4 8 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 414. 



Meetings of Societies. 



Nebraska State Horticultural Society. 



THE prevalent financial depression and seasons of 

 drought, instead of discouraging horticultural enter- 

 prise, has in Nebraska seemed to quicken it, and the 

 twenty-seventh annual meeting of the State Horticultural 

 Society was more largely attended and enthusiastic than 

 any of its predecessors. The deficiency in rainfall of the 

 last three years, not before equaled in severity for forty 

 years, has served to emphasize the importance of better 

 culture, so that every grower is on the alert to adopt the 

 best possible methods. 



IRRIGATION. 



Mr. Lute Wilcox, of Colorado, gave a practical talk on 

 methods of irrigation, illustrated by charls, which served to 

 make his statements very clear. To show the importance of 

 his subject he stated that Colorado has $100,000,000 invested in 

 its irrigation plants. The average grade of irrigation-canals is 

 two feet a mile. Sometimes it falls as low as eighteen inches, 

 and in case there is much silt in the water it may need to be 

 as much as three feet. The ditch-walker carries the key to the 

 public gate and governs the amount of water that each land- 

 owner can have, and laws are very stringent against any 

 attempt to steal it. From one-fourth to one-third of the water 

 is lost by evaporation, so that it is most important to carry the 

 water the least possible distance to the point where it is to be 

 applied. The furrows for distributing the water have a fall of 

 one inch in from 66 to 100 feet. In ordinary work these are 

 not closer than forty teet apart, and in some cases several hun- 

 dred feet. Grades in the land are overcome by means of 

 check-dams. Water must never be put on land unless there 

 is an opportunity to drain it away; otherwise the land will be- 

 come over-wet and worthless. The furrow system is the most 

 practical, and is especially adapted to fruit-culture. In orchard 

 work two furrows are generally used between each row of 

 trees, the furrows passing along under the tips of the branches. 

 What is known as a lath-funnel is inserted in the lateral to sup- 

 ply each space between rows. This is made by nailing four laths 

 together so as to leave an opening about one-half by one inch. 

 This supplies the water just about fast enough, so that it 

 requires little or no attention. A slowly running stream well 

 managed does best work, and with a stream of this size the 

 ground will be sufficiently watered in from five to twenty 

 hours. This will not need to be repeated oftener than once in 

 three weeks. Rows for irrigation should not be over 300 feet 

 long. The furrows are made with a one-horse shovel-plow. 

 If water is applied to one side of the tree only it will cause the 

 tree to lean toward that side. To determine whether the land 

 needs water, take up a sample of the soil five or six inches 

 below the surface ; if this will ball in the hand no water 

 should be applied. One thousand barrels of water at each 

 application is sufficient for an acre. In young orchards it is 

 sometimes customary to run four furrows between each row 

 of trees instead of two. Cultivation is just as essential as irri- 

 gation, and can no more be dispensed with in irrigated than in 

 unirrigated sections. Special tools have been devised for 

 orchard cultivation which will pack the lower layers of soil 

 just as little as possible. The aim is always to get the water 

 to soak four or five feet into the soil. For this reason it is 

 important that the land should be thoroughly subsoiled before 

 planting unless the subsoil is so open as not to require it. 

 Water should never be applied to trees when in bloom. The 

 most important time to irrigate orchards is when the buds are 

 forming for the next year's crop. In eastern Colorado this 

 occurs in August. No further watering is given until just as 

 the trees go into winter quarters, or just before the ground 

 freezes. This year the Colorado people are irrigating in 

 January. Water should never be allowed to come in contact 

 with the trunk of the trees, and for this reason the flooding 

 system is not well adapted to orchard work. The greatest 

 enemy to irrigation is the evaporation caused by the rays of 

 the sun. This entails much additional labor in the matter of 

 cultivation. It requires two men to irrigate and care for fifteen 

 acres of orchard during the season. 



Subirrigation is too costly for any ordinary crops, and in 

 orchard work the roots are sure to fill up the tiles. A machine 

 is in use which makes and lays a continuous tile in position 

 beneath the ground at the least possible cost, but even then 

 the cost is $400 per acre. The equivalent of seven inches in 

 depth over the entire surface of the land is considered a satis- 

 factory amount to apply at one time in Colorado, and three 



applications usually suffice for the growing season. The water 

 used in winter is in addition to this. Potato growers, however, 

 are now coming to give nine or ten irrigations. If possible to 

 avoid it, no water is applied until the tubers begin to form, 

 but thereafter it is given every ten days. If is very injurious 

 to let Potatoes stand for two or three weeks and then apply 

 water again, as that induces a second growth. 



In the discussion following this paper it was stated that one 

 million acres can be irrigated in Nebraska from canals now 

 under construction, and probably one million acres more from 

 canals proposed. The point was also made that with the 

 greater rainfall and diminished evaporation in Nebraska much 

 less water would be required for the same area than in 

 Colorado. 



THE CONSERVATION OF SOIL MOISTURES. 



Professor T. L. Lyon, of the State University, said that 

 this is a subject of paramount import west of the Missouri 

 River; it is estimated that fifty per cent, of the rainfall of the 

 eastern states is lost by running away on the surface and by 

 percolation, while in Nebraska only about ten per cent, is lost 

 in the same way. The primary cause of droughts in this 

 region is not insufficient rainfall, but excessive evaporation. 

 Nebraska soil contains a large proportion of silt and compara- 

 tively little clay. The finer the particles the closer they will 

 pack, hence the result is that the lower layers of our soil are 

 exceedingly compact. A loose soil will allow water to sink 

 into it much more rapidly, and will also retain this water much 

 better, than a compact soil. From these facts it is easy to see 

 the value of subsoiling as a means of retaining moisture. Its 

 value, however, depends upon the condition of the subsoil. It 

 is beneficial when the subsoil is compact, but may be useless 

 or even injurious when the subsoil is open and sandy. The 

 work should preferably be done in the fall rather than in the 

 spring, in order to retain to the fullest extent whatever mois- 

 ture falls during the winter and early spring months. Next in 

 importance to subsoiling should be ranked fall plowing, as this 

 accomplishes the same object, though in a less degree. Fail- 

 ing in this the earlier in the spring the work can be done the 

 better. Thorough and frequent cultivation during the sum- 

 mer is most important. The same qualities of soil which 

 make the subsoil compact also make it a good carrier of water 

 by means of capillarity. The layer of loose soil formed by 

 cultivation simply acts as a mulch or blanket to prevent evap- 

 oration. This point was illustrated by lighting two lamps, 

 in one of which the wick had been cut apart and a piece of 

 hemp sewed between to break up the capillarity. In this case 

 the blaze quickly died out. For the same reason it is advanta- 

 geous to plow stubble land as soon ps the grain is off. This not 

 only aids in conserving moisture, but the land is then in better 

 condition to plow than later on. 



SUNSHINE AND CLOUDINESS IN RELATION TO CROPS. 



In a paper on this subject by Professor G. D. Swezey, of the 

 State University, it was stated that May is the cloudiest month 

 in Nebraska and September the clearest. Taking the length 

 of the day into consideration, it is found that the greatest 

 amount of sunshine is found in July, which in turn is followed 

 by August and September respectively. Not very much is 

 known regarding the intensity of sunlight here, but it is known 

 to be greater than in more humid regions. With normal rain- 

 fall the conditions for the growth of crops are almost ideal, 

 since the greatest amount of sunshine occurs when the crops 

 are ripening their fruits. The evaporation of this region is 

 excessive, however, and partly by reason of the large amount 

 and greater intensity of the sunlight. 



STRAWBERRIES AND IRRIGATION. 



This was the subject of a paper by Mr. J. W. Stevenson, who 

 uses windmills with one and a quarter inch pipe laid on the 

 surface of the ground, and finds the results very satisfactory. 

 Pieces of rubber hose prove useful for connecting the pipe. 

 This allows more freedom in laying pipes, and they can be 

 easily taken apart and carried by one man from place to place 

 as required. He thinks the windmill the cheapest power for 

 lifting water, but it is liable to fail in the time when most 

 needed, hence it is desirable to supplement the windmill with 

 steam or horse power if necessary. He finds it a simple mat- 

 ter by means of wires and proper adjustments to attach a 

 windmill to a pump in a well several hundred feet away. He 

 believes heartily in subsoiling, and uses a tree-digger for this 

 purpose, preferring it to the ordinary subsoil-plow. The land 

 should then be thoroughly saturated with water during the fall 

 or winter. When irrigating in warm weather it is necessary to 

 cultivate the following day in order to prevent the ground 



