TALKS WITH PRACTICAL IRRIGATORS. 



that much better results are obtained from planting 

 the roots. This fact is not so serious a drawback to 

 its cultivation as might at first be supposed; for the 

 roots planted do not decay, it is alleged, and may be 

 dug and used when harvesting the crop which sprang 

 from them. The seed, therefore, costs practically 

 nothing, and the setting aside of a certain amount of 

 roots for planting is all that is required. It might 

 well be that the continued planting of the seeds of 

 the canaigre would result in producing improved 

 varieties, as with potatoes, and the seeds of various 

 fruits and plants. No doubt, however, the work is 

 being done at the several Experiment Stations in the 

 canaigre districts, and we may reasonably expect 

 some beneficial results to flow from this line of experi- 

 ment. 



Large amounts of canaigre roots are now gathered 

 from the public domain and prepared for market ; 

 but in view of the great importance of creating an 

 industry by aid of this plant its welfare should be 

 guarded and its extermination from its natural habitat 

 should not be allowed. The government endeavors 

 to preserve its forest lands from spoilation, and it 

 might well undertake the collection and distribution 

 of canaigre roots to those who would guarantee their 

 care and cultivation. Probably the greater part of 

 the canaigre now growing anywhere is on the public 

 domain ; and while its preservation for use by those 

 who would create a new industry might appear to 

 partake of the paternalism which is so obnoxious to 

 the Honorable Secretary of Agriculture, yet practical 

 wisdom would suggest that the elements of a valuable 

 industry soon to develop from plants now growing 

 wild on the public lands should be carefully guarded 

 from annihilation. 



METHODICAL DIVERSITY OF PRODUCTION. 



BY J. W. GREGORY. 



DIVERSITY of production ought to be a hobby 

 with practical irrigation farmers. "Don't 'put 

 all your eggs in one basket" is an admonition it is 

 well to heed, however trite the saying. No matter 

 how carefully one may plan and plant and cultivate, 

 any crop will be a failure sometimes, and it is only 

 taking counsel of ordinary prudence to have a suffi- 

 cient diversity of products to make a success of one 

 sort when another fails. The man of one crop must 

 be fortunate in his location and wise in his selection 

 to stand any show of continued success. 



NEED NOT BE A MOSSBACK. 



But diversity of production does not mean a con- 

 stant " bobbing around " from one sort of crop to an- 

 other, from one list to another, growing one kind or 

 list-of crops this year and changing to something en- 

 tirely different next year. Experiment is all well 



enough and one need not include moss on his own 

 back among his crops. It will often be advantageous 

 to try new things and to shift from one sort of crop to 

 another, but the man who grows peas, potatoes and 

 sweet corn for market this year, cabbage, tomatoes 

 and celery the next, and cucumbers, onions and spin- 

 ach another time, always planting what brought a 

 good price, or what an intelligent or fortunate neigh- 

 bor made an exceptionally good return from the pre- 

 ceding season, will find that, as a rule, he is keeping 

 just about a year behind the good prices and that he 

 does not get on remarkably well. 



HAVE A SPECIALTY. 



A good specialty is the very best foundation for a 

 diversity of crops. And it is not a bad idea for one 

 to have a limited line of tested and successful spe- 

 cialties and stick to them. One may well make an 

 orange grove, an apple or prune orchard or an alfalfa 

 field \\\s piece de resistance, combine with the chosen 

 leading specialty other standard lines in which he 

 has experience, and then experiment cautiously, but 

 on a limited scale, with other things. The leading 

 special crop will be a failure, total or partial, at 

 times, or prices for the product will rule low; but in 

 such cases the " side lines " will pull the farmer 

 through, and if his selections are wisely made, he will 

 profit by perseverance. 



" SWEET-POTATO PEARCE." 



We have in mind a good example of the success 

 following an intelligent adherence to a well-chosen 

 specialty. A located Methodist minister, Eld. J. F. 

 Pearce, residing in Finney county, Kansas, has for 

 the past ten consecutive years planted five acres 

 each year to sweet potatoes. He does not mind the 

 fact that this has gained him the sobriquet of "Sweet- 

 Potato Pearce," inasmuch as the crop has paid him 

 an average return of $200 per acre per year for the 

 period mentioned. He has not grown exceptional 

 crops, nor, indeed, a very high average; but all the 

 work has been done by himself and family, so that 

 what is received is very nearly net gain, so far as the 

 cash account is concerned. He has had plenty of 

 time to devote to other matters right along and has 

 made a good plain living for his family. 



His long experience in handling this crop has 

 made him an expert, both in safely growing it and in 

 getting the most possible out of it. He knows when 

 and where to market the product to the best advant- 

 age. People and dealers in his vicinity who want 

 anything in his line always know where to go to get 

 it so long as his stock holds out. He has a cheaply 

 constructed root cellar in which he keeps an average 

 of 250 bushels through each winter, and he " beds " a 

 stated quantity each spring for growing plants, for 

 which he has a ready sale. Sometimes prices are 



