170 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



The principal supply of irrigating water 

 in Highland is delivered on the 15-day 

 plan, each irrigator's run repeating itself 

 at regular intervals throughout the season. 

 Formerly fifteen days was thought to be a 

 longtime between drinks for an orchard; 

 but ideas change, and it is commonly be- 

 lieved that a thorough irrigation once a 

 month is not only better for the trees, but 

 entails less labor on the orchardist. Con- 

 sequently the practice of watering one- 

 half uf the orchard with each alternate 

 15-day run has become quite general. 



It was this method that led to Mr. Yar- 

 nell's discovery. His orchard contained 

 an odd number of rows, the central row 

 being analogous, as it were, to Mason and 

 Dixon's line. When the north half of the 

 orchard drank it was Yank, and when the 

 south took water it was Reb. Mr. Yar- 

 nell frankly admits that a whole year 

 passed before he was able to say whether 

 it was irrigated once in fifteen days or 

 once in thirty days; for it was watered on 

 alternate sides on every 15-day run. While 

 meditating upon this perplexing problem 

 be noticed that that particular row looked 

 remarkably well that it had outgrown the 

 others and did not show signs of thirst 

 during the last days of waiting, as did 

 those receiving water on both sides once in 

 thirty days. Being a man who does his 



own thinking, he tegan analyzing the 

 water, and his conclusions ran somewhat 

 as follows: "Where all the soil tributary 

 to a tree is saturated with moisture, all 

 the plant food therein contained is placed 

 at the disposal of the tree, a'nd the tree, sup- 

 posing that the feast will be continuous, 

 falls to like a lad at a picnic. A vigorous 

 growth begins, and the consequent draft 

 on the soil moisture forces the tree to sus- 

 pend and perhaps to display the distress 

 signal before the next irrigation. It fol- 

 lows, therefore, that this row, having had 

 its rations more rationally supplied, has 

 experienced no famine and has plodded 

 along like the tortoise, to the first place 

 in the race." 



Acting upon this philosophy, Mr. Yar- 

 nell is this year irrigating alternate spaces 

 (not alternate rows) in his orchard every 

 fifteen days, thus giving water to alter- 

 nate sides of each row on each run, the 

 application being made of course, by the 

 furrow system. There may, perhaps, be 

 some minor objections to this innovation, 

 such as the necessity, in cross cultivation, 

 of going over the entire tract each time. 

 There is little danger, however, of over- 

 tillage, and the arguments in its favor 

 should at least entitle it to a season's trial. 

 W. M. Bristol in California California. 



