THE DIVERSIFIED FARM. 



171 



total of 13,843,071 bearing trees. la 

 addition there were 6,646,560 fruit trees 

 not in bearing. 



Siibirrir/ation.The assertion has been 

 made and reiterated that subirrigation is 

 far superior to surface irrigation. To 

 find out the results and differences of 

 these different methods, experiments were 

 begun in 1890 at the Utah Experiment 

 Station and have been carried on five 

 years. Following is a summary of the 

 whole matter: 



First. On a poor clay soil containing 

 gravel, with the cobble rock drain, or on a 

 better clay soil containing some sand, with 

 the cement tile, the subirrigation was not 

 so good as the surface. 



Second. The experiment covers ten 

 trials, and in every trial but one the sur- 

 face irrigation gave the highest yields. 



Third. During irrigation the soil im- 

 mediately over the rock drains or the 

 plugs in the cement pipes was over satu- 

 rated, while that between the drains or 

 pipes and between the plugs in the pipes 

 was very dry. 



Fourth. On the soil of the station 

 farm the system of subirrigation has 

 proved an utter failure for grain or grass. 

 On soil containing more sand it may 

 be possible and is highly probable that 

 better results can be obtained. 



Fifth. The system is so expensive that 

 it is doubtful whether it could ever be ap- 

 plied to general farming. The results are 

 so discouraging that no one is advised to 

 put it in except on a small scale for trial. 



Subsoiling. There is every reason to 

 believe subsoiling to be a valuable aid to 

 the farmers on much Oklahoma soil. Ob- 

 servations made at the Oklahoma Experi- 

 ment Station at some points in the Terri- 

 tory where subsoiling has been tried 

 show, however, that it is very desirable to 

 combine with subsoiling the growth of 

 deep-rooted plants and other means of 

 getting vegetable matter into the soil, not 

 only at the surface but as deep as may be 

 practicable. A good deal of soil in the 

 Territory is of such nature that it will be- 

 come overly compact again even after 

 thorough subsoiling. The more roots or 

 other vegetable matter it can be made to 

 hold, the longer will it remain loose. 



More Ventilation. The discussion of 

 the subject of .tuberculosis in cattle neces- 

 sarily involves the subject of the causes of 

 the same which are often found in illy 

 ventilated barns. The tendency of the 

 farmer in winter is to get a large amount 

 of warmth for his cattle so as to save the 

 cost of feed. To secure heat he has sup- 

 plied little room for his cows and has shut 

 out the cold air as much as possible. An 

 authority upon the health of the cow says 

 that the stable, to be healthy, should be 

 well ventilated and free from draughts, 

 and to accomplish this air should be ad- 

 mitted at the door line and sufficient space 

 should be provided at the apex of the roof 

 to allow the heated air to escape. Six 

 hundred cubic feet of air is necessary for 

 Shorthorns and their grades, and less, of 

 course, for the smaller breeds. 



Has Its Limitations. Bran is much 

 more highly thought of as feed than it 

 used to be. But it has its limitations, and 

 should not be relied upon entirely when 

 fed alone. It is an excellent feed to 

 give to animals that have a surfeit of 

 corn, and should always form a part of 

 the ration of fattening sheep. It is not so 

 good for hogs, as its coarse texture makes 

 it unpalatable. But fine wheat middlings 

 have all the excellences of bran, and will 

 be eaten in greater quantities by fattening 

 hogs. The bran and wheat middlings 

 furnish a greater proportion of albumi- 

 noids than corn has, and, therefore, sup- 

 plement its deficiencies. 



Advantages of the Irrigation Fartn- 



w* The farmers of many portions of Texas 

 and the West, generally, made fine crops 

 last year, but our Pecos valley farmers have 

 the comfortable assurance of just as good 

 crops every year, while those in the dis- 

 tricts depending on rainfall know that 

 such another season may not come again 

 in ten years. The irrigation farmer cares 

 little for either a drought or a flood, as he 

 is independent of each. In the first place 

 floods are rare in the arid countries, and 

 when they do come, in off years like the 

 present one, the irrigated farm sheds 

 the extra water as readily as it takes it in 

 flooding the fields by irrigation. In short, 

 the same preparation for flooding the fields 

 prepares them for bearing off flood waters, 

 while the rain farmer has to stand help- 



