318 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



at its dedication if we may u?e the term 

 in reference to a barn in other words, on 

 its completion and before any of the stock 

 or grain was in it, the writer attended a 

 dance given to celebrate its erection, at 

 which 70 couples were on the floor at once, 

 participating in a quadrille, with room to 

 spare. In round dances the couples waltzed 

 around the silo, making quite a trip before 

 they regained the starting point. 



L. W. 



FRUIT GROWING IN TEXAS. 



As an illustration of what may be ac- 

 complished in fruit growing by the aid of 

 irrigation we quote the following from 

 the Loredo 2$mes regarding the farm of 

 Mr. Thomas C. Nye: 



'After enduring a day Of insufferable 

 heat in the city, an invitation to spend a 

 night in the suburbs was extended to one 

 of the Times' representatives, by Thomas 

 C. Nye. A ride of four miles over a dusty 

 road, was fully compensated* for on reach- 

 ing the farm, which is situated on the 

 bank of the river, a wash and an easy 

 chair on the broad verandah, was suffi- 

 cient preparation for an evening's enjoy- 

 ment, and the . invigorating southeast 

 breeze served to add zest to an already 

 keen appetite, and . the viands on the 

 bountifully supplied table, presided over 

 by the genial hostess, were fully enjoyed. 

 The farm of ninety acres was purchased 

 by Mr. Nye in January last, and it is fully 

 equipped for irrigating purposes, having 

 over two miles of main and lateral ditches, 

 the water being furnished by 10-inch suc- 

 tion and 8-inch discharge pipes. There 

 are two 60 horse power boilers, one of 

 which is kept in constant use, the other 

 being held in reserve; there is a lift of 65 

 feet and the flow is ,100 gallons per minute. 

 There are at present 40 acres in cultiva- 

 tion; it takes 100,000 gallons to the acre 

 for grape culture, and 13 days per month 

 the year round are given to- irrigation. 

 The shipment of grapes this year amount- 

 ed to 2,500 crates, or 50,000 pounds. These 

 were distributed in Chicago, St. Louis^ 

 Omaha, Kansas City, Denver, New Or- 

 leans and cities of Texas, the latter being 

 the best paying market. The California 

 prune and plum trees apparently thrive 

 well, but thus far have yielded no fruit, 



the peach doing fairly well, but the Texas 

 growth does much better. A number of 

 olive trees, which are of slow growth, are 

 now from 4 to 6 years old, but thus far 

 have not borne fruit. The yams planted 

 are doing well, and onions will be planted 

 this fall. Tomatoes will be put in next 

 month. The sorghum crop was a success 

 and is a valuable adjunct to the farm. 

 Apricots thrive, and this year yielded an 

 abundant harvest. The shipping facili- 

 ties are excellent, the receiving depot 

 being conveniently located within 1,200 

 feet of the packing house. Mr. Nye is 

 working diligently to make a success of 

 the fruit culture in this section, having 

 tested on his experimental farm in La 

 Salle county the growths best adapted to 

 the fertile soil of the lower Rio Grande." 



The 50,000 pounds of grapes mentioned 

 above were carefully selected and came 

 from 25 acres of Muscats from which some 

 very nice raisins were also made. 



MILK RIVER MONTANA NOTES. 



The question of early versus late irriga- 

 tion has been, previous to the present 

 season, an unsettled one. Owing to an un 

 usual rainfall this past spring it was not 

 considered necessary to irrigate as early 

 as usual, as long as it continued* 'showery:" 

 this worked well, but when the weather 

 became settled, and the sun got warm it 

 was found that the rain had not wet down 

 very deep, and before the land could all be 

 irrigated some serious damage was done 

 to growing crops. It will prove a valuable 

 lesson. While our crops are not as far ad- 

 vanced as they would have been under 

 earlier irrigation, the present indication is 

 assuring. 



Considerable attention is being given to 

 fruit in this valley at present, especially 

 to small fruit. The writer picked five 

 quarts of currants from a single three- 

 year-old bush of red Dutch variety and 

 had a number that a gallon was picked 

 from. Strawberries also yield enormously, 

 and in time your correspondent believes 

 apples, crabs, plums, etc., will also do well. 



Our farmers are beginning to realize 

 that they have more land than they can do 

 justice to, and a number have expressed 

 themselves as determined to rent a portion 

 of their farms; some have spoken of sell- 

 ing a portion. 



