FLORIDA ,ST ATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
165 
elevated overhead on supports, and 
small brass nozzles placed three or four 
feet apart in each line of pipe. These 
nozzle lines are connected to main or 
supply pipe with special fittings so that 
they can be rotated. The water is 
forced out through these nozzles in 
the form of spray or mist into the at¬ 
mosphere, and gathering more or less 
nitrogen from the air, falls to the plants 
and soil like a gentle rain. 
We aim to distribute the water 
slowly. It has been demonstrated that 
one inch of rainfall per week is a suffi¬ 
cient quantity even in extreme 
For truck crops I believe it best to 
divide the amount of water required 
per week into two or three applica¬ 
tions, while for orange groves the re¬ 
quired amount can be applied at one 
time, or once a week. In this State it 
is best to water late in the afternoon 
9 
and at night. 
We recognize that the question of 
irrigation is one that requires a great 
deal of study and experiment. Our 
purpose is not to solve the problem 
for the individual grower, but to sup¬ 
ply a system of irrigation that will 
eliminate labor and enable the grower 
to put on the soil the necessary water 
at the time it is needed, and in the most 
effective way. 
We give a more uniform distribution 
of water than any other system has 
been able to do. Recently there has 
been developed an automatic device, 
or turning machine, which is operated 
by the pumping engine, that rotates 
the nozzle lines not only together but 
in unison, which saves labor and se¬ 
cures an absolutely equal and uniform 
distribution of the water over every 
inch of the ground. This is very im¬ 
portant and essential, especially where 
the system is used for frost protection. 
To protect from frost with the Skin¬ 
ner System, the nozzle lines should be 
kept constantly rotating, distributing 
the water over the plants or trees every 
three to five minutes. This means that 
every leaf and every particle of ground 
is getting from the water which is lia¬ 
ble to be frozen into ice, a consider¬ 
able amount of heat. By keeping the 
water constantly free and thoroughly 
distributed, there is a constant heat be¬ 
ing distributed over the field, and the 
temperature is higher than it would 
otherwise be. A heating device has 
also been developed for raising the 
temperature of the water. This is very 
valuable, and in a recent demonstra¬ 
tion in Texas, crops were protected 
through a three days’ freeze, accompa¬ 
nied by high wind, when the thermom¬ 
eter registered 16 below freezing. 
The Skinner System of Irrigation 
can be seen throughout Florida as well 
as in the trucking sections of the 
United States and foreign countries. 
Its practicability is demonstrated, and 
although its original use was to protect 
from drouth, in many recent experi¬ 
ences it has demonstrated that the ap¬ 
plication of water at the proper time, 
in correct amounts and manner, is an 
essential feature in producing the best 
crops and earliest maturity which re¬ 
sult in obtaining the highest prices. 
