THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



67 



their heads arid wondering why they have 

 made little or nothing on wheat during 

 the past five years, they may very properly 

 reflect upon the story which the above 

 figures tells in a very loud voice to all 

 farmers who have the inclination to listen 

 to them and the business acumen to profit 

 by their lesson. 



WHEAT BY IRRIGATION. 



BY JOHN G. HALL. 

 (In Edgemont Express). 



ON account of the low price that wheat 

 has been sold for the last few years, 

 and in order that the farmer may make a 

 profit on his labor in raising by irrigation, 

 which adds greatly to the cost of produc- 

 tion, he must realize large returns from a 

 small acreage. Consequently great care 

 must be taken to place the land in the best 

 possible condition before the seed is sown, 

 by plowing deep and pulverizing the soil, 

 and having-the surface in a smooth condi- 

 tion to receive the water from the lateral 

 easily, evenly and uniformly. Then sow 

 the grain, after being immersed in blue 

 vitriol water to kill the smut, as early after 

 February 1 as frost will permit. This 

 applies to spring wheat. The best imple- 

 ment for the purpose up to the present is 

 the press drill. If the soil is in the shape 

 it should be, the seed can be deposited in 

 the ground and the moist earth packed 

 firmly upon it, when the seed will sprout 

 and take root before the ground has time 

 to dry out. While a drill costs more than 

 any other "seeder, it is at the same time 

 the cheapest. Why? Because 60 pounds of 

 seed per acre will secure as good a stand 

 with a press drill as will 90 pounds with a 

 hoe drill. This is due to the earth being 

 packed upon the seed and not allowed to 

 dry out. Ninety pounds with a hoe drill 

 will secure as good a stand as will 120 

 pounds broadcast. Why is this? Because 

 the seed sown broadcast is sown above the 

 moisture. A large per cent fails to get 

 covered, a certain portion is picked up by 

 birds, and still another portion is lost for 

 want of moisture to sprout it. 



KIND OP SEED TO SOW. 



Great experimenting has been done with 

 various kinds of seed and too much care 

 can not be taken in the selection of the 

 same, as only a small per cent of the va- 

 rieties tried do well under irrigation. 

 From long experimenting with wheat under 

 irrigation in Colorado, the writer is partial 

 to two varieties, viz: White Australian 

 and Defiance. I think both of these va- 

 rieties would be particularly adapted to 

 the soil and climate of Fall River county. 

 The Defiance variety is the miller's choice 

 and brings a higher price in the market. 

 Why? Because it makes three pounds 

 more flour to the bushel than any other va- 

 riety grown in the west. If this is true of 

 Defiance, why do you uphold the Austral- 

 ian variety? Although it is softer wheat, 

 yet under the same conditions it yields 

 from two to eight bushels more than De- 

 fiance. Therefore if the farmer has to 

 take five cents per hundred less for Aus- 

 tralian, with this yield he is still ahead. 

 Either of these varieties will stand until 

 fully ripe, and stand to be handled without 

 shelling to any great extent. 



WHEN TO IRRIGATE. 



I will only speak of this under favorable 

 conditions, but different conditions make 

 exceptions to this rule. When the soil is 

 in the best of condition and the season 

 favorable, the first irrigation should take 

 place when the grain becomes a solid mat 

 upon the ground, and is stooling; if thor- 

 oughly and carefully irrigated at this time 

 it should carry it along until the head 

 shoots out and the berry is forming, then 

 it should be thoroughly soaked again to 

 give plumpness to the berry and make the 

 head fill well. Under the most favorable 

 conditions this will make a wheatcrop that 

 will yield from 30 to 60 bushels per acre, 

 if the soil is fertile enough to produce it. 



PINEAPPLES IN FLORIDA. 

 Thus far California has not produced 

 pineapples in commercial quantities, but 

 efforts in this direction have been put 



