130 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



dry. The best method of handling is to 

 cut the whole crop close to the ground 

 and after curing in the shock, run heads, 

 stalks and all through a separator having 

 a large proportion of the cylinder and 

 concave teeth removed. This threshes 

 out and separates the grain and puts the 

 roughness in first-class shape for feeding. 

 If the seed is to be kept pure, the great- 

 est care should be taken to prevent its 

 mixing with sorghum, rice corn, broom 

 corn, etc. , which it will do unless kept out 

 at a broad distance. 



IRRIGATION IN NEW ENGLAND. 



THE Connecticut Pomological Society 

 recently held a well -attended in- 

 stitute at Milford, at the invitation of the 

 Indian River Grange. 



"Irrigation in Fruit Culture" was dis- 

 cussed by Mr. J. C. Eddy, of Simsbury, iu 

 a practical paper telling of his success in 

 irrigating strawberries the past season. 

 A portion of the field was unirrigated and 

 the results showed a difference of over 

 $400 dollars per acre in favor of the wa- 

 tered portions. Mr. Eddy said that irriga- 

 tion can be accomplished on most New 

 England farms by simply directing the 

 many hillside streams that are now run- 

 ning to waste. The successful growth of 

 small fruits demands water at just the 

 right time. Profitable irrigating means 

 supplying an amount of water equal to one 

 inch of rainfall per week. On Mr. Eddy's 

 farm a large hydraulic ram is in use, as 

 the fields are higher than the stream from 

 which the supply is taken. 



After the water is raised it is distributed 

 through iron pipes, and at convenient 

 points hose is coupled on and the water 

 thoroughly distributed over the surface 

 of the ground by means of a sprinkling 

 nozzle. Mr Eddy is satisfied with the ex- 

 periment, which paid its cost the first 

 season. 



E. C. Vance, of North Haven, a fruit- 

 grower of long experience, followed with 

 a short paper, giving his methods of get- 

 ting around a drought by supplying water 

 to berry crops. He makes use of a stream, 

 raising the water with a Rife ram. He is a 

 firm believer in the value of irrigation. 



A general discussion of the subject 

 brought out many good points, among 



others that the leaf-blight on strawberries 

 is diminished where irrigation is prac- 

 ticed. 



Chairman Hale, in telling of the work of 

 irrigation now being done on his fruit 

 farm, said that the near future would 

 see the many streams of water on the 

 farms all harnessed to do the work of irri- 

 gation. He cited an instance when a time- 

 ly shower had made a difference of $200 

 per acre in a crop of peaches. But we 

 must not depend on timely showers, but 

 must have the necessary supply of water 

 at hand at all times. 



' ' What is true of the great advantages 

 of an unlimited water supply in fruit grow- 

 ing is also true in respect to grass and 

 other farm crops," said Secretary Gold of 

 the Board of Agriculture. 



Mr. Hale said that where the cost of an 

 irrigating plant is a stumbling block, co- 

 operation is the key to the situation. 



MICHIGAN EMBRACES IT. 



WHEN the subject of irrigation was 

 broached at the recent meeting of 

 the Michigan Horticultural Society, the 

 fact came out that, during the past season, 

 at the Michigan Agricultural College, 

 water was used on small fruits and a va- 

 riety of garden vegetables. Despite the 

 dry season two waterings carried the 

 strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, cur- 

 rants and gooseberries through their fruit- 

 ing seasons with little, if any, loss of crop 

 from the dry weather. The gain from the 

 use of water in the case of the vegetables 

 was from three to six fold in bulk, but as 

 the quality was much superior where they 

 were irrigated, the gain in the money 

 value of the crop was even more than this. 

 The water was carried along the ends of 

 the rows in small wooden troughs provided 

 with gates at intervals of three feet along 

 the sides, through which the water could 

 be drawn as desired. Shallow furrows 

 were used to distribute the water along 

 the rows, and as good results were ob- 

 tained in this way as where tiles, either 

 at the surface or buried a foot or more in 

 the ground, were used. As soon as the 

 water soaked in, the ground was cultivated 

 to keep the moisture from evaporation. 



M. E. Williams, of Douglas, Michigan, 

 then told of the results obtained the last 



