I 



The Canadian Horticulturi^ 



^ Vol. XXXVI 



AUGUST, 1913 



No. 8 



Practical Irrigation in British Columbia 



Harvey Thornber, B.S., Assistant Horticulturist, B.C. Dept. of Agriculture. 



IRRIGATION, in itself, is not a diffi- 

 cult art. Anyone can learn to make 

 the furrows and apply the water. The 

 greatest difficulty seems to arise when 

 the relation between irrigation and plant 

 growth is not well understood. The 

 varying requirements for different soils 

 and different crops, one year with ano- 

 ther, tend to confuse the beginner more 

 than does the mere application or dis- 

 tribution of the water. In order to 

 make myself clear, I will discuss a few 

 of the most important points which a be- 

 ginner should know. 



The first thing to consider in starting 

 on an irrigated tract is the preparation 

 of the land. A few dollars extra per acre 

 spent in preparing the land often means 

 many dollars saved during the life of 

 the orchard. The best preparation is 

 none too good. Many people feel that 

 the planting of the trees and the turn- 

 ing on of the water are the main opera- 

 tions necessary for the production of an 

 orchard. This mistaken idea is partly 

 due to misleading advertisements and to 

 a lack of experience on the part of the 

 beginner. 



The land should first be cleared of all 

 stumps, rocks, or brush and then plow- 

 ed. If any large holes or hollows exist 

 they should be filled before plowing. 

 .A,ll "fills" should be permitted to settle 

 before any trees are planted. This set- 

 tling can best be secured by planting 

 some annual crop on the land for the 

 first year. A cover crop, which may be 

 plowed under in the fall or spring, is 

 best because it adds the much-needed 

 humus to the soil, thereby making it 

 more congenial for the young trees. 

 Vegetable crops, such as potatoes or 

 other root crops, are often used ,but 

 are not always successful. After this 

 crop is either removed or plowed under 

 the levelling may be completed. The 

 best tools for levelling with are the or- 

 dinary road graders or slip scrapers. 

 If the land is fairly level the "planer" 

 or "smoother" may be used very suc- 

 cessfully. Its construction is described 

 in Circular No. 14 of the British Colum- 

 bia Department of Agriculture. 



The land having been well prepared, 

 the planting is next in importance. In 

 case the land is nearly level, any desired 



system may be used as regards the ir- 

 rigation. The square plan, with the 

 fillers in the rows in the same direction 

 that the irrigation ditches are to run, is 

 a favorite. This makes it possible to 

 irrigate the fillers and standards from 

 the same ditches, which is advantag- 

 eous, especially in the young orchard. 

 However, if the land is too steep for ir- 

 rigating directly down the hillsides, 

 planting on the contour or in such a way 

 that the water may be used on a smaller 

 grade will often decrease the cost of 

 irrigation later. 



The head ditches may be located as 

 soon as the planting plan is decided 

 upon. These are placed at intervals 

 across the field, depending upon the con- 

 tour of the land and the texture of the 

 soil. If one has a clay or loam soil the 

 ditches may be farther apart than on a 

 sandy or more porous soil. The average 

 distance in a clay soil is six hundred 

 feet, while in a sandy soil three hundred 

 feet is sufficient. Slight variations from 

 these are necessary for special condi- 

 tions. 



The construction of these ditches 



Irrigation is a Feature of Many of The Beit Orchard* in British Columbia. The Well Cultivated Orchard of Mr. Mansfield at Kelowna 



is shown 



(Photo by (J. H. Hudson 



. _i. 



i8y 



