XXIV 



THE FUNCTION OF WATER IN AGRICULTURE 



I~N December, 1894, I accepted an invitation to ad- 

 dress a convention of irrigation farmers at Fresno, 

 California, on some matter connected with agriculture. 

 It occurred to me that the most appropriate theme 

 which I could discuss before such a convention was the 

 function of water in agriculture. I therefore prepared 

 an address in which I considered water in its various 

 aspects relating to the farmer. I propose to give in a 

 brief space some of the more important points covered 

 in that address. 



Few farmers realize the dominant influence of water 

 as a factor in agriculture. When we look at agricul- 

 ture from a strictly scientific point of view, without 

 reference to its economy, the soil becomes a very sec- 

 ondary consideration. The skilled chemist can pro- 

 duce a synthetic soil from sand, carbonate of lime, salts 

 of potash, artificial humus, nitric acid, phosphate of 

 lime and other ingredients, in which plants will grow 

 luxuriantly and to complete maturity. The farmer 

 can also create a synthetic atmosphere, as is done in the 

 building of the so-called hothouse. The farmer fur- 

 ther can produce a synthetic precipitation by adding the 

 water to the growing crop directly. 



The creation of an artificial climate, however, over 

 a large area is beyond the scope of human endeavor. 

 On the contrary, a soil which is practically infertile, 



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