THE ART OF MAKING THINGS GROW 
105 
with water in trenches. It is not so modern a method as some 
are apt to think ; indeed, it seems to have been well under- 
stood far back in early Babylonian times. The way in which 
vast tracts of country in the great West, as well as in foreign 
countries, have thus been made richly productive is little short 
of miraculous. By irrigation deserts have been transformed 
into veritable gardens of Eden. By dint of courage and skill 
men have learned to harness up streams of water, and to 
drive them at will through pipes and ditches for the service 
of mankind. In Italy, near Milan, there is a famous example 
of how thousands of acres have been reclaimed by means of 
water conveyed by irrigation from the sewers of the city. 
These meadows were but yesterday desolate wastes ; now, 
quickened into life, they yield from three to nine times the 
crop of ordinary fields. 
Fortunately the reclaiming of waste lands is to-day, as never 
before, attracting attention. Among these are dunes, salt 
marshes, and barren islands. Marthas Vineyard is a good 
example of a hitherto neglected opportunity. At present the 
chief occupation on the island is shooting. The cultivation 
has been meager, so that nearly all supplies are brought by 
boats from the mainland, and yet there are ponds lying in 
the southeast portion of the island which could easily be used 
as a basis for irrigation. It is certain that irrigation, com- 
bined with the wonderful climate, would make of this island 
a second Jersey or Guernsey. 
Of course a young farmer who lives near a town or city 
and has the water department and a few feet of hose at 
his command will hardly need to adopt any system of irriga- 
tion in order to save his small domain from the perils of 
drought. Even so, why not test for one’s self the benefits 
of a new scheme, which, it is claimed, will more than treble 
the old returns ? As a matter of fact, within a very short time 
