236 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



broadly viewed in time and space; for, from the re- 

 motest antiquity to the present day it has furnished 

 mankind in many countries one of the most delicious 

 of foods directly, while indirectly contributing to hu- 

 man welfare in a wholly incalculable degree. It has 

 been long believed, if it cannot be said to have been 

 positively known, that bees have always rendered the 

 most valuable assistance in the pollination of fruits; 

 hence, horticulture, as we see it to-day, would have 

 been impossible, save through the active agency of the 

 bee. But the average bee weighs but the five-thou- 

 sandth part of a pound, and it is therefore only 

 through association in vast numbers that its great 

 work for mankind is accomplished. An average col- 

 ony of bees comprises probably 20,000 to 25,000 indi- 

 viduals, though a large colony may number twice 

 that many. When well loaded with pollen it requires 

 only about 1,800 bees to weigh a pound, thus showing 

 that in point of strength compared to weight the bee 

 is far superior to man. That is to say, the bee can 

 carry in its flight to considerable distances a weight 

 equal to twice its own, thus certainly affording con- 

 vincing evidence of its prodigious muscular power. 

 It is asserted by those who have made deep study of 

 Parthenogenesis in bees, that the eggs of the queen 

 which have been fertilized produce the " neuters '' or 

 working bees, while those not fertilized produce the 

 male bees, or drones, so called. 



Great advances have been made in recent years in 

 apiculture, and the large hustling commercial bee of 

 the present time is essentially a different type of in- 

 sect from that which characterized its ancestors of 

 the days of the Pharaohs. More honey is annually 

 produced in California than in any other State, and 

 the crop has sometimes reached the amount of 9,000,- 

 000 pounds, as in 1884. The great abundance of 

 flowers in that State and the general mildness of the 

 climate make " bee ranching " a profitable business. 

 In fact, the climatic conditions throughout the arid 

 belt are especially favorable to the development of 

 honey production as a leading pursuit. 



Tillage is Irrigation. A few years ago Stark 

 Bros, planted a large orchard near Denver on land 

 supposed to be irrigable. After the trees were in 

 place tjie water supply failed, and a system of extra - 

 dinarily thorough and persistent cultivation was 

 resorted to to keep the trees alive until water could 

 be secured. They did so well that irrigation was 

 dispensed with entirely, and the same thorough and 

 persistent cultivation has made the orchard a big 

 success. It is declared that the orchard is this sea- 

 son " a sight to behold," the trees being fairly loaded 

 down with fruit. There are other striking instances, 

 on the semi-arid lands, of the great value of persist- 

 ent cultivation. It is a trite saying that " tillage is 

 manure." It seems to be demonstrated that it is, in 

 a measure, a substitute for irrigation also. 



An English Example. Fruit growing is quite 

 extensively carried on in the Clydesdale district in 

 England. Considerable attention is given to straw- 

 berries, and it is said that berries of the highest excel- 

 lence are produced there. Some 1,500 acres are de 

 voted to this culture and the annual product isalleged 

 to bring to the growers the amount of ^62,500, or say 

 $310,000. It will be seen that this means an average 



of over 8200 per acre for the entire acreage planted. 

 Other fruits to about the same aggregate acreage are 

 cultivated in the Clydesdale district, but their annual 

 yield is given at only ,17,000. 



The English fruit growers fertilize heavily and make 

 no attempt, as our American fruit growers often do, 

 to take from the land a large return each year without 

 putting anything back in the way of fertilizers. In all 

 branches of soil culture, whether general farming or 

 fruit growing, the homely old adage, " feed the land 

 and it will feed you," holds good. It will be remem- 

 bered that there are no " inexhaustible " soils, of which 

 we hear much. No soil in the world will stand suc- 

 cessive cropping and give good returns without fer- 

 tilization and reasonably good cultivation. 



A Foreign Orange Market. The Florida Fruit 

 Exchange was instrumental in opening a trade in 

 England for American oranges, having sent some 

 eighty carloads to the Liverpool maiket last season. 

 Until foreign competition became too strong these 

 consignments brought fairly good prices, and the 

 Florida fruit was held in high esteem throughout, A 

 few California oranges were also sent to the English 

 markets by some of the shipping companies of that 

 State last year, and the outcome both for California 

 and Florida shipments was such as to give encour- 

 agement that under reasonably favorable conditions 

 a profitable market may be found beyond the sea for 

 a considerable fraction of our citrus fruit crops. 



Among the valuable lessons learned by orange 

 shippers is that for long-distance shipments oranges 

 must be prepared for the journey by a system of 

 curing, requiring four or five days, and that to box 

 and ship fruit direct from the trees is to invite dis- 

 astrous returns, especially if sent to a distant market 

 requiring several days, or perhaps weeks, to reach. 

 But by proper exposure to the air and careful hand- 

 ling for a few days, the skin is greatly toughened and 

 thus prepared to endure a journey that would other- 

 wise be impossible. 



Australian Fruit Growers. In the well-known 

 irrigation colony settlements made along the Murray 

 river, in Victoria, Australia, by the Chaffey Brothers, 

 about 10,000 acres are now planted with fruit trees 

 and vines. Mildura and its environs now comprise 

 about 4,000 inhabitants, where seven years ago the 

 country was but a vast rabbit range. At present the 

 number of holdings is about 600, and they range in 

 size from ten to eighty acres, averaging about twen- 

 ty-five acres. The principal fruits grown are figs, 

 apricots, peaches, pears, olives, almonds and plums. 

 Zante currants and citrus fruits are also grown and 

 yield abundant crops. 



Irrigation affords a very effective means of check- 

 ing or compensating for the ravages of many sorts of 

 insect pests by making plants so vigorous that they 

 may successfully cope with their enemies. 



Extraordinary developments in farming by irriga- 

 tion are reported this season along the Tongue river 

 in Montana. The culture of grain, hay and garden 

 crops have all proven highly successful. 



