Vol. LV. No. 2427. 
NEW YORK, AUGUST 1, 1&90. 
1.00 PER YEAR. 
DRINK FOR THIRSTY PLANTS. 
CARRYING THE SWAMP WATER TO DRY LAND. 
A Cheap System of Irrigation. 
[EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE.] 
A local paper, printed in 1858, stated that, in that 
year, the farmers of Bergen County. N J , shipped 
10,000,000 baskets of strawberries to New York, which 
sold at an average of three cents a basket. At that 
time, strawberry growing was the great fruit industry 
of northern New Jersey. The farmers enjoyed a 
monopoly of the New York market at the season 
when their berries ripened, and the business paid well. 
Gradually, however, the strawberry was given up. 
Other sections began to grow the fruit, and as railroad 
facilities were increased, New York was fed from a 
m uch wider 
area. For many 
years,the north 
Jersey farmers 
neglected the 
strawberry and 
turned their at¬ 
tention more 
to sweet corn, 
Lima beans, 
melons and 
potatoes. Now 
they are slowly 
coming back to 
their little red 
friend of olden 
times, and 
strawberry 
patches are 
growing into 
acres on many 
farms. 
At a farmers’ 
institute last 
winter, the 
question of 
small fruits was 
discussed at 
length, and the 
chief objections 
urged against 
the business 
were a scarcity 
of good pick¬ 
ers, and the 
prevalence of 
drought in 
spring. In the 
majority of 
years, the crop 
is cut short by 
dry weather, 
andthedrought 
also interferes 
with spring setting of plants. Mr. T. C Kevitt’s place 
is right over the line from Bergen County, and his 
success with Parker Earle strawberries has had the 
effect of starting many of his neighbors and friends 
back into the strawberry business. Our old friend, 
Mr. A. Johnson, is another man who has made money 
out of strawberries. 
Last week, we told how Mr. Lewis, after 20 years of 
exclusive chemical farming, has about decided that he 
may well take the old cow back into partnership. Here, 
in much the same way. are these north Jersey farmers 
going back to the old friend who helped them out 40 
years ago. In both eases, the old friends came back, 
but not under the old conditions “Chemicals and 
clover” welcome the cow again because she brings a 
creamery. If she were still linked to the old private 
dairy, they would not have her on the farm. The 
strawberry is welcomed back after 40 years of wander¬ 
ing, because it brings new and improved varieties that 
lengthen out the season and pi7e more and larger 
fruit, and also because it is now possible to grow ber¬ 
ries without stable manure, and to irrigate in time of 
drought. The varieties and manuring have been dis¬ 
cussed—now we wish to tell how one man has solved 
the irrigation problem. 
Not far from Mr. Kevitt’s place, is the Speer farm. 
Years ago, strawberries were grown in this neighbor¬ 
hood, but of late years, the usual farm crops of rye, 
potatoes, grass and corn have been the chief staples. 
Farmers generally understand how little money there 
has been in these crops for the past few years, and 
young Mr. Speer determined to see what there is in 
strawberries. He set out about an acre of plants in a 
level field close to a large swamp. As he studied over 
the question, he became impressed with the idea that 
an abundance of water, just at the right time, is a 
necessity in producing first-class fruit. A strawberry 
is nearly 90 per cent water anyway, and is formed and 
ripened in a comparatively few days. The water must 
be right at hand all through its growth and forma¬ 
tion. or the fruit cannot be perfected. 
Mr. Speer thought that, so long as he was experi¬ 
menting with fruit growing, it would pay to use 
water on a part of the field if it could be obtained at 
slight expense. Close to the field i» a swamp of 100 
acres, with a constant supply of water at a depth of 
eight feet. Here was a great reservoir within a few 
feet of his thirsty plants, and the only problems were 
how to raise this water cheaply and let it run over 
the surface of the field. He dug a hole at the edge of 
the swamp deep enough to sink two barrels—one on 
top of the other. There was an old rusty pump out 
in the shed, and this was cleaned up and put down 
into the water which rose in the barrels. A one horse 
tread power was backed down to the barrels and con¬ 
nected with the pump bv a wooden rod. A short piece 
of hose ran from the nozzle of the pump to a wooden 
trough made by nailing together t wo narrow pieces 
of board. Stakes were driven into the ground with 
wires run between them and along these other wooden 
troughs were run as shown at Fig 161. Fig. 162 
shows how the end trough is run to the ground so that 
the water soaks all along the surface Fig. 161 shows 
this simple irrigation plant in operation. Mr. Speer 
stands by the tread power while the figure showing 
us his back, with the surprising summer costume of 
overcoat and 
straw hat, is 
our old friend, 
Mr. Kevitt. 
The beauty of 
this outfit is its 
small cost. 
Aside from the 
tread power, it, 
probably, does 
not represent a 
cash outlay of 
$10. yet the 
water pours 
through those 
troughs in a 
perfect fiood. 
Mr. Kevitt’s 
place is on 
higher ground, 
and he says that 
it would cost 
him nearly $600 
for well, pump, 
engine, etc , to 
secure the 
stream of water 
which Mr. Speer 
obtains so 
cheaply. There 
are. in this 
country, thou¬ 
sands of p'aces 
where just such 
a scheme for ir¬ 
rigation could 
be carried out. 
On almost any 
level field, near 
a swamp, there 
will be found 
an abundant 
supply of water 
10 or 12 feet 
below the surface. Irrigation consists in fiDdingsome 
cheap way of raising that water, and lett’ng it soak 
into the surface soil. Mr Speer’s exnerience shows 
that irrigation is not always so expensive an opera¬ 
tion as we have been led to believe. 
This year’s experiment covered only a part of the 
berries. The horse was worked in the power two 
days—the stream pouriDg over the ground until it 
was so soft that a man would sink in over his shoes in 
walking over it No accurate measurements were 
made to show the increase of crop due to irrigation, 
but the difference in the plants was easily seen, far 
acro-s the field. The plants were larger and greener, 
and the fruit averaged 50 per cent larger on the 
irrigated parts Mr Speer is a practical man who 
judges the value of the strawberry crop by the dollars 
it brings in. His estimate is that this year’s irrigating 
THE SWAMP GIVES DRINK TO THE FIELD. A CHEAP IRRIGATING PLANT. Fig. 181.- 
