INTRODUCTION. 7 



such results are from favorable conditions and good management. Irriga- 

 tion may be easily overdone and disastrous failures follow. Mr. Stewart 

 is right when he says that " to irrigate economically and successfully is 

 a business that requires technical knowledge and skill, and belongs to a 

 highly advanced condition of agriculture." Some years ago we wrote 

 the following, which experience since has fully confirmed: "The suc- 

 cessful cultivator must know how and when to apply water to his crops. 

 To the grower of fruits the ability to command this element when needed 

 is of manifest advantage. That the yield may be largely increased by the 

 judicious application of water, there is little doubt. That the fruit may 

 also be increased in size and made more attractive, is equally certain. At 

 the same time judgment is required for the best results. Indeed, positive 

 harm may be done by untimely irrigation ; harm not only to the tree and 

 plant, but to the land as well. Incessant watering without regard to the 

 condition of the soil or the needs of the plant will often force a growth of 

 wood at the expense of the fruit product and fruit flavor. It may like- 

 wise cause a growth to be made which the succeeding winter finds imma- 

 ture and unable to withstand the tests. This will almost certainly be the 

 result with any tree or plant that has a tendency to make a strong or 

 succulent growth. I have known great injury to result from this 

 cause alone. I have also known the quality of small fruits, particu- 

 larly strawberries, to be seriously impaired by too frequent watering. 

 This by way of illustrating the point that there is danger in careless irri- 

 gation. The condition of the soil and needs of whatever is growing on it 

 should be studied. My own view is that too much water is used by a 

 majority of irrigators in the orchard and garden, and that more harm 

 results from a too free use of it than from too little. In a word, every- 

 thing beyond a legitimate use is an abuse, and this will be better under- 

 stood in a few years than it is aow." 



But, aside from definite pecuniary results, certain general propositions 

 may be stated with reference to irrigation, of which the limits of this 

 work will prevent a discussion. Experience has abundantly demonstrated 

 that water, properly applied, is beneficial, both to soil and to plant growth ; 

 that, from a sanitary standpoint, it acts as a purifier, and is injurious only 

 when allowed to stagnate either on or below the surface of the ground, 

 and become the receptacle for unwholesome accumulations ; that it is a 

 solvent of vegetable plant food, and often, although not always, acts as a 

 powerful fertilizer, as modern experience, in widely separated regions, is 



