176 The Principles of Vegetable- Gardening 



portance. The profits to be derived from the work depend 

 mainly upon the height to which the water must be lifted and 

 the distance carried before it is applied. The question that is 

 most often asked of those who are possessed of information on 

 this subject, is : ^Can I depend upon a well and wind-power 

 for irrigation?' The answer is ever the same. ^It all depends 

 upon the well.' Professor Taft, of Michigan Agricultural Col- 

 lege, has demonstrated that iU some cases, at least, it is prac- 

 ticable. In * Ameli^can Gardening,' Vol. 49, pages 148-9, he 

 describes wind-pumps that have been successfully used for irri- 

 gation purposes. 



^^The gardener considering irrigation should first look about 

 for a stream of water so situated with reference to his land that 

 it may be conducted thither and distributed by gravity. Even 

 if a considerable distance away, arrangements might be made 

 with the owner of the water -right and neighbors to cooperate 

 in the construction of ditches, etc. Such locations, it is true, 

 are rare . The next best location is in close proximity to a lake 

 or pond, from which water may be lifted by steam or other 

 power. The most expensive, but still often practicable means 

 to obtain a water supply, is by lifting from a well or wells. If 

 wind power is used in any case a storage tank is almost a neces- 

 sity, — not only that the wind is quite sure to fail when most 

 needed, but if more than an acre is to be watered a more abun- 

 dant supply of water is needed than an ordinary well can sup- 

 ply. One important point in the distribution of water is to have 

 a sufficient supply to cover the ground as quickly as possible. 



"At the Wisconsin Station irrigated fields are adjacent to 

 and several feet above Lake Mendota. The rude plat here given 

 (Fig. 39) shows the plats irrigated in the horticultural depart- 

 ment. Other fields on the farm were irrigated, but only the 

 garden part is considered here. The letter p in the diagram 

 denotes the location of a rotary pump connected with the water 

 of the lake by a suction pipe. The pump was operated by a 

 threshing engine. The double lines denote the cast-iron pipe 

 used to convey the water to the fields. The heavier lines are 

 6-inch pipes, the others 4-inch. At each point marked is a 



