152 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



neath the surface. Keep, the bed clear of weeds and 

 irrigate every two or three weeks the first and second 

 years, adding a good coat of well-rotted" manure or 

 so-called complete fertilizer every season. 



The third year the bed will be in full bearing. Irri- 

 gate thoroughly during the cutting season, and about 

 once a month the balance of the year. 



BEANS, 



whether bush or pole "Snap," or bush or pole "Lima," 

 should be grown on beds accessible to water, as they 

 can stand irrigating every week in some sections. 

 Plant the seed in drills two and a half feet apart. 



CABBAGE. 



This succulent vegetable is a standard crop on the 

 Coast, Puget Sound already having scored a success 

 as a center for raising cabbage seed. 



The seed is usually started in hot beds or cold 

 frames for the early crop, and transplanted into the 

 field into rows two and a half feet to three feet apart.the 

 plants eighteen inches apart in the rows. When the 

 ground is in fit condition an expert gardener can set 

 out 5,000 a day with the assistance of a boy to drop 

 plants, but it is back-breaking and no slouch of a 

 job to set out 2,000 to 3,000 plants in a day. Machine- 

 ry is being used in the East to set out tobacco and 

 cabbage plants, with success. The plants should be 

 set in the ground up to the first two leaves and the 

 soil firmed around them. 



It is not unusual to shade the newly set out plants 

 for a day or so until new roots are formed. Irrigate 

 immediately after setting out to assist root formation, 

 and as soon as the soil is dry enough cultivate. 



The cabbage plant responds readily to fertilizers 

 and cultivation. 



Irrigate as needed until heads commence to form, 

 but not thereafter, as the heads are very apt to burst 

 if irrigated during this period of growth. 



The above method can also be followed for cauli- 

 flower, borecole, brussels sprouts, etc. 



Near Anacortes, Wash., first-class cauliflower seeds 

 are being successfully raised. 



BEETS. 



This seed is usually sown in drills eighteen inches 

 apart, and about an inch deep. 



Authorities now strongly advise not to irrigate this 

 or other root crops unless to supply sufficient moist- 

 ure to germinate the seed, but to cultivate the soil 

 well and often. 



TURNIPS, PARSNIPS AND CARROTS 



can be sown in drills eighteen inches apart, and half 

 an inch deep. Water can be applied until the roots 

 commence to form, or until the plant shades the 

 ground, but thereafter irrigating tends to make the 

 roots rot. 



ONIONS A SUCCESS UNDER IRRIGATION. 



This plant requires that the seed be sown on the 

 top of ridges. Two rows may be grown on each 

 ridge, the rows being six inches apart. No vegetable 

 requires more careful handling under irrigation, as 

 the water should not be allowed to touch the bulb, nor 

 should the soil be drawn around it. 



This is a very profitable crop, and some gardeners 

 in the East sow the seed in beds, and transplant in a 

 similar manner as to cabbage. Generally, however, 

 it is the larger varieties that are recommended for 

 this method of cultivation, the extra cost in time and 



labor in setting out the onion plants being about 

 offset by the greater freedom of such beds from 

 weeds than usual in the older method of sowing the 

 seed where the crop is to be grown, thinning, etc. 

 The large Spanish onion is grown in Europe under 

 irrigation and there seems no good reason why this 

 crop cannot be grown successfully in America to 

 supply the home demands of our markets. 



SQUASH. 



This delicious product of the garden (vegetable 

 marrow) thrives in almost any soil, and well repays 

 by increased returns for the care bestowed on it for 

 manure and cultivation. It needs little water, some- 

 times none at all. 



The usual method is to manure, and sow the seeds in 

 hills about four feet apart each way, allowing three 

 plants to grow in each hill. 



SWEET POTATOES. 



Tubers for this crop are planted in beds about the 

 same as Irish potatoes, the vines grown from this bed 

 being used to set out the field for the regular crop. 



The land is thrown up into ridges by horse plow or 

 a sweet potato hiller three feet apart, and the sweet 

 potato vine cuttings are set out on the top of the 

 ridges sixteen inches apart. 



Irrigate between the ridges, but put no water on 

 the plant, as it is liable to cause sun scald. It is 

 usually necessary to have the soil moist when setting 

 out vines after cultivation, to keep the field free 

 from weeds, using discretion when applying water, 

 much as for Irish potatoes. 



TOMATOES. 



The seed for this crop is usually grown under glass 

 in hot or cold frames, and the plants set out in the 

 field after they have attained some size. 



They are then set out in rows, six feet apart, and 

 the plants three feet apart in the rows. 



Irrigate immediately after setting out, keeping the 

 soil free from weeds and loose. Do not irrigate after 

 the fruit has set, as this is liable to cause it to crack 

 and rot. 



PEAS 



thrive under irrigation and should have plenty of 

 moisture, especially when in bloom. 



Sow the seed in drills, allowing three feet between 

 the rows, and for a succession, sow every week or ten 

 days. This crop responds readily to good culture 

 and manures. 



LETTUCE, RADISH, SPINACH, PARSLEY, ETC., 



are cultivated in beds so arranged as to allow of irri- 

 gation from a furrow at the ridge. Sow the seed in 

 rows from sixteen to eighteen inches apart, giving an 

 abundant supply of water at all stages of growth. 

 Keep the ground moist and loose all the time. 



A I^arge Grape Vine. A vine (supposed to be 

 vitis cEstivalis) growing on the Rose Dhu plantation, 

 May River, South Carolina, at the base of a large 

 live oak, measures at 3 feet from the ground, 48 

 inches in girth, and at 1 foot from the ground 54 

 inches in girth. One of the large cable-like limbs 

 extends out near the adjacent marsh, then dips down 

 into the mud, in which it is somewhat buried, doubt- 

 less deriving some sustenance and growth from the 

 salt water, which laves it at every tide. Other por- 

 tions of the vine clamber out and clasp the large 



