AGRICULTURE. 



THE FARM WATER SUPPLY. 



Every dry season emphasizes more 

 clearly the importance of having a water 

 supply on the farm that can be depended 

 en in all seasons, at all times: and under 

 all circumstances. A farm on which it is 

 not possible to obtain a supply of this kind 

 will never be a permanently profitable farm. 

 Fortunately, water can be obtained almost 

 anywhere in the Mississippi valley provided 

 the farmers will go deep enough for it, 

 Shallow wells can no longer be- depended 

 on. 



The crops of the country over require 

 more and more water every year, and the 

 better the cultivation and the larger the 

 crop, the more water it will require to make 

 them. Every pound of the dry matter of 

 the corn plant requires at least 275 pounds 

 of water for its production; of oats, about 

 500 pounds of water; of clover and wheat, 

 about 400 pounds of water, and other crops 

 in about the same proportion. This large 

 use of water by plants, together with the 

 clenring away of forests, the natural drain- 

 age going on by the wearing down of water 

 courses of all kinds, makes water more 

 and more valuable every year and will 

 compel farmers to go deeper with their 

 wells before a permanent supply can be ob- 

 tained. 



It is not enough to have a permanent 

 sapply of water in the well. The point is 

 to arrange it in such a manner that animals 

 can drink at will. It is not enough to al' 

 low live stock to have water once or even 

 twice a day. If you will notice the habit 

 of animals you will find that they drink 

 water very frequently; for example, that 

 at this time of the year when cattle are 

 kept through on hay and forage alone, they 

 will eat awhile, then go to the tank and 

 drink, then eat again, and so on through 

 the day. The fattening steer will eat corn, 

 go to the tank and sip, stand there and sip 



again, taking his time' to the enjoyment of 

 what, next to cern, is the greatest luxury 

 of his existence. 



The only satisfactory method of water- 

 ing, therefore, is to have automatic distri- 

 burion. This on most farms can be easily 

 secured and at a comparatively small ex- 

 pense; namely: by having a cistern on an 

 elevation and automatic distribution 

 through pipes to tanks properly regulated 

 by floats, or else by a brick cistern built 

 above the ground where the land is level 

 when the same results can be secured. The 

 cost of a system of this kind is from $200 

 upward, and no $200 is better expended 

 than in providing for this regular water 

 supply. 



In many sections of the country wind- 

 mills are available for raising the water 

 from she well into the cistern. In other 

 sections, where the wind cannot be de- 

 pended on, the next best thing is the gaso- 

 line engine. We have had a windmill sup- 

 plying water for from 300 to 500 stock dur- 

 ing the winter season for a number of 

 years. About all that has been necessary 

 to water the stock was to see that the wind- 

 mill was greased and the pump kept in or- 

 der. At one time during last summer our 

 water supply gave out through lack of 

 wind, but this is the only time. Had it 

 been in the winter season, when a large 

 amount of stock had to be watered, we 

 might have been in trouble. 



Where winds cannot be depended on. 

 the gasolene engine, mounted on trucks, is 

 probably the best motive power for lifting 

 water. By mounting it on trucks it can be 

 used for sawing wood, grinding, and for 

 other work as the windmill. Many farm- 

 ers consider themselves especially favored 

 if they have running springs which can be 

 depended on the year around. While the 

 possession of such a spring saves expense, 

 nevertheless it is seldom as satisfactory or 



