98 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



"In the Illinois dairy country the drought has for 

 three years cut down the midsummer milk supply about 

 50 per cent. Pastures were parched and withered for at 

 least three months of the summer in 1909 and 1910, a time 

 when milk ought to be produced cheapest, and for per- 

 haps two months this last summer. That accounts for the 

 rush to put up silos and to prepare for summer feeding. 

 What a difference it would make in the fortunes of Illinois 

 dairy owners if they had a system of irrigation which 

 would insure good soiling crops for the dairies, as well as 

 larger corn and wheat crops!" 



Mr. Mclntosh has developed methods of double crop- 

 ping especially for dairy purposes, which he tells of in 

 an instructive manner. He asserts that it is feasible to 

 take off a crop of rye and clover in June and follow it the 

 same season with millet or fodder corn. There are many 

 other combinations which he insists can be tried without 

 injuring the land. After a crop of oats is harvested it 

 is a good time to sow rape. This should be kept as a 

 forage crop for a couple of years. It is invaluable for 

 hogs or sheep and restores the land after it is worn by_ 

 oats, corn or other grain. Potatoes may follow any of 

 the early crops and are valuable for rotative purposes. 



will keep without freezing even in the coldest winters. 

 If desired, the piles may be made oblong instead of conical 

 in shape, retaining the gable form. While pits do very 

 well, so far as keeping the roots is concerned, it must 

 be understood that they are but makeshifts at best. A 

 root house which is accessible at all times is much more 

 satisfactory and more economical in the long run." 



STORAGE FOR ROOT CROPS.* 



E. J. Delwiche, of the Wisconsin station, makes the 

 following recommendations regarding the storage of roots 

 for feeding purposes: 



"The best place to store roots is in a root cellar near 

 where they are to be fed. Such a cellar 

 may be a part of a barn basement, or 

 it may be built conveniently near to the 

 stock barn. In most places the root 

 house can be built most economically 

 of concrete. Ordinarily cement is the 

 only material that has to be purchased. 

 The gravel and sand are usually avail- 

 able at no great distance on most 

 farms. While the temperature in a root 

 house should never fall to the freezing 

 point, it should be at a low point for 

 best results in keeping roots. 



When no cellar is available, roots 

 may be stored in pits. For fall and 

 early winter feeding they need not be 

 covered to any great depth. The 

 roots are put in a conical pile 



about 4 feet in diameter on a bed of clean straw, then 

 covered with a layer of 2 inches of long straw. Clean rye 

 straw is preferred for this purpose. The straw at the apex 

 of the pile is made to form a chimney 5 or 6 inches in 

 diameter for ventilation. Dirt is thrown on the pile to a 

 depth of 6 inches. The roots are piled as high as possible 

 so as to shed water. When wanted for feeding the whole 

 pit is taken into the barn at once. For early winter feed- 

 ing the layer of dirt should be thicker, and in addition a 

 covering of straw or horse manure should be placed over 

 the whole pile. 



Figure 5 illustrates a pit intended to remain over 

 winter. This provides for two layers of straw and two 

 of earth. A ventilator made of 4-inch boards is placed at 

 the apex. When severe freezing weather sets in, the ven- 

 tilator is stuffed tightly with fine hay. In such a pit roots 



"Compiled from Wisconsin Sta. Circ. Inform. 16. 



NEBRASKA IRRIGATIONISTS. 



THE IRRIGATION AGE acknowledges an interesting visit 

 from two practical Nebraska men, I. S. Walker and P. 

 Maginnis of Kimball. These gentlemen attended the session 

 of the recent Irrigation Congress and were in Chicago several 

 days, bringing the merits of the Kimball district to the atten- 

 tion of farmers and investors. 



Mr. Walker is F'resident of the Kimball Irrigation 

 District and Mr. Maginnis is patentee and manufacturer 

 of the Maginnis steel flume, which is known in irrigation 

 circles the world over. 



The gentlemen were enthusiastic over the develop- 

 ment of the Kimball district. Their town is on the main 

 line of the Union Pacific, four hundred and fifty miles 

 west of. Omaha and one hundred and seventy miles east 

 of Denver. 



Kimball is a natural business center and has the 



VEWT/LATOR 



'&siK : ;: 



Fig. 5. 



r/:^ 

 Cross Section of an Easily Constructed Pit for Roots. 



advantage of a vast basin which, as improved, is known 

 as the Oliver reservoir. It lies across Lodgepole Creek 

 and meets the irrigation requirements of a large tract. 



The Kimball irrigation district project is owned and 

 operated by the people residing in the district. The 

 money for construction was obtained by a bond issue, and 

 the major part of these bonds were purchased by Kim- 

 ball residents and people interested in the district. Xo 

 money was paid in commission for the sale of these 

 bonds and not one dollar was absorbed for the promotion 

 of the enterprise. 



This project has an ample supply of water for the entire 

 acreage and people in the most moderate circumstances may 

 here build homes for themselves. 



Irrigating Canal and Headgate- Uncompahgre Valley, Colorado. 



