CHAPTER V 

 WATER AND WATERING 



IN all branches of vegetable- and fruit-growing, the 

 question of watering is an important one ; it is a necessary 

 factor from the time the seed is planted to the time the 

 crop is harvested. A sufficient amount of water must be 

 applied either naturally or artificially. Where water 

 can be supplied either by flowing wells or by pumping, 

 the vegetable-grower has a considerable advantage over 

 his neighbors who have not this supply. In dry seasons 

 his crop will not suffer from drought, and the crop will 

 bring more money in consequence of the lack of water 

 elsewhere. Much of the vegetable land can be supplied 

 with water from artesian wells; their usefulness in this 

 respect has already been demonstrated. 



Another source of water for use in vegetable-growing, 

 and one that is not being employed to the extent to which 

 it might be advantageously used, is the flow of streams. 

 In many cases there is enough flowing water to supply all 

 or a great part of the land with water in dry times. Water 

 may be raised to a considerable height by the use of a 

 hydraulic ram. One of these machines will operate with- 

 out any attention after it has been put in place and set to 

 running. A single discharge may be quite small, yet when 

 it runs twenty-four hours without stopping, a considerable 

 amount of water has been lifted. The amount of water 

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