36 JAMESTOWN CONGRESS OF HORTICULTURE 



made for some indications that the theory that the male has the 

 greater influence on color was true. It is a positive fact that in these 

 2,170 crosses, the theory does not hold. I could get no tabulation, the 

 results of which would not be changed by the withdrawal of certain 

 male crosses and the substitution of certain other female or vice 

 versa. It is true that certain mongrel crosses did show a slight pre- 

 ponderance of the male color in the seedlings, but they were few in 

 number and the withdrawal of a very few crosses would have changed 

 the result to the other side. 



Chairman Manning: I think we have time to give some discussion 

 to the papers that have been presented, and I presume it will be desir- 

 able to limit the period of each speaker to three or five minutes in or- 

 der that all who are interested may have something to say on the sub- 

 ject. 



I will call upon Mr. Rawson, who I think has had some experience 

 in irrigation in New England, to open the discussion of Professor 

 King's paper. 



Mr. Rawson : I do not know that I can say anything very bene- 

 ficial to you on the paper that you have asked me to discuss. I en- 

 joyed it very much and I know that we are speaking to-day to gentle- 

 men who represent not only the section here, but all parts of the 

 United States. Probably no representative gathering equal to this 

 one, ever came together before although we may not be so great in 

 number as we have been on other occasions. 



The subject of irrigation is one in which I have been interested 

 for the last forty years, and probably I was one of the first irriga- 

 tors in the East. You all know that irrigation is very beneficial to 

 the growth of plants, because all plants contain from 70 to 90 per 

 cent moisture, and it is therefore the largest part of the plant, and for 

 that reason it is an article that must be supplied. It follows therefore, 

 that those of us who have irrigation plants and use them to any great 

 extent are the most successful ones in producing crops, not only in 

 the East, but in every other section of the country where irrigation has 

 been practiced. The subject of irrigation is in its infancy. There are 

 various ways of doing it ; there is sub-irrigation, but the irrigation 

 which we in the East practice is that of supplying in some way about 

 one inch of water to the surface of the soil once a week. That is equal 

 to the amount of the natural rainfall which is nearly fifty inches a 

 year, and if we can supply one inch of water per week to the soil, we 

 will get a good crop, no matter what we grow. I know that the cost 

 of irrigation plants in many sections of the country is equal to mo're 

 than the cost of the land which they irrigate, but as the land which 

 we cultivate is used as a machine and as the water which we supply 

 is nourishment to the plant, it seems to me the most important thing 

 for us to have is nourishment and for that reason we have expended 

 large amounts of capital amounting to $10,000, $25,000 and even $50,- 

 000 in some cases for irrigating plants and we get our money back very 



