132 



THE IRRIGA1ION AGE. 



ous topics being discussed upon the floor 

 of the present congress is irrigation, and 

 noteworthy legislation is expected under 

 that head. In his last message the Presi- 

 dent gave particular attention to this prob- 

 lem, strongly advising a national appropri- 

 atiou worthy of the need. He believes 

 that Irrigation and Forestry are the two 

 most vital internal problems of our coun- 

 try and the two go hand in hand. The 

 subject, therefore, becomes one of immedi- 

 ate interest to every intelligent citizen. 



Dr. Newell's work will undoubtedly be 

 taken as authority. It covers the topic 

 adequately and accurately. The presence 

 of many full-page illustrations, sketches 

 and diagrams assist the reader, and lend 

 both interest and beauty to an important 

 volume. 



A portrait of Dr. Newell appears as 

 frontispiece of this number. 



INFLUENCE OF WATER. 

 The waters of different localities vary 

 much in quality and exert an influence 

 upon the inhabitants of some places. Sur- 

 face water in many localities contains car- 

 bonate of lime held in solution more or less 

 by the amount of free carbonic acid pres- 

 ent, making it more difficult of absorption 

 than the organic phosphate of lime. Hard 

 water is not the best for protracted use and 

 i& certainly detrimental to the health of 

 those who have weak absorptive powers. 

 Surface water containing any great quan- 

 tity of sulphates is not good. Dentists 

 have told Jme that they can almost tell 

 where a person is born by the hardness of 

 his teeth. Those who drink surface water 

 full of sulphates are more likely to have 

 brittle teeth than are thoae who have been 

 fortunate enough to have used the water 

 from springs or wells on hilly or mountain- 

 ous districts. Dr. H. E. Peckham, in 

 Hygienic Gazette. 



Irrigation has been quite active for the 

 past month. Many who hoped that the 

 liberal rains of early November would tide 

 them over nntil next year have had to 

 irrigate, although relutant to do so. It 

 is hardly likely that any more irrigation 

 will be necessary before March or April or 

 even later. The ground must be kept 

 moist at this time of year because the dry, 

 cold winds we usually have in place of rain 

 are very trying on the trees when the sap 

 is sluggish. Trees that are dry will, as a 

 rule, suffer more from frost than those 

 that ar in a damp soil. The tender 

 shoots, however, of the tree that has 

 plenty of moisture may be nipped, but the 

 general leaf system of a dry tree shows 

 more marked effects from the cold. So it 

 is in every way wise to irrigate whenever 

 the soil is any way dry. The furrows may 

 be left until danger from frost is past and 

 water run whenever injurious cold is 

 feared. The temperature of running 

 water is generally higher than the atmos- 

 phere in a severe frost. For instance, on 

 the morning of the 14th of December, 

 with the temperature of the atmosphere at 

 28 degrees, the temperature of the water 

 in the lliverside Water Company's canal 

 was 58 degrees. This water going through 

 an orchard in the early morning hours 

 would have quite a mitigating effect. The 

 moral of all this is if water i* available in 

 a cold time, irrigate, for a raise of temper- 

 ature of two degrees means the difference 

 between safety and loss. It must also be 

 remembered that it takes more cold to 

 freeze orange juice than pure water, as in 

 like manner it takes more cold to freeze 

 the salt water of the ocean than water 

 that is fresh and pure. Again the riper 

 the orange and the greater the percentage 

 of sugar in the juice, the less it is affected 

 by cold California Cu.ltwa.tor 



