176 IRRIGATION FARMING. 



attention. Plants in general need much less water 

 than is usually applied by almost every one. They do 

 far better and suffer much less with two inches on the 

 surface applied two or three times during their growth 

 than they do with twelve inches on the surface applied 

 five or six times in a season. It is a sad mistake to 

 put on too much water. 



The determination of the proper time to irrigate 

 and the amount of water to apply must lie for the 

 most part with the farmer himself. The humidity or 

 dryness of the atmosphere, as well as the position and 

 condition of the soil, are to be well considered, and 

 common sense is a better guide than is philosophy. If 

 trees are allowed to get too dry the sap of the stalk 

 commences flowing back to the roots, accompanied by 

 falling of the leaves, and water is often turned on too 

 late to save them. On the other hand, if too much 

 water is applied it stimulates a too rapid growth, and 

 the probability is that if not cut back and thoroughly 

 hardened in the fall, they will be found in the spring 

 to be entirely dead, or standing simply an outside live 

 shell with a black and dead heart. Any one can easily 

 learn just about the degree of moisture in soil neces- 

 sary for the healthy growth of a plant, and the nearer 

 uniform the condition of the moisture the more vigor- 

 ous and healthy will be the plant. 



The best time to irrigate is early in the morning 

 before the sun acquires very great power, or in the 

 evening when it is about to go below the horizon. A 

 good time to water land is when a cloud comes up and 

 a shower is expedled. In nine cases out of ten the 

 shower does not give all the water needed, so the work 



