IDEAL IRRIGATION METHODS IN NEW MEXICO 



BY A. E. BLOUNT. 



[The following paper, on irrigation methods in New Mexico, is published this month instead of Mr. Van 

 Dyke's usual article. Mr. Blount will be followed by other managers of experimental farms in the arid 

 region. Mr. Van Dyke's fourth and fifth articles will be published together in May. The very carefully 

 studied papers on advanced methods, which THE AGE is presenting this year, will certainly become classics 

 in their line. THE EDITOR.] 



FROM time immemorial, from Trinidad on the north 

 to El Paso on the south, and even down in old 

 Mexico, the system of irrigation has not been and is 

 not what it should be, because the manner of apply- 

 ing the water not only takes the life out of the soil, 

 but often scorches tender plants, and even scalds 

 fruit trees on the south side so severely as to kill and 

 otherwise render them worthless. 



THE PRESENT POOR METHODS. 



For small grain and corn, the system consists in 

 letting the water from the canal into small beds 

 around which are high borders, and in these it stands 

 until it sinks away or evaporates, altogether too long 

 a time for the good of any plant. All gardens and 

 fields are thus bordered up at great expense not only 

 for labor in making them every year, but in the loss 

 sustained from drowning out the seed and injuring 

 the crops. The method of cultivation consists in first 

 plowing the ground three or four inches deep, at the 

 same time covering the seed at all depths, and then 

 cutting it up with borders and beds for the water. 



EFFECTS OF THE METHODS. 



The effects of so much water 'so bountifully and 

 unseasonably applied are plainly seen in the sickly 

 growth of the plants that follows and the poor stand 

 on the ground. Garden vegetables are planted on 

 ridges and irrigated without fear or favor and with- 

 out any consideration of the water supply or the 

 demands of the plants. Entirely too much water is 

 used injudiciously and wastefully on all crops. With 

 a third of it the crops would be far better and much 

 more prolific. 



The trees of the orchard are put in a ditch with 

 high borders on each side and then the ditch is filled 

 with water, the trees at the same time standing a foot 

 deep in it, and when the hot sun strikes the bark of a 

 young tree in particular, it becomes black and often 

 dies on the south side, thereby making the fruit small 

 and worthless. 



THE VITAL POINTS TO SETTLE. 



Irrigation is a problem that cannot be solved me- 

 chanically. The mere putting on of the water is no 

 part of the solution. When, how and why, are the 

 questions that, if answered correctly, will give the 

 true solution. It is not the art, but the science that 

 settles the matter. 



All plants need moisture some more, some less 

 and they demand it at certain seasons and in certain 

 ways. In this arid climate rain, when it comes in 

 showers, is often detrimental to some crops, because 

 it comes when the crops are in a condition that they 

 will not endure the presence of moisture, not having 

 had opportunities of previous protection against the 

 effects of the combined influences of sunshine and 

 rain, one following the other. For instance, when it 

 rains on wheat at noon and the sun comes out with 

 all his intensity, the crop is seared, and if not too 

 young the grain shrivels in the ripening. Potatoes 

 rust from the same cause. The blades of corn curl up 

 and die. Oats and barley wither and often stop 

 growing then and there. 



WHEN TO APPLY WATER. 



No crop but tells us when it wants water. The 

 grasses, clovers and small grain have a language 

 that cannot be mistaken. Whenever their green 

 color becomes very dark and sickly, put on the water. 

 When corn wants water, it tells the fact by its leaves 

 being curled up in the morning. Salsify needs but 

 little, if any, water after it is well under way. Carrots 

 cannot bear an irrigation by flooding after they are 

 half grown. If covered with water the crowns decay. 

 All species of the cabbage family require a good deal 

 of water. In other words, they like wet feet, and are 

 very particular how it is applied. Most plants, yes, 

 all plants in this arid climate should be pushed in 

 their early stages of growth by a judicious application 

 of the proper amount of water and frequent cultiva- 

 tions, at no time letting them stand or go back from 

 want of water and proper attention. 



Plants m general need much less water than is 

 usually applied by almost everyone. They do far 

 better and suffer much less with two inches on the 

 surface applied two or three times during their 

 growth, than they do with twelve inches on the sur- 

 face applied five or six times in a season. It is a sad 

 mistake to put on so much water. 



HOW TO PUT ON THE WATER. 



In field culture all small grain, the grasses, and all 

 sowed crops must be irrigated by flooding. The 

 water should be put on as rapidly as possible, with no 

 let-up the quicker the better. It should not be 

 allowed to stand in pools any where, because standing 



