IRRIGATION IN THE EASTERN STATES/ 



BY F. H. NEWELL OF THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 



IRRIGATION is as wide as agriculture, 

 1 and not only enters into the diverse 

 branches of cultivation, but also is found 

 in one form or another in nearly every lo- 

 cality where crops are raised. It cannot 

 be shut off by itself as pertaining to a 

 particular climate or locality. There is 

 probably not a section of our country 

 where the artificial application of water to 

 the soil is not successfully practiced, des- 

 pite the wide range of climatic conditions. 

 Even in cold, damp New England the 

 meadows and grass lands are in some in- 

 stances watered by systems of ditches; 

 orchards are thus occasionally protected 

 from drouth, and cranberry marshes are 

 flooded, the method of applying water 

 differing little from that in use in the arid 

 states. Coming southerly along 'the At- 

 lantic coastal region there are to be found 

 small farms, especially in the vicinity of 

 cities, where irrigation is habitually prac- 

 ticed. This is notably the case in truck 

 farming in the light, early soils. For ex- 

 ample in the Carolinas and Georgia, where 

 early vegetables are raised for the New 

 York market, it often happens that there 

 is a deficiency of rainfall just at the time 

 when the vegetables should be making 

 their best growth or are maturing. Un- 

 less water is then applied losses of hun- 

 dreds of thousands of dollars are imminent, 

 but with proper moisture given at the 

 right time large profits can be secured. 



The flooding of rice fields, though so 

 well known, is often overlooked as belong- 

 ing to this class of cultivation, but it is 

 properly included under the term "irri- 

 gation," as well as all means by which the 

 supply of water is artificially regulated, 

 even though this is in part closely allied 

 to draining. The same kind of problems 

 are encountered both as to lifting and con- 

 ducting water and also as to the effect on 

 the plants of a surplus or of a deficiency 

 of supply. 



Within the Mississippi valley and even 



up into the far north in Wisconsin and 

 Minnesota are many fertile soils of a tex- 

 ture such that they do not retain moisture. 

 As a rule water can be found below these 

 at depths often under twenty feet and can 

 be cheaply raised by suitable machinery. 

 The experiments of Prof. F. H. King at 

 Madison, Wis., demonstrate the great in- 

 crease of crops by the use of water thus 

 obtained. 



If we include under the term irrigation 

 the watering of lawns and gardens from 

 city and town supplies, we will have a 

 larger appreciation of the extent to which 

 this method of agriculture is practiced and 

 found invaluable. There is hardly a place 

 of any considerable size where the home 

 surroundings are not made more attractive 

 by the lavish use of water on the grass, 

 trees, flower beds and gardens. These 

 form the best object lessons as to what 

 can be accomplished by the employment 

 of plenty of water at the right time. A 

 corresponding luxuriance of growth can 

 be obtained by field crops under like con- 

 ditions. Let the farm be supplied by 

 gravity systems, or by pumps or storage 

 works so built that it can receive at mod- 

 erate cost a large enough quantity of 

 water when needed, and the farmer can 

 with due intelligence and energy rival the 

 prize crops and be sure of large returns, 

 whether the rains come or not. In the de- 

 liberations of the Irrigation Congress we 

 must recognize the east if we claim to be 

 national in character. To maintain the 

 larger relations we should meet occasion- 

 ally farther to the east than before, and 

 show a proper interest in development in 

 all parts of the country, whether the cli- 

 mate be humid or arid, co-operating with 

 all other agencies seeking to promote a 

 larger and better use of the national re- 

 sources in soil and water. 



* Extracts from remarks before the Fifth National 

 Irrigation Congress. 



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