1904 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



525 



they are to convey the water to the 

 south side of the mountains, and 

 thence through the canals and flumes 

 to the valley. Several electric* plants 

 are also to be installed, where the drop 

 into the valley is made. Another very 

 discouraging thing is the way in which 

 the lumberman totally disregards the 

 interests of the reserve. For instance, 

 the San Bernardino Lumber and Box 

 Company recently burned over be- 

 tween five and seven acres on which 

 to pile 500,000 feet of lumber. It is 

 only fair to say that the other lum- 

 bermen are not quite as bad in this 

 respect as the Brookings and San 

 Bernardino Company. 



While the timber is for the most 

 part on the northern slopes, it certain- 

 ly should be saved if possible at any 

 cost, as the use of the water from this 

 shed is demonstrated by the Arrow- 

 head Company in their turning it back 



to the valley, and other projects would 

 certainly spring up should enough wa- 

 ter be available. . 



There are about 2,500 head of cat- 

 tle being pastured in the reserve at 

 this time, but this is not thought to 

 be doing any harm, as the permits are 

 issued by the Department of the In- 

 terior on the recommendation of the 

 supervisor. Approximately 15,000 

 campers visited the San Bernardino 

 reserve from June to October of last 

 year, and the record of only one se- 

 vere fire speaks volumes for the rang- 

 er service. The number of small fires 

 has of course increased very mater- 

 ally with the campers in the last few 

 years, but they have been quickly con- 

 trolled by the rangers, who are twelve 

 in number, under the immediate 

 charge of first-class ranger, N. O. 

 Torstenson. 



IRRIGATION IN HUMID REGIONS 



The Practice Extending to the East and 

 South Where the Artificial Application of 

 Water to Crops Brings Splendid Returns 



HP HE advantages of irrigation in the 

 humid climates, merely as a 

 supplement to rainfall in ordinary 

 or extra dry seasons, are forci- 

 bly presented in Bulletin No. 

 148 of the Office of Experi- 

 ment Stations recently issued by the 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture. The 

 reports of a number of irrigation 

 plants in the vicinities of eastern cities 

 go far to show that as population in- 

 creases and land becomes more valua- 

 ble, the zone in which irrigation can 

 be profitably employed will be more 

 extended, as it has been in Europe, 

 where farmers have found that there 

 are few sections where irrigation will 

 not pay simply as an insurance against 

 drought. 



The bulletin states that a grower of 

 berries in the vicinity of Poughkeepsie, 



N. Y., has found that artificial water- 

 ing guarantees a perfect stand and 

 rapid growth of newly set plants, the 

 highest quality of product, and maxi- 

 mum crops. Owing to dry weather 

 and high temperature during the sea- 

 son of 1903 his berries had colored 

 and hardened but did not sweeten. 

 The application of 10,000 gallons of 

 water in a fine spray and 25,000 gal- 

 lons between the rows put the berries 

 in fine condition for picking. He also 

 found that to irrigate after applying 

 chemical fertilizers dissolves and dis- 

 tributes the plant food and lessens the 

 danger of injury to plants. 



To water market gardens near New 

 York City, on Long Island, and in 

 New Jersey, small plants consisting 

 of pumps, storage tanks, and piping 

 are used with such success that their 



