38 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



price it would cost to apply 27,000 gallons to an acre $6.75 for the 

 water and about $3 for the labor, — say $10 per acre for each water- 

 ing ; and as each acre would generall}' need at least ten or twelve 

 such waterings in a season, water applied in this way in sufficient 

 quantity would cost from $100 to $125 per acre. There are some 

 crops raised upon our market gardens which would warrant an out- 

 lay like this, but they are few. Early cucumbers, lettuce, celer^^, 

 and cauliflowers may be mentioned as examples. These crops 

 frequently sell for $1,000 per acre, and are sure to sell at the high- 

 est prices in time of drought, so that it is safe to say that where 

 water is to be had at this price, the gardener would be warranted 

 in appl3'ing it to his hot-beds and greenhouses, and to his most val- 

 uable field crops, in time of drought. This, however, is a high 

 price to pay for water. It could be pumped and distributed b}^ 

 windmills or b}' steam pumps at about half this cost in very many 

 favored locations, and then the use of it would be extended to 

 crops of less value. The application of water to gardens has not, 

 however, been practised in this neighborhood long enough to enable 

 one to estimate ver}' accurately where it would pa}' and where it 

 would not ; but it is well worth careful stud}' by those who raise 

 valuable crops of vegetables and small fruits. 



Those lands which are naturally so situated as to be com- 

 manded by a good natural suppl}' of water at such level as to be 

 easily applied by a sj'stem of canals and ditches, are rarel}^ to be 

 found in those highly cultivated regions where gardening is prac- 

 tised ; the cost of water under such circumstances is reduced to a 

 minimum, and by grading the land lor the purpose of distribution 

 without pipes, the 3'early cost for water has been reduced, in some 

 cases, as low as from one dollar to three dollars per acre per year. 

 Under such circumstances and in the dr}' climates of many parts 

 of the world, irrigation is universall}' applicable, and even essential, 

 to the growth of grass, grain, and all kinds of vegetables. This 

 is, however, not garden irrigation and can receive here only passing 

 notice. 



A very important consideration, wherever irrigation is practised, 

 is the drainage of the land. Wherever this is not naturally perfect, 

 it must be made so artificiall}^ before irrigation can be safely prac- 

 tised, otherwise if a heavy fall of rain should occur just after an 

 artificial a^jplieation of water the crops might suffer seriously from 

 beinii too wet. 



