74 
VEGETABLE GARDENING 
118. The benefits of irrigation. — Irrigation is an insur- 
ance, for rainfall is uncertain, and the gardener never 
knows when it may become necessary to start the pumps 
ot open the water lines to prevent loss. It is a great 
satisfaction to realize that one can be practically inde- 
pendent of the natural rainfall. 
Seeds cannot germinate without moisture. It often 
occurs that plants do not come up promptly because of 
a lack of moisture. This trouble may be easily avoided 
by an up-to-date system of irrigation. Again, trans- 
planting is often an uncertain operation. Hot, drying 
winds and bright sunshine, after planting, may cause 
an almost total loss of the plants, while irrigation would 
save them. 
Absolute control of moisture conditions makes it pos- 
sible to secure large yields, better quality and earlier 
maturity. These three advantages are of immense im- 
portance from a business standpoint. All classes of 
vegetables should grow unchecked, and this is impossi- 
ble when moisture is wanting. 
Drouths occur in all sections almost every year. They 
are disastrous to satisfactory returns. It happens not 
infrequently that $200 or even more an acre is lost dur- 
ing protracted drouth. This would more than pay for 
the installation of the most approved system and the 
application of water during the period of drouth. 
It has been previously stated that the rate of applying 
stable manures and commercial fertilizers may be re- 
duced when irrigation can be practiced. This may not 
be the best business policy, but it is unquestionably true 
that irrigation is often worth much more than any 
amount of manure or fertilizer that can be applied. 
Numerous experiments have been made that show the 
value of irrigation. For example, at the Michigan Sta- 
tion an experiment was conducted on a 10-acre plot. 
Tomatoes and potatoes were irrigated four times and the 
