TWENTY-EIGHTH FRUIT-GROWERS' CONVENTION. 



59 



DISCUSSION ON IRRIGATION. 



MR. STONE. With regard to irrigation, there have been so many 

 theories laid down, and some practices explained, that we are still left 

 very much in the dark as to what is the best method of irrigation — 

 basining, or shallow furrowing, or deep furrowing. Now, I remember 

 hearing, not long since, of a gentleman who just had one furrow in the 

 middle of his rows of trees. I presume they were from 20 to 24 feet apart. 

 And he had a deep furrow — I think it must have been something like 

 16 inches, from 12 to, 16 inches — one furrow only between his trees, and 

 he ran the water in that furrow, and declared himself perfectly satisfied 

 with the results. Now, there are some other methods. There is the sub- 

 soiler in use, which is very much the same thing, except that the water 

 is not so much exposed as it is in the running stream. Now, I tried a 

 subsoiler in my orchard of lemon- trees. They were really wanting 

 water, and showed that they were, and I determined to try them with 

 the subsoiler. I never saw trees respond to the treatment of water as 

 they did on that occasion. They responded very rapidly to it, and I 

 have never seen any injury arising with reference to the destruction of 

 some of the small roots of those trees, which roots undoubtedly were 

 destroyed. Then some others use shallower furrows, perhaps not over 

 6 or 8 inches deep, which I have practiced myself, each side of the 

 trees, and sometimes two on either side of the trees. That would be 

 four in a row. If there is any gentleman here practicing that system of 

 one deep furrow I should very much like to hear his experience with 

 regard to it, because it means a very much less expense to those of us 

 who have to irrigate our orchards. 



MR. HOFMAN. In that little talk of mine I tried to tell you of an 

 experiment or investigation I made along those very lines. Water 

 which had run thirty-six hours had penetrated more than 7 feet. Seven 

 feet is quite a depth when you dig the hole yourself. And it had also 

 spread laterally 4^ feet to each side of the furrow at a depth of 5 feet. 

 Of course at the top it was the width of the furrow. At 5 feet it had 

 spread 4-J feet each side of the furrow, which would be 9 feet for one 

 stream at a depth of 5 feet. 



MR. BOARDMAN. I live in western New York. In central New 

 York we cultivate fruit to quite an extent — grapes, apples; no oranges, 

 of course. But I want to say one word in regard to the digging of a 

 ditch near trees. I have twenty acres of orchard about twenty-five or 

 twenty-six years old. I commenced at the upper end of the orchard. 

 I wanted to draw spring water to my barn, and I dug a ditch about 2 -J 

 feet deep, from the upper end of the orchard, when the trees were about 

 twenty years of age. We ran diagonally through the orchard, and the 

 ditch was dug close to a good many apple trees. And I found this 



