1902. 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION. 



299 



1899. The majority of these farms are 

 located in Barnstable, Middlesex, and 

 Worcester counties. The total acreage 

 irrigated was 134, the principal crops 

 being garden truck, celery, and hay. 

 More than So per cent of the acreage 

 irrigated was in garden produce. 



The total cost of the irrigation sys- 

 tems was $14,680, and the total value of 

 the irrigated products was $31,325 

 The yields of some of these truck farms 

 are very large, one farmer reporting an 

 income of $1 1 ,000 from 4 acres in truck, 

 2 3^ acres being under glass. 



Connecticut. While Connecticut is 

 well supplied with running streams, the 

 contour of the country is such that it is 

 impracticable to irrigate large areas. 

 The most favorable spots for the artifi- 

 cial application of water to aid in the 

 growing of crops are on the bottom 

 lands edging the streams, lands princi- 

 pally used for meadows. Here ditches 

 are constructed and limited areas are 

 irrigated with comparatively little cost. 

 For land of greater elevation irrigation 

 involves a considerable increase in ex- 

 pense. 



In 1899, 56 farms made use of irriga- 

 tion. The total area under ditch was 

 471 acres, an average of about 8 acres 

 per farm. The cost of the pipes, ditches, 

 pumps, and reser^-oirs used on these 

 farms w^as $[6,113, ^.n average cost of 

 ^34.21 per acre irrigated. 



Rhode Island. Irrigation was re- 

 ported on only two farms in Rhode 

 Island in 1899. The area irrigated was 

 40 acres, the cost of irrigation systems 

 $3,000, and the acreage irrigated was 

 in vegetables. 



New Jersey. Irrigation was reported 

 on eight farms in 1899. Of the 73 acres 

 irrigated, 69 acres were devoted to crops, 

 as follows : hay, 26 acres; vegetables, 

 20 acres; corn, 13 acres; celer}-, 6 acres; 

 seeds, 4 acres. The total value of the 

 crops produced was $8,720, an average 

 of $126 per acre. 



The average value per acre of irri- 

 gated land was $155. The total capital 

 invested in irrigation plants was $2,831 , 

 and the average cost of irrigating was 

 $36 per acre. 



New York. In 1899 irrigation was 

 reported on 1 1 farms, the area irrigated 



being 123 acres, and the cost of the sys- 

 tems $4,372, or $35.54 per acre. The 

 total value of the irrigated products on 

 these farms was $11,735, or $95 per 

 acre. The acreage and values of the 

 irrigated products were as follows: veg- 

 etables, 20 acres, valued at $5,015, or 

 $250.75 per acre; tobacco, 2 acres, val- 

 ued at $200, or $100 per acre; small 

 fruit, 10 acres, valued at $2,600, or 

 $260 per acre ; miscellaneous crops, 

 flowers, plants, etc., 25 acres, valued 

 at $860, or $34.40 per acre. 



The most extensive irrigation plant in 

 the state, located in Rensselaer County, 

 irrigated 55 acres. A small mountain 

 stream furnishes the water, which is 

 diverted into a large reservoir 210 feet 

 above the land to be irrigated, and 

 thence directed to the land through cast- 

 iron pipes. In the spring and autumn 

 the water is turned upon a Pelton wheel, 

 the power developed being utilized in 

 the operation of a saw-mill. 



No reports were received of numerous 

 irrigation systems on the small truck 

 farms in the vicinity of several of the 

 large cities of the state. Many of these 

 farms are operated by Italians and Chi- 

 nese, and their irrigation plants are usu- 

 ally very inexpensive, the w^ater being 

 supplied chiefly from the city water 

 mains and delivered to the land through 

 garden hose. 



Pennsylvania Irrigation began 

 more than one hundred years ago, in 

 Berks county, where small areas of 

 bottom lands were artificially flooded as 

 early as 1800. Until recent years the 

 practice of irrigation was confined to 

 narrow and comparatively level strips 

 of land edging the streams, upon which 

 water could be diverted easih' and at 

 slight expense. The hilly nature of the 

 country in which irrigation was first in- 

 troduced precluded the pos.sibility of 

 any considerable extension of irrigated 

 areas. 



The acreage artificially watered in 

 1899 was devoted principally to hay, 

 more than 93 per cent of the total area 

 irrigated being in this crop. A large 

 part of this acreage was reported from 

 Monroe, Northampton, Lehigh, Bucks, 

 Berks, and Lancaster counties in the 

 southeastern part of the state.. In 1899 



