184 



THE IRKIGATION AGE. 



KNOW WHAT BECOMES OF THE WATER APPLIED 



BY FRANK ADAMS, 



Irrigation Manager. Office Experiment Stations U. 5. D. A. 



THE application of more water than the soil will 

 retain or than the crop irrigated requires is in- 

 jurious to the soil and wasteful for both the individual 

 and the state. 



The purpose of irrigation is to get adequate 

 moisture into the rooting zone of the crop irrigated 

 and not merely to apply water to the soil surface. 

 (Buy and use a six-foot soil auger and know what 

 becomes of the water applied.) 



Long irrigation furrows and long checks make 

 even application of water impossible. 



In orchard irrigation it is as important to irrigate 

 directly in the tree rows as to irrigate between them. 



Basin and flooding irrigation of orchards result 

 in unnecessary puddling and excessive evaporation 

 and may double the cost of cultivation after irrigation. 



Orchards should be irrigated by means of fur- 

 rows if you can get the water where you want it with 

 furrows. (Use your soil auger to find out.) 



The principal wastes in irrigation come through 

 leaky farm ditches, runoff at the lower ends of fur- 

 rows and checks, excessive application, resulting in 

 too deep percolation, and surface evaporation due to 

 too little or too shallow cultivation. (Look out for 

 them!) 



Plants require most water when they are making 

 the most rapid growth. 



Crops should be irrigated before they begin to 

 suffer for lack of moisture. 



The ideal in irrigation is, in general, to maintain 

 uniform moisture content of the soil. 



Beyond a certain point the application of addi- 

 tional water does not increase yields and may decrease 

 them. 



PAY $550,000 FOR PROJECT 



The transfer of the extensive holdings of the 

 Pueblo & Rocky Ford Irrigation Company, under 

 foreclosure proceedings, was made in the County 

 court at Pueblo, Colo., recently. The bondholders, 

 headed by the chairman, Galen L. Stone, of Bos- 

 ton, are in possession of the large project by decree 

 of court and it is said on good authority here that 

 they contemplate extensive improvements that will 

 necessitate an expenditure of thousands of dollars. 



The price paid is placed at $550,000. 



The irrigation project is in Pueblo and Huer- 

 fano counties, and comprises approximately 35,000 

 acres of land. Of that amount 22,000 acres was 

 state land, 9,600 was obtained from the Colorado 

 Fuel & Iron Company and 3,000 from other sources. 



The construction of the project was started 

 four years ago and much work was done. Large 

 reservoirs were built at a heavy cost and miles of 

 canals and ditches were dug. 



In the meantime a land company, practically a 

 separate organization, disposed of thousands of 

 acres of land under the irrigation project. Financial 



difficulties and many suits followed quickly and the 

 result was that work was stopped and the company 

 went into the hands of a receiver. 



IOWA MAN STUDIES IRRIGATION 



J. Lee, of Dows, Iowa, has made a circuit of 

 the Western states this winter studying irrigation. 

 Mr. Lee proposes to utilize the knowledge he has 

 obtained in irrigating his lands in Iowa. He is con- 

 vinced that he can greatly increase his production 

 per acre by irrigation, both in garden truck and 

 regular farm crops. 



BUILD NEW BOOT FACTORY 



America is full of examples of increasing pros- 

 perity. Especially those firms that cater to the needs 

 of the farmer are working full or extra time. 



Take the case of the Mishawaka Woolen Mfg. 

 Company of Mishawaka, Ind. This company manu- 

 factures the famous "Ball-Band" Rubber Footwear. 



They have never made light rubbers. Now they 

 are about to make them. In order that deliveries 

 can begin January, 1916, work on an enormous new 

 plant has begun and will be pushed with all possible 

 speed. This means the employment of at least 1,000 

 more persons when the new buildings are completed, 

 or a total of 3,600 employed for this company. 



MAY SELL BIG KUHNS TRACT 



Between 200,000 and 220,000 acres in Glenn 

 and Colusa counties, California, may be sold in 

 large blocks by the Bond Holders' Committee of 

 the Sacramento Valley Irrigation Company, a 

 Kuhns company, according to reports. The land 

 will be placed on the market, it is said, as soon as 

 the bond holders legally foreclose their mortgages 

 on the property. The property to be sold will not 

 include, however, any land now being purchased 

 by contract. 



NORTHERN PROJECTS ORGANIZE 



A Federation of Water Users' Associations for 

 the Northern Division of the Reclamation Service 

 was organized recently at Billings, Mont. The 

 Federation proposes to work for needed legislation 

 both state and national as an organized body, in- 

 stead of as individual associations. The organiza- 

 tion should develop into one of the strongest arms 

 of the National Federation of W^ater Users' Associa- 

 tions. The officers are : 



President, S. A. Nelson, Shoshone, Wyo., Proj- 

 ect Water Users' Association ; vice-president, S. E. 

 Whitcom, Sun River, Mont., project; secretary- 

 treasurer, E. C. Hicks, president Lower Yellow- 

 stone, Montana, Water Users' Association. 



All diseased wood in the orchard, together with 

 weeds, should be removed and burned as soon as 

 possible. This will materially aid in the control of the 

 insect and fungus pests. 



