The Canadian Horticulturi^ 



Vol. XXXV 



AUGUST, 1912 



No. 8 



The Irrigation of Small Fruits and Vegetables 



T. G. Bunting, B.S.A., Experimental Farm, Ottawa 



WHEN considering the advisability 

 of installing a system for irriga- 

 tion purposes, the four points to 

 keep in mind are, climatic conditions, 

 soil, the character of crop to be grown 

 and markets. Having these points in 

 mind and giving them the consideration 

 that they deserve, it is possible to de- 

 cide in favor of or against irrigation in 

 any particular case. 



It is the writer's experience, based on 

 experience in the Pacific Coast States, 

 particularly in California, as well as in 

 New England, where irrigation is prac- 

 tisd by some of the largest vegetable 

 and small fruit growers, that irrigation 

 is feasible in Ontario and particularly in 

 the Niagara District, where it should 

 result in greatly increasing the returns 

 on the high priced lands. Irrigation has 

 already been tried in Ontario for vege- 

 tables and small fruits in a number of 

 cases and has proved satisfactory. 



Irrigation simply means applying a 

 quantity of water to the land for the use 

 of a growing crop. Almost every an- 

 nual report of the different farmers' or- 

 ganizations of Ontario, as well as of the 

 Ontario Department of Agriculture, 

 makes frequent mention of periods of 

 more or less prolonged drought each 

 season which have seriously affected the 

 yield of crops. The summer of 191 1 is 

 still fresh in the minds of many people 

 when the prolonged drought cut the crop 

 of berries in Ontario very short, affect- 

 ing not only the consumer, who had to 



pay the high prices, but the grower who 

 was not adequately compensated for his 

 small crop, even by the high prices. The 

 grower, also, was not able to fulfil one 

 of the first principles of good business, 

 the giving of satisfaction to his custom- 

 ers, inasmuch as he was forced to charge 

 them abnormal prices. 



In years of big production and low 

 prices the man who irrigates will again 

 win out, as his extra fine crop, the result 

 of irrigation, will realize the top prices. 

 As business men know, the man with ex- 

 tra fine produce can sell more easily in 

 the years of big production than the man 

 with poor or only medium produce. In 

 a year like 191 1 irrigation will often 

 mean, in a crop like strawberries, the 

 difference between success and failure, so 

 that even with the most expensive sys- 

 tem of irrigation the cost of installation 

 would be paid for by one season's crop. 



DIFFEEENT SYSTEMS 



There are two systems of irrigation 

 that may be practised. The gravity 

 method requires a large supply of water, 

 which is applied to the soil through open 

 ditches, the water flowing by gravity. 

 As it flows it soaks into the ground. The 

 second method is by overhead sprinkling. 

 This requires the water to be delivered 

 under a pressure of fifteen to thirty 

 pounds to the square inch. The quan- 

 tity depends on the area to be irrigated 

 at one time. The former method fs 

 cheaper in initial cost but extravagant 

 in water, and higher in up-keep. The 



latter method is economical of water, 

 cheaper in up-keep, but more expensive 

 in initial cost for installation. In the 

 long run it is the best method to adopt 

 for small fruits or vegetables. 



To apply water by gravity the water 

 must be brought to the highest part of 

 the land to be irrigated. From this point 

 it is delivered through furrows, about 

 three to four feet apart and three to four 

 inches deep, over the land, the furrows 

 following the contour of the land so that 

 there is an even, gentle fall. When a 

 crop is growdng the water is delivered 

 between the rows. The land must be 

 laid out and planted so that the water 

 may be delivered by this method. With 

 a little study and practise it can be done 

 quite easily on most lands, provided the 

 water can be brought fairly cheaply to 

 the highest part of the land. In prac- 

 tice it is desirable to use lands for this 

 purpose that can most easily be irrigat- 

 ed by this method. 



In the overhead sprinkling system the 

 water is carried through pipes to the 

 land to be irrigated. Here the water is 

 applied in much the same method as by 

 a gentle rain. The water is distributed 

 from the main pipes through laterals 

 placed from fifty to seventy feet apart 

 and up to five or six hundred feet long. 

 Along this lateral, placed at intervals of 

 four feet, is a special nozzle through 

 which the water is forced and carried a 

 distance of thirty to forty feet from the 

 pipe. 



A Peach Orchard, Two Years from Planting, on the Farm of D. M. Hamlink, Huron County, Ont. 



181 



