38 



BULLETIN OF 



Massachusetts Board of Agriculture. 



IRRIGATION IN MASSACHUSETTS. 



METHODS, COST, RESULTS. 



By Mr. Henry M. Howard, of West Newton, Mass. 



In order to plow a straight furrow it is absolutely essential for the 

 plowman to keep his eye on a certain jjoint toward which he is work- 

 ing. So, in studying the irrigation problem, it is just as essential 

 that we see clear through to the results which we are aiming for, 

 and that we never lose sight of them. These results are larger crops 

 of better quality. 



By using good judgment and proper methods a man can supple- 

 ment a scant rainfall so as to attain these results to a very large 

 degi'ee. If the farmer has already made all other conditions favor- 

 able to crop development, save that very important one of moisture, 

 it is surely up to him to make that condition correct as well. 



Without water no plant or animal life can grow and develop. 

 Water is indisi^ensable to all life. Water is a food and also carries 

 food. All food for plants or animals must be in solution before it 

 can be assimilated by them. Another fundamental use of water is 

 its property of cooling the surface of plants and animals as it 

 evaporates from them. Both of these uses of water find their fullest 

 apiDlication in irrigation operations. 



Water falling as rain or snow is in the best possible form for the 

 earth to receive it. It falls slowly and works its way down into the 

 subsoil from which it will be drawn again by the sun and by capil- 

 lary action. 



The amount of water a soil will hold depends upon two things; 

 first on the size of the soil jiarticles and second on the amount of 

 humus in the soil. The soil water which is available to the plant is 

 that which is clinging to each soil particle. The finer these particles, 

 the gTeater is the capacity of the soil to hold water. Gravels and 

 sandy soils have larger soil particles than the loams and clays. Soils 



