1903 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



287 



these distributing stations will suffice 

 for 2^ acres, and where water can be 

 obtained under pressure the system is 

 inexpensive. Where a natural pressure 

 does not exist, a small force-pump used 

 during the watering process would add 

 but little to the cost. 



New Jersey. In this state, as well 

 as in Massachusetts, sprinkling is used 

 instead of the commoner application 

 directly to the soil by furrows or flood- 

 ing. In some cases a network of over- 

 head pipes furnished with sprinklers is 

 so arranged that by the simple turning 

 of a valve an actual rain can be closely 

 imitated over the area under the pipe 

 system. William Ash and Sons, of 

 Vineland, N. J., installed an extensive 

 system based on this plan, but later 

 discarded some of it because of the 

 trouble caused by rust in the pipes. It 

 might be possible to obviate the danger 

 from rust, but unless that is done valves 

 will be clogged and joints will leak. 

 The great advantage of the overhead 

 pipe apparatus comes from the con- 

 venience in handling and the absolute 

 doing away with the expense of labor 

 connected with the application of the 

 water. Again, where shade-grown 

 crops are to be irrigated, the overhead 

 framework of pipes forms a support for 

 the cloth used for shading. 



Another gardener of Vineland, N. J., 

 uses a large supply pipe along one side 

 of the fields to be irrigated, and at in- 

 tervals along its length are lateral pipes 

 with couplings and valves, to which a sec- 

 tion of rubber hose is attached, and this 

 in turn is connected with a long pipe 

 which extends across the field, sup- 

 ported on wooden disks or wheels at 

 intervals of about 12 feet. Starting at 

 one end of the tract to be irrigated, the 

 long lateral pipe is connected with the 

 supply pipe at the side of the field by 

 means of the rubber hose, and as the 

 ground is watered the pipe is pushed 

 along on the wheels to the limit of 

 the hose, when it is uncoupled and at- 

 tached to the next lateral vent, and so 

 on until the whole area is watered. 

 The advantages claimed for this device 

 are : that the water, by means of the 

 sprinklers placed at intervals on the 

 lateral pipes, can be regulated to the 



needs of different parts of the ground 

 and crop ; that there are no permanent 

 fixtures in the field itself to interfere 

 with thorough cultivation or to take up 

 any room from the crops. The rows 

 or furrows of the field are run the same 

 way that the large wheels progress, so 

 that there is no crushing of the crop, 

 the wheels being made to run in the 

 furrows or between the rows. 



Still another market gardener in the 

 same neighborhood uses the same kind 

 of a main pipe along the edge of the 

 field, but at right angles to the furrows 





g^^^s^^ 



CANVAS HOSE SUPPORTED ON POLES FROM 

 A GASOLINE-ENGINE PUMPING STATION. 



instead of parallel with them. From 

 this extend lateral outlets, with valves 

 and couplings, but to these a hose is 

 attached, which carries water for fur- 

 row irrigation. A modification of this 

 form is used in almost all cases where 

 small fruits and vegetables are grown 

 by irrigation, though in many instances 

 tarred cotton duck is substituted for 

 all but the main lines of pipe. This 

 hose was introduced by Mr. George A. 

 Mitchell, of Vineland, though notable 

 adaptations have been made of it, 



