THE ART OF IRRIGATION. 



117 



and the roots of the trees that had always been far 

 above the level of any underground water, now had 

 it raised up to them so that many of them were in 

 standing water. It would take about three seasons 

 to get back into proper condition the trees that 

 survived this treatment. This man, within the last 

 ten years, had traveled over Europe and made 

 another trip around the world, yet he could not go 

 one-half a day's journey to see the best irrigation in 

 the world, and learn how it was done. 



The above is an extreme instance, yet there are 

 hundreds more here almost as bad. Either from con- 

 ceit, laziness or general stupidity, people will not go 

 to see the object lessons that lie but a few miles from 

 their noses. Nor will most of them believe for an 

 instant that any other section can teach them any- 

 thing worth knowing. 



On ground not thoroughly drained by an open sub- 

 soil, or by sufficient slope with ditches on the top, 

 this reckless use of water developed alkali at a rate 

 that in a few vears ruined thousands of acres of land 

 once as fertile as any under the sun. Land with a 

 tendency to alkali or underlaid by a stratum of water 

 carrying alkali will be injured more or less by any 

 irrigation unless it is well drained either above or 

 below. And on all ground there is some danger of 

 it, in any country, and under any system of irrigation, 

 unless well drained. Good drainage is therefore as 

 essential as a good water supply and must never be 

 neglected But this is the last thing dreamed of by 

 the novice in irrigation. When alkali appears he 

 knows but one remedy, and that is to pour on more 

 water. Instead of bleaching out the alkali and running 

 the water off, by which he could help the matter 

 much and reclaim many kinds of soil from alkali, the 

 early irrigator lets it soak in and carry the alkali 

 down. When the ground dried it began to rise again 

 in solution in the moisture rising to the surface by ca- 

 pillary attraction. There the solution was evaporated 

 leaving the alkali as a white crust on the surface. 

 This alarmed him. As long as it made no show he 

 was not afraid. But as soon as it appeared on went 

 more water to carry it down again and generate more 

 at the same operation. 



Alkali is nearly always a mixture of carbonate of 

 soda and carbonate of potash with a little salt and 

 carbonate of chloride of magnesia, and a trace of other 

 salts. Little damage is done by any but the potash 

 and soda. Both these are fertilizers but are in excess, 

 and of the two the soda is much the more injurious. 

 The amount of soda required by vegetation is much 

 less than of potash and excess of it is far more injuri- 

 ous. The soda generally makes what is called "black 

 alkali " and the potash what is called "white alkali." 

 They are formed from the decomposition of the min- 

 erals forming the soil, principally from the decomposi. 



tion of the feldspar that forms so important a part of 

 granite. Where the rock lies in place in the hills, either 

 as hard grey or blue granite, or as disintegrated by the 

 oxidizing of the iron in the mica until it becomes rot- 

 ten granite and washes away to the plains and valleys 

 below, it rarely shows any trace of alkali, but in the 

 large beds or sheets into which it is washed to form 

 the valleys or plains it is apt to decompose whenever 

 it is very fine and the drainage is interrupted by sheets 

 of clay or hardpan forming below the surface. Hence 

 alkali is not a sign of poor soil. It is only on good 

 soil that it can form to any great extent unless 

 brought there by water from some other place. It is 

 not difficult to manage where the drainage can be 

 made certain, and ground very full of it may be re- 

 claimed by the proper use of gypsum or land plaster, 

 the sulphuric acid in which unites with the soda, 

 making sulphate of soda, which is quite harmless' 

 while the lime that formed the base of the gypsum is 

 a fertilizer that is quite harmless in considerable 

 quantity and is what most land needs as much as 

 anything else. 



The irrigator therefor instead of being alarmed at 

 alkali must understand how to manage it, and the 

 last way to do it is to pour on water and let it dissolve 

 the white crust and soak into the ground with it. Its 

 speedy reappearance at the surface is certain, and it 

 will be strange if it does not bring company with it. 



UTILIZING THE UNDERFLOW. 



A company is being formed for the purpose of sup- 

 plying Los Angeles with artesian water from a point 

 a few miles south of San Bernardino. The pro- 

 moter of the enterprise, Mr. A. F. Judson, of Colton, 

 says: 



"It is on a river bed, with an unlimited supply of 

 water. I have traced this underground river from 

 Baldy mountain in a southern direction to Elsinore 

 lake. The southwest bank of the river being in 

 place, cuts off the water supply from running south- 

 west between this city and Colton. The iron, ce- 

 ment and black sand, characteristic of material for 

 forming a mountain river bank, make the combina- 

 tion of this bank. Without the underground supply 

 of water it would be utterly impossible for the moun- 

 tain streams of Lytle creek, City creek and other 

 small streams to supply one-half the streams that 

 have already been developed. 



" The city of San Bernardino virtually stands on an 

 underground lake, which is supplied by this river. 

 Facing the river across the mountain ranges into the 

 San Jacinto valley there is an artesian belt from a 

 quarter to half a mile wide that supplies artesian 

 water, and many flowing wells have been developed. 



