1 9 o 3 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



245 



the New England States have, the cost 

 of the plants averaging about $35 per 

 acre irrigated. 



Rhode Island has some irrigation 

 systems, with a cost of about $75 per 

 acre. 



New Jersey shares with Massachu- 

 setts in the general reputation of having 

 the most valuable irrigation properties 

 of the states of the Atlantic seaboard. 

 At a cost of $36 per acre for irrigation, 

 the crops under such cultivation yield 

 $126 per acre, and land under irriga- 

 ting is valued at $155 an acre. New 

 York's average cost per acre for irriga- 

 tion is $35.54, and the value of the 

 product is $95. Some crops on irri- 

 gated lands in this state are valued at 

 $260 an acre. In Pennsylvania, where 

 irrigation in some form has been prac- 

 ticed for at least 100 years, the acreage 

 principally watered lies in the south- 

 eastern part of the state, with hay as the 

 principal crop, with a value of 23.64 

 per acre. It must be admitted that 

 with a system involving any consider- 

 able expense, the irrigation of this crop 

 in the east does not give adequate re- 

 turns, especially as compared to the 

 results obtained in the irrigation of 

 small fruits and garden truck. 



The states just south of Mason and 

 Dixon's line have but lately taken up 

 the possibilities of irrigation, and those 

 who have tried report that there has 

 been a great deal of prejudice to over- 

 come among neighbors and others out 

 of sympathy with ' ' new-fangled ' ' ways. 

 Yet in spite of this and other drawbacks 

 there have been encouraging reports of 

 the results of irrigation in Virginia, most 

 of the advantage coming from the ability 

 to save a crop in time of drouth. Irri- 

 gation on tidal streams in the Carolinas 

 has been in use for some time. Geor- 

 gia planters have taken up irrigation 

 under much the same conditions that 

 prevail in Virginia, and considerable 

 success has followed the installation of 

 plants. On 400 acres near Rome, Ga. , 

 valuable crops have been saved by 

 timely application of water, and the 

 practical demonstration of the value 

 accruing in such a case will likely be 

 followed by extensive additions to the 

 works now completed. Irrigation does 



not occupy a very important place in 

 the agricultural development of Ala- 

 bama, but the acreage devoted to the 

 growing of early vegetables for northern 

 markets is increasing and the product 

 from such irrigated land is valued at 

 $121 per acre, with an installation cost 

 of $60. 



When we come to Florida we find 

 irrigation on an extensive scale and 

 playing a relatively important part in 

 the productivity of the land. Indeed, 

 in 1899, Florida ranked first in acreage 

 irrigated, cost of plants, and value of 

 crops raised among all the states of the 

 humid area. The usual cost of irrigat- 

 ing plants for general crops is about $50 

 an acre, and although the policy of arti- 

 ficially supplying water dates only from 

 1888, the results have been so uniformly 

 satisfactory that the number of irrigators 

 has increased steadily year by year. 

 When the " freeze" of 1894-' 95 brought 

 failure to many orange growers, and the 

 increasing risk from this source became 

 apparent, many farmers turned their 

 attention to raising early fruits and vege- 

 tables for the northern markets, and 

 this gave another impetus to irrigation. 

 The water supply is drawn from a com- 

 paratively high artesian water table, 

 which seems to underlie the entire state, 

 and in many cases there is no cost what- 

 ever for pumping. The most expensive 

 systems in the state irrigate 250 acres of 

 tobacco at a cost of $145 per acre, rais- 

 ing a crop worth $365. Of the Atlantic 

 states Florida is the only one whose 

 irrigated areas are counted in thousands 

 of acres. The average cost for plants 

 is $101.52 per acre and the value of 

 products $303. 95. 



Louisiana, another state in the humid 

 belt, at present rivals Florida through 

 the recent growth of the rice industry, 

 due mainly to irrigation. It is claimed 

 that during the past year more money 

 was spent in this state on irrigating 

 canals and other works than in any 

 other in the country. The acreage in 

 this state and eastern Texas in irrigated 

 rice amounts to nearly 200,000. For a 

 long time ' ' Providence ' : rice was the 

 only kind grown, " Providence " being 

 another name for rain ; but it was not 

 always a profitable crop, and irrigation 





