22 HORTICULTURE BY IRRIGATION. 



remarkably fine growth this season. My young plum trees especially 

 have made a growth this year of nearly six feet of fine, stout wood and 

 well ripened up. Some young Salem and Duchess grape vines, four years 

 old, made a growth of over twelve feet this season, although they have 

 been attacked a good deal with the grape leaf hopper. As for conducting 

 water long distances, the cement pipe cannot be beat, neither for durabil- 

 ity, cleanliness or cheapness. 



Sub-irrigation is away ahead of surface irrigation. I would put it 

 about as far ahead as surface irrigation is of the old hand watering-pot 

 we used to use when we were boys, with our wet legs and tired arms and 

 back. 



From the same writer, December 23d : 



With reference to size of pipe, will say that the laterals for distrib- 

 uting the water are 2-inch bore ; the main, that laterals are attached to, 



Fig. 1. 



Figure 1 illustrates the machine used in making this cement, and the manner 

 in which it is done. 



are 3-inch bore. Trenches are dug 16 inches deep and 16 inches wide for 

 convenience of laying pipe. 



As to your second question how often to irrigate will say: If I had 

 an orchard of young trees, just planted, and to be irrigated by this method, 

 I would, the first season, irrigate once a week. Say let the water run from 

 one hour to one and a half, according to nature of soil. After the first sea- 

 son, once every ten days or two weeks would be quite enough. This, I think, 

 has proven to be enough on my soil, which is a sandy loam. As to sug- 

 gesting any improvement in the method, will just say that if the plugs 

 were four to six inches above the pipes, instead of two. it would certainly 



