THE ART OF MAKING THINGS GROW 105 



with water in trenches. It is not so modern a method as some 

 are apt to think ; indeed, it seems to have been well under- 

 stood far back in early Babylonian times. The way in which 

 vast tracts of country in the great West, as well as in foreign 

 countries, have thus been made richly productive is little short 

 of miraculous. By irrigation deserts have been transformed 

 into veritable gardens of Eden. By dint of courage and skill 

 men have learned to harness up streams of water, and to 

 drive them at will through pipes and ditches for the service 

 of mankind. In Italy, near Milan, there is a famous example 

 of how thousands of acres have been reclaimed by means of 

 water conveyed by irrigation from the sewers of the city. 

 These meadows were but yesterday desolate wastes ; now, 

 quickened into life, they yield from three to nine times the 

 crop of ordinary fields. 



Fortunately the reclaiming of waste lands is to-day, as never 

 before, attracting attention. Among these are dunes, salt 

 marshes, and barren islands. Marthas Vineyard is a good 

 example of a hitherto neglected opportunity. At present the 

 chief occupation on the island is shooting. The cultivation 

 has been meager, so that nearly all supplies are brought by 

 boats from the mainland, and yet there are ponds lying in 

 the southeast portion of the island which could easily be used 

 as a basis for irrigation. It is certain that irrigation, com- 

 bined with the wonderful climate, would make of this island 

 a second Jersey or Guernsey. 



Of course a young farmer who lives near a town or city 

 and has the water department and a few feet of hose at 

 his command will hardly need to adopt any system of irriga- 

 tion in order to save his small domain from the perils of 

 drought. Even so, why not test for one's self the benefits 

 of a new scheme, which, it is claimed, will more than treble 

 the old returns ? As a matter of fact, within a very short time 



