The Canadian Horticulturi^ 



Vol. XXXVIII 



MARCH, 1915 



Np. 



Irrigation : With Special Reference to the Skinner System 



p. M. Clement, Director Horticultural Experiment Station, Vineland Station, Ont. 



THE practice of irrigation is not a 

 something to take the place of the 

 natural rainfall, but rather a sup- 

 plement to it. Irrigation water must be 

 as carefully conserved as natural water, 

 or the cost of continual applications will 

 be out of proportion to the returns. 



Water is essential to the growth of 

 all plants. Sunshine, air, and plant food 

 or soil are the other essentials, and if 

 any one is lacking the plant will die. 

 Where the annual precipitation is less 

 than twenty inches, under average condi- 

 tions of wind and sunshine, dry farming 

 practice or irrigation methods are neces- 

 sary for maximum yields. The annual 

 precipitation in Ontario for fifteen years 

 has averaged 30.75 inches, made up as 

 follows : March, April and May, 7 inches ; 

 June, July and August, 8.45 inches; 

 September, October and November, 8.06 

 inches ; December, January and Febru- 

 ary, 7.06 inches. The best growing 

 months are the months of heaviest pre- 

 cipitation, but still the rainfall is not 

 heavy enough to allow for evaporation, 

 seepage and run off after heavy showers 

 and at tlve same time supply the plant. 

 The rains of spring and melted snows 

 of winter must be saved. .\n effort should 

 be made to conserve to the fullest ex- 

 tent in the soil the maximum amount of 

 water favorable to plant growth. The 

 rains of summer- will supplement this 

 and irrigation water will supplement still 

 further. 



The Skinner system is an expensive 

 'one to install, and consequently can be 

 used most successfully only with crops 

 that lend themselves to intensive cul- 

 ture. Some crops, especially truck crops, 

 require more water than others, even 

 more than nature can supply where the 

 best methods of conservation are prac- 

 tised. Celery and other truck crops 

 stand first among the vegetables and 

 strawberries rmiong the fruits. 'Jhe 



Skinner system being an overhead sys- 

 tem constructed so as to imitate to some 

 extent the natural rainfall necessitates 

 considerable initial outlay. The water 

 must cither Ise elevated to a high rc- 

 sx;rve tank and the supply taken from 

 I here or sufficient pressure must \ie 

 maintained by the pump to ensure a 

 steady flow. 



Our supply is taken from the farm 



water system, which is connected v.ith a 

 large underground air pressure tank. 

 The pump, when running steadily, is 

 capable of lifting seventy-five barrels of 

 water per hour and maintaining a uni- 

 form pressure of thirty pounds. This 

 continued for ten hours will supply ap- 

 proxiniately 750 40-gallon barrels, which 

 is a little more than an inch of water to 

 the acre (acre-inch). With thirty pounds 

 pressure, the nozzles will throw a stream 

 of water about thirty feet on a still day, 

 where it breaks and falls like rain. The 

 laterals are consequentlv put at sixty 

 or less feet apart. F'ifty feet is a good 

 average distance. By watching regular- 

 ly and regulating the direction of the 

 water, the whole area may be covered 

 uniformly. 



COST OF INSTALLATION 



The total cost of installing the Skinner 

 'system will vary according to the dis- 

 tance apart the laterals are placed, the 

 materials used for uprights, the size of 

 the underground pipes, etc., but it may 

 be expected to cost anywhere between 

 two hundred and twenty-five and three 

 hundred dollars an acre. This is exclu- 

 sive of pumping plant and mains leading 

 to the system. The one at Vineland cost 

 approximately two hundred and fifty dol- 

 lars an acre, exclusive of labor to install. 

 The following is a detailed outline of the 



materials used. Tliis does not include 

 labor or freight on the materials: 



368 fe«t Z-iii. pipe galvanized under 



ground at $12.06 per C $44. J8 



72 feet IVi-in. uprights at $9.45 per C. 6.80 

 576 feet 1-in. uprights at $5.78 per C. 33.29 

 1152 feet 1-in lengths at $5.78 per C. 66.58 



-$151.06 



288 nozzles at 05c each— 50% duty ....$18.72 

 9 patent sieve unions at $2.40 each— 



30% duty 28.08 



72 hangers at .18c each— 30?i duty... 16.84 



1 gate valve. 2-in., at $3.80 3.80 



9 small valves for end upright at 



$2 60 . . 23 40 

 9 elbows' aJid 9 T (20 Ite.) at .190 



per lb 3.80 



9 bags oement at .40c each 3.60 



98.24 

 $249.29 



Some precautions are necessary in ap- 

 plying the water. So far we have had 

 no loss or injury from applications made 

 during the day or in direct sunlight, but 

 we have had loss from over-application. 

 A heavy shower directly following an 

 application of water may cause some in- 

 jury. This was the case with some to- 

 mato plants last year. It is well to 

 make a good application, say one inch, 

 and then do not water again until the 

 soil begins to dry. A small quantity 

 each day only tends to keep the leaves 

 and plants moist and develop disease 

 without being in sufficient quantity to 

 penetrate the soil. Do not, however, 

 let the soil become too dry ; water pene- 

 trates and spreads through the soil much 

 more quickly when it is fairly moist. A 

 pail of water spilt on dry dust mulch 



The Skinner Irriiration System, as u«ed at Tlir Vnn-larjil (Ont.) lixin-i imtiil biatii)n. is hero 

 shown. The soil is ribbed for earlj, cultivation. In tlic Imckground may be seen the< cherry 



orchard and Lake Ontario. 

 57 



