1903 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



299 



mud settling stops the pores of the soil, 

 which will soon become impervious to 

 water and seepage will stop. This will 

 work on any clay soil. 



Our next experiment was on another 

 part of the field where no clay subsoil 

 existed. Eighteen inches of sandy soil 

 covered a bed of almost pure sand, 

 which extended fifteen feet. Here a 

 reservoir was built 200 feet long and 

 100 feet wide. The same method of 

 puddling was resorted to, but not enough 

 water could be held in the pond to make 

 it a success; besides, the bottom was so 

 soft that a horse would mire in it like 

 quicksand. A fence was put around 

 the pond inside of the banks and twenty- 

 one head of hogs procured and placed 

 in the pen. No shade was provided for 

 them, but the mill was steadily pouring 

 a stream of cold water in the pond, so 

 it was ' ' root hog or die ' ' with the heat. 

 The hogs rooted and the water raised, 

 and in a short time we were using water 

 from this pond for our plants, the re- 

 sult being that the bottom was as solid 

 as either of the ponds on clay. 



The results of three years of inex- 

 perienced work with the water had 

 given us means to build the ponds men- 

 tioned and to procure windmills and 

 pumps adapted to the work and save 

 some money to enlarge our business 

 with. Now we felt that we had a 

 ' ' down-hill pull ' ' and commenced en- 

 larging our nursery planting and small 

 fruit blocks. Two acres of strawber- 

 ries were set, and the first crop gave us 

 the neat sum of $315 per acre above 

 paying for picking, crating, and express 

 charges. We also planted raspberries 

 and blackberries ; the former proved 

 unsuccessful on account of soil being 

 too light, but fine tip plants were se- 

 cured and have since proved a source of 

 good revenue, as other nurserymen 

 cannot raise them in this part of the 

 country without water. The blackber- 

 ries pay $200 to $225 per acre above 

 picking and crating. The cost of culti- 

 vating and irrigating being about $30 

 per acre, leaves a good margin on the 

 right side for the grower. Strawberries 

 cost a little more, about $50 per acre 

 per annum. You may say, ' Doesn't 

 that vary with the amount of rain ? ' : 



It does. The less rain we have, the less 

 the cost, for if there is not much rain 

 the weeds do not get the start of you, 

 for you irrigate, and before the weeds 

 have time to germinate, the plow has 

 dislocated and destroyed them, while 

 with the rain the whole field is on you 

 at once, and thus gets the start and costs 

 more to clean it up than the cost of ir- 

 rigation. 



Another successful year has passed 

 and we have paid the debt of $950, with 

 12 per cent interest. After closing out 

 our salable plants, we are pleased to 

 find that we still have money to further 

 enlarge our planting of berries and nur- 

 sery stock. The following year we grow 

 stock under contract for nurserymen 

 that want to be sure of getting fine 

 stock. This we can assure them, for 

 they will not suffer from drouth. The 

 fall of 1900 arrives and we are loaded 

 with a fine supply of extra fine stock 

 for the planter, as well as having turned 

 about $2,000 worth of fruit into cash. A 

 fair price prevailed on the nursery stock, 

 and after selling it out, which was an 

 easy matter, as all our customers by this 

 time had learned that our stock is excep- 

 tionally fine on account of having water 

 for it, the profits of a year's work were at 

 once put into a farm lying on the bank 

 of the North Canadian River. About 

 forty acres of this i in ideal shape for 

 irrigation without much grading. A 

 twelve-horse power gasoline engine and 

 centrifugal pump, which is giving us 

 1,000 gallons per minute, was installed, 

 and the land planted in berries and pota- 

 toes. Potatoes are yielding 250 to 300 

 bushels per acre, and at this time are 

 bringing $1.25 per bushel. The price 

 for the entire crop will average about 80 

 cents per bushel. The berries now are 

 in fine condition and will be in shape for 

 a large crop next spring, whereas, with- 

 out irrigation, there would be nothing 

 alive at this time, after the prolonged 

 drouth we have suffered, and which is 

 not yet broken. 



The cost of running our engine is 

 within a few cents of $2 per ten hours 

 run, and enough water will be thrown 

 to cover ten acres i Y?. inches deep after 

 allowing the usual one-third for loss in 

 ditches. 



