136 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



THE ORIGINATOR OF THE FEDERATION OF 

 TREE-GROWING CLUBS OF AMERICA. 



In the spring of 1849 William Greene and wife arrived 

 in San Francisco, having crossed the Isthmus of Panama on 

 their wedding tour. Mr. Greene being in the shipping busi- 

 ness, had loaded and dispatched a new clipper ship at New 

 Orleans with a valuable cargo of supplies for San Francisco, 

 then but a distributing point for the newly discovered placer 

 gold fields of California. 



The ship was never heard of after leaving the Gulf of 

 Mexico, and this resulted in the bride and groom becoming 

 permanent residents of California. 



Mr. Greene was elected the first president of the 

 first board of aldermen of San Francisco and he continued 

 to be one of the leading builders of that great western 

 commonwealth during his life. 



Harry Ashland Greene (the subject of this sketch) 

 is one of the four sons born to William Greene and wife, 

 another son being Clay M. Greene of New York, known 

 as the California playwright. 



H. A. Greene was born on January 12, 1852, in a large 

 house which his parents had imported from China; na- 

 tive mechanics of that country having been brought with 

 the house to put it together. 



During the sixties this Chinese house was occupied 

 by the family of one John Bridges, a man sent to this 



Harry Ashland Greene, President American Federation of Tree Grow- 

 ing Clubs. 



coast by one of the botanical societies of England to 

 gather plants and seeds, especially those of forest trees. 

 A few years later Bridges was knighted by Queen Vic- 

 toria for his work, he having been successful in introduc- 

 ing many new plants into England, among them the 

 greatest of water lilies (Victoria Regia), from Brazil. 



On an exploring tour into the interior of Central 

 America Sir John Bridges was lost and never heard from 

 afterward. 



Through Mr. Bridges young Harry A. Greene became 

 interested in trees by working with him in preparing the 

 seed gathered for shipment to England. 



Until recent years there has been but little interest 

 taken in trees by the general public, and now there is less 

 known about them even by educated people than of any 

 other important necessity of the human race. 



Realizing the general ignorance prevailing regarding 

 the propagation of trees and the inadequate laws existing 

 for their proper protection (particularly those planted on 

 streets and roads), Mr. Greene conceived the idea of start- 

 ing tree clubs in every community of the country, not 



only to encourage tree planting but to bring about the 

 enaction of new laws by states, counties and municipali- 

 ties to prevent further injury to trees already planted, by 

 the telephone, telegraph and electric light companies as 

 a result of their ignorance and carelessness. 



The movement proved far more popular than was an- 

 ticipated. 



The next move was the formation of a federation of 

 the tree clubs of the country, so the Federation of Tree 

 Growing Clubs of America was organized with offices in 

 Chicago. H. A. Greene was chosen president and D. H. 

 Anderson secretary. THE IRRIGATION AGE of 'Chicago was 

 made the official organ of the Federation. 



Having failed to proyide a revenue to supply funds to 

 carry out the plans of the Federation, one of the greatest 

 movements ever launched in America languished, and 

 hundreds of clubs soon went out of existence from lack 

 of encouragement. 



Had the Federation been in a position to send out 

 instructors and organizers in every state, far greater re- 

 sults would have accrued. 



The Monterey Tree Growing Club, the parent club, 

 has continued its early prosperity and now has to show 

 in its nursery one of the largest collections of trees in the 

 world. New varieties from all countries are constantly 

 being introduced and their usefulness tried out. 



All the gold medals given on the Pacific Coast for 

 forest trees have been won by the Monterey Club. That 

 club, aided by the State University, continues to distribute 

 large quantities of literature and free tree seeds to clubs, 

 colleges and schools, as well as presenting large numbers 

 of trees to public institutions. 



Different departments of the United States National 

 Forestry Service have rendered valuable aid to the work 

 of the organization, though, unfortunately, not in a finan- 

 cial way. 



The future fate of the Federation is up to the various 

 tree clubs of the country, since the Monterey Club can 

 but inadequately attend to its own business, much less 

 extend it. 



It is necessary that the Federation shall be reorgan- 

 ized and placed upon a sound financial basis. Mr. Greene, 

 the president of the Monterey Tree Growing Club, an- 

 nounces his inability to further finance the great work 

 undertaken, nor is it possible for him to add more work 

 to all that he is already doing. 



THIS SAVES YOU FIFTY CENTS. 

 Remit $3.00 for one year's subscription to THE IRRI- 

 GATION AGE and one copy of the "Primer of Hydraulics," 

 cloth bound. 



PREPARATION OF THE FIELD FOR IRRIGATION. 



Much has been said concerning the increased duty of 

 water, and it has been said that the farmer has been using 

 much more water than is necessary. Most of the articles 

 concerning the duty of water take up the properties of 

 the soil, the manner of cultivation for conservation pur- 

 poses, the manner of applying water, and show that in a 

 general way all affect the duty of water, and that proper 

 cultivation and proper application of water will increase 

 the duty of water from 100 to 200 per cent. 



It has often occurred to the writer that this means 

 very little to the average farmer, in that it does not tell 

 him what he does that he should not do. nor exactly what 

 he might do to increase the efficiency of his water supply. 



The thing of first importance to the farmer is the 

 preparation of the field for irrigation. He should see to it that 

 the high spots are removed and that the low spots are filled; 

 in other words, he should see that the surface of his field is 

 smooth, and here is where the ordinary farmer "falls down." 

 After plowing and harrowing his field he perhaps run? a drag 

 over it, and then, seeds it, leaving ridges and hollows, holes 

 and knolls, consequently when he irrigates the field it is neces- 

 sary for him to almost drown the low spots in order to 

 wet the high ones. Water will often be found from one 

 to two feet deep in places in the field. In driving along 

 the road one often sees embankments piled up along low 

 spots to keep the water from flooding the road. If. when 

 the plowing and harrowing are completed, the farmer 



