IRRIGATION ROUND TABLE 



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a hotbed or cold frame on a large scale. They have had spigots 

 placed through the vineyards, applying water for irrigation purposes 

 through the hose. Some men apply water through the hose between 

 rows, and others spray it on. The question of labor being so high 

 is one of the factors that has caused them to change. Besides, the 

 hose lasts only four or five years. Most of the changes there are 

 towards the Skinner system, because all these men have city water, 

 with city pressure, and are able to get their water very cheaply. 

 W. W. Rawson said he could pump water from lakes at five cents a 

 thousand gallons. That is a type that is not advised now, owing to 

 the expense and to the fact that it requires one man's services ten 

 hours a day to water two acres. 



Mr. Work: I wish Mr. Van Der Meid were here to tell us about 

 the surface system on the muck at South Lima. They have a 

 supply of water on the upland, and let it run on the muck, carrying 

 it in ditches along the roadway at right angles to the rows. They 

 let water flow through the rows. By the time it gets to the far end, 

 they are ready to cut it off and turn it into the next row. There is 

 one serious objection. By the time the water gets to the far end, 

 the near end will have had a larger supply than is necessary. There 

 may not be real harm, but if water is costly, the loss is serious. 



Mr. Strahan: With light soil we have found difficulty with 

 keeping the water on the hillsides. The system we used first was to 

 run furrows up and down the hill, thinking the soil was so light the 

 water would sink in rapidly; but it ran down the hill quickly, and 

 we had to devise other methods. The second scheme was to run the 

 furrows at right angles, that is, according to the contour, and we 

 had better results. 



Mr. Work: Most people who use that form of irrigation say it 

 ought to be practiced on land almost level. 



Mr. Strahan: That grade was only three per cent. 



A Member: I have seen it rpplied to a pear orchard in Oregon. 

 They plowed right around outside the branches, going both ways, 

 and it produced wonderful results. The grower, in checking up with 

 an orchard next to his, found his own fruit was much larger and of 

 better quality. 



Question: What is the distribution of the rainfall there? 

 A Member: During the summer months, when the fruit is 

 maturing, it is pretty dry. 



