112 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



with manure to keep out the frost. There is no way to 

 reconcile these contradictory practices except by giving 

 the soil moisture in the fall and winter and thorough 

 cultivation. The earth will be a sufficient mulch and 

 the moisture will freeze soon enough. But all the regu- 

 lations in the world can not prevent the tree from fol- 

 lowing the course of nature. After the crop is gath- 

 ered and the leaves departed, the tree still goes on 

 preparing for the coming spring. It is busily engaged 

 in ripening its wood and storing up food for the new 

 buds, and ice around its trunk will not stop it, nor 

 will a heavy mulch of manure prevent it from freezing 

 unless the entire tree is enveloped in the mulch. 



Constant cultivation and the stirring or mixing 

 together of the food essentials are what the tree needs 

 and demands, and when this is done and the compote 

 of organic and inorganic elements mixed with water 

 all that man can do is done. Care should be exercised 

 in irrigating when the trees are in bud, for if the water 

 reaches them while in flower the blossoms will fall off, 

 and the same is the case when water is turned on 

 when the fruit is ripening. In the case of apples, 

 however, the fruit may be made to attain large propor- 

 tions by copious applications of water, although in gen- 

 eral the application of. water at the time of ripening 

 tends to loosen the steins and cause the fruit to drop off 

 before fully ripe. 



THE VINEYARD. 



The plan adopted by the vineyardists of France to 

 destroy the pest of the phylloxera demonstrated that 

 the vine is no tender plant which requires nursing. 

 The vineyards were flooded and the vines kept under 

 water for a longer or shorter period until tests showed 

 that the larvae of the pest was extinct. The conver- 

 sion of the vine into an aquatic plant did not harm 

 its vitality, although a crop was lost through over- 

 much water. 



There is a hint in this result worth remembering. 

 Too much water, no crop. It should be considered 

 as an axiom for every irrigator to carefully observe. 



The affliction of every vineyard is an excess of 

 water. Grapes love a warm soil, but too much irri- 

 gation, particularly on the surface, renders the soil 

 cold through evaporation. Wherever there is evapora- 

 tion cold is produced and the more rapid the evapora- 

 tion the greater the cold and the stoppage of growth. 



During the first two years of the growth of a 

 grapevine the greatest care must be bestowed upon it, 

 particularly the second year, for it is during the sec- 

 ond year that the cane which will bear the fruit is 

 formed. Cultivation and irrigation are the main 

 causes of a good crop ; irrigate every two weeks if the 

 soil shows signs of dryness. Like all fruit moisture in 

 the soil is absolutely necessary, and if this is supplied 

 by irrigation it must be followed immediately by 

 thorough cultivation to reduce evaporation to a mini- 

 mum and prevent the soil from becoming cold. 



If there is ground water there should be drainage, 

 the same as in the orchard, the tiles of which may be 

 used for sub-irrigation, and they should always be used 

 for that double purpose when needed. In the latter case 

 if the moistrire in the soil is sufficient no irrigation is 

 necessary until the fruit is forming. As in the case of 

 orchard fruits, never irrigate when the vine is in 

 flower. The vine roots penetrate to a great depth in the 

 soil, and therefore deep plowing and cultivation is advis- 

 able. If drainage tile are laid for drainage and sub- 



irrigation they should be laid near the main roots, so as 

 to carry off the excess of water from irrigation on 

 the surface. Where surface irrigation is practiced it 

 should be the furrow system between the rows and 

 deep. The water will sink deep and reach the roots, 

 whereas by mere surface applications the thread roots 

 are liable to rot and cause damage. The usual practice 

 is to irrigate when the grapes are about to ripen, when 

 they'will fill out and ripen more evenly. In the finer 

 varieties of grapes, like the high-flavored ones, the 

 Concord, Muscat of Alexandria, etc., water should be 

 applied more sparingly than when wine is to be manu- 

 factured. Fall and winter irrigation is the same as 

 in the orchard, but care must be taken not to soak 

 the soil by applying too much water unless it can be 

 drained off. 



SMALL FRUITS. 



By small fruits are meant blackberries, raspber- 

 ries, currants, gooseberries, etc., and the ground vines, 

 such as strawberries. 



The bush fruits require a rich and highly-manured 

 soil to attain perfection, although they will grow in any 

 soil capable of growing corn. 



They require plenty of water, for the soil must be 

 maintained in a uniformly moist condition. When 

 blossoming, irrigation should be suspended, but re- 

 newed every week or ten days when the fruit has set. 

 It is usual to irrigate immediately after one crop has 

 been gathered, the water hurrying another picking to 

 maturity. 



The tendency to mildew makes small-fruit growing 

 somewhat of a risk, but by careful pruning to let in the 

 light and the air this tendency will be checked and 

 the berries ripen bright and clean. 



Constant cultivation, fall and winter irrigation, 

 as in the case of other fruits, are essential, and when 

 drainage is adopted the perils of small-fruit growing 

 will be reduced to a minimum. 



Strawberry culture may be carried on several 

 months during the summer in- the humid regions and 

 all the year 'round in the arid or semi-tropical regions 

 of the country. 



It is a self-perpetuating plant, propagating itself 

 by means of runners, which take root at the slightest 

 provocation. To foster this habit and obtain fresh 

 plants for a continuing crop, the soil must be kept in 

 a fine, pulverized condition, with plenty of moisture 

 near the surface. The plants may be puddled in a 

 small ridge, hollowed to receive a rill of water, and 

 when the runners creep over the ridge into the paths 

 a little water run in will aid them to take root. The 

 direction of their growth may be easily controlled, and 

 when they have taken root they should be cut loose 

 from the parent stem. The matted bed system is the 

 best for irrigation, for the leaves cover and shade the 

 ground and prevent evaporation. When the fruit is 

 ripening care should be taken when irrigating or run- 

 ning water on the beds, not to wet the fruit, a con- 

 tingency which tends to rot them before they can be- 

 come ripe. 



FORAGE AND FODDER CROPS. 



These crops require abundance of water and quick 

 growth. There are many varieties of forage plants, 

 but alfalfa and corn will always be the standards 

 corn for the silo and alfalfa for hay. The latter will 

 produce from three to five full crops a year if well irri- 

 gated, and that irrigation is by flooding in large fields 



