SPECIAL FARM TOPICS 293 



The development of pumping from local sources of supply has 

 not only made individual farmers independent of distant supplies, 

 but it has led to the organization of many neighborhood co-operative 

 undertakings which are proving very satisfactory, and has led also 

 to traveling pumping plants, on wheels and on flat boats. All such 

 undertakings seem to be satisfactory when they are up to date in 

 machinery and methods. 



On many farms there are already wells with windmills and 

 pumps, for supplying water for stock, which can be utilized to raise 

 a good garden of vegetables and small fruits, or to save a garden 

 crop in a short season of drought. Either the mill is shut down 

 much of the time or the water is allowed to waste onto the ground 

 around the watering trough. The only added investment necessary 

 in order to use this waste is for a tank or reservoir to hold the waste 

 water until enough has accumulated to be of use. The water from 

 an ordinary pump will flow but a few feet from the well if allowed 

 to run on the ground, but if it is collected in a tank or reservoir, 

 and run out in a good-sized stream, it can be carried for a consider- 

 able distance, even in an open ditch, and much farther in a pipe 

 or trough, and can be made to water quite an area of garden. 

 (F. Buls. 263, 138.) 



Winter Irrigation of Deciduous Fruits. For a long time there 

 existed considerable difference of opinion among fruit-growers as 

 to whether, under the trying climatic conditions of the arid regions, 

 the irrigation of an orchard during winter, when the trees were 

 dormant, would materially lessen the amount of water that would 

 need to be applied during the summer. That deep winter irrigation 

 followed by thorough summer cultivation is better for deciduous 

 orchards than the frequent application of small amounts of water 

 during the growing season is shown by the following experiment: 



In early winter water was applied about as rapidly as the soil 

 would absorb it, until three feet in depth had been given the or- 

 chard. The last irrigation of the winter occurred in March. As 

 soon as the soil was dry enough, the orchard was plowed each way 

 about a foot deep, harrowed thoroughly and left for the summer. 

 After summer showers, a cultivator was run over the surface to 

 break up the crust that formed. In this way an earth mulch six 

 to eight inches deep was maintained. No water was applied for over 

 eight months, during which period the rainfall was but two and 

 one-half inches, divided among five rains. 



The trees remained in excellent condition throughout the sum- 

 mer. During May and June occurred the dryest hot period of which 

 there is a record in southern Arizona. At the end of it the orchard 

 showed no signs of drought, the peach trees having made a growth 

 of about four feet, and the apricot trees a growth of three to six 

 feet. During the dry, hot period mentioned above, the apricot 

 trees matured a good crop of excellent fruit. Many of the peach 

 trees remained unusually heavily loaded with fruit that matured 

 during July and August, the quality being fully up to that of the 

 previous year. Though having received no irrigating water for 



