THE ADVANTAGES OF IRRIGATION. 1 9 



work already put upon the land would be saved, as 

 well as seeds and plants. Satisfac5lion and plenty 

 would take the place of disappointment and scarcity. 

 If eastern pomologists would only adopt irrigation 

 there would be no good cause for having weakly plants 

 and trees, or for the premature dropping of leaves. 

 The buds would develop early, and be plump and vig- 

 orous. There would be no winter-killing of trees and 

 plants because of their feeble condition. Many things 

 are considered tender that are so in some places only 

 because of their inability to make sufficient growth 

 to fortify against the evaporating influences of the 

 winter. 



It would not be reasonable to expec5l that any of the 

 many systems of irrigation can be applied to all secflions 

 of our country, or to every farm in any section. Neither 

 is it always pra(5licable that all of a large farm should 

 be placed under irrigation, except in rare cases. But 

 where there is now, or may be created, a supply of 

 water that can be drawn upon in time of need for at 

 least a small part of the farm, it is a great mistake not 

 to make use of its benefits. There are special crops, 

 such as asparagus, celery, and the strawberry, which 

 need an amount of water that is not required by most 

 others, and which could be grown much more cheaply 

 than at present if aided by irrigation. In this connec- 

 tion it might be well to add that statistics show that in 

 all rainy countries — that is, where the farmers depend 

 upon the rains to make their crops — the seasons of 

 drouth and the seasons of too much rain constitute 

 three out of every five, giving the farmer three bad 

 crops to two good ones. As a matter of fa(5l, the in- 



