
that half acre of strawberries 1800 quarts, and that was on aclay 
soil, and that is just the average sort of soil in our region. 
Mr. Clark: Mr. McGinnis says before planting he would sat- 
urate the soil. T would like to ask him if he would do that in 
the spring or in the fall? 
Mr. McGinnis: It is better done in the fall, but it will do in 
the spring. The deeper you get that moisture in the soil the 
better the capillary attraction. Referring to what the previous 
gentleman has said, I want to make this specific statement: I 
do not doubt but what if the water is simply sprinkled on the 
plants it will do no harm, but the rule in irrigating is not to 
permit the moisture to touch the plant—let it reach the root of 
the plant only. I could sprinkle a bed of strawberries in the 
evening, and the moisture would distribute itself during the 
night—but I still say, do not let the water touch the plants. 
