Irrigation. — 105 



I have tried a tile line right along the centre of my patch of 

 early celery, planted closely on the plan of the " New Celery 

 Culture." A cross-section of bed is shown on preceding page. 

 There is a box at the upper end into which the water is poured 

 directly from a barrel on wheels. The barrel holds about 6o 

 gallons, and is drawn by single horse. We get the water from 

 the creek close by. Even with slight fall we have to turn the 

 water into the box quite slowly, or else see it run to the lower 

 end much faster than is desirable. On the whole we call this 

 plan of irrigation a success. 



SuBiRRiGATiON FOR GREENHOUSE BENCHES. — Recently the 

 principle of watering crops by means of underground tile lines 

 has been applied to the greenhouse benches, for forced let- 

 tuce and radishes, apparently with the best of success. The 

 idea originated in the fertile brain of Prof W. J. Green, of the 

 Ohio Experiment Station. 



The bench is made solid and water-tight, or nearly so, by 

 the free use of white lead or cement, and lines of two-inch horse- 

 shoe tile, with an elbow at one end, are laid two feet apart in the 



Iron Irrigation Pipe in Bottom of Bench, 



bottom of the bench, which is then filled with soil in the ordi- 

 nary manner. The even distribution of water will be facilitated 

 by having the tile lines across the bench, and therefore the runs 

 of water short. If the lines are laid lengthwise, requiring long 

 runs, a nice leveling and adjustment of bench and tile line will be 

 necessary, so that the water will neither run too freely at first, 

 nor be carried too fast to the further end. 



One of my benches has been arranged for subirrigation by 

 means of a five-quarter-inch gas-pipe laid on the ordinary plank 

 bottom in the manner shown in accompanying sketches. The 

 two parallel pipe lines are two feet apart. Quarter-inch holes 

 are drilled through the pipe four or five inches apart, alternately 

 on opposite sides. The further end is closed, although not per- 

 fectly tight; the other end is turned up and receives the water 

 through a funnel, or directly from the hose. The bench bottom 

 is not absolutely water-tight, being made of ordinary matched 

 two-inch pine-plank. Neither lead, cement, nor paint has been 

 used. This has saved work, time, and expense, and the ar- 

 rangement seems to work well. 



