FLORIDA bTATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
53 
sorts. The United States Geological Sur¬ 
vey volume on Mineral Resources reports 
the sale of mineral waters in Florida for 
1907 as 43,430 gallons, valued at $12,378. 
So much for supply. Now for the ap¬ 
plication. 
The system known as the Sanford sys¬ 
tem of subirrigation is the one in use here 
in Daytona and the one of which I wish to 
speak. The well or source of supply is 
turned into a main running across the 
field and at intervals of 25 feet the main 
is tapped by a head box furnishing an 
outlet for the water into a lateral laid 
with two or three-inch clay or cement 
tile. This lateral leading to the op¬ 
posite side of the field to a drain ditch, 
at which point stop boxes are set and by 
plugging the tile in the stop box the land 
could be very quickly wet enough for any 
purpose. During a wet season the water 
is turned off and the laterals open, which 
acts as drainage equally as well as for ir¬ 
rigation. If this does not furnish a per¬ 
fect system of irrigation I have never seen 
one. The land should be nearly level, if 
it is not the rows of tile 25 feet apart 
should be put in parallel with the slope 
so that the lower end should be only a few 
inches to the 100 vards lower than when 
the water is turned in. The water supply 
being at the highest point and by gravity 
running through the entire system and 
discharging into the drainage ditch at the 
lowest. The supply of water can be reg¬ 
ulated so as to irrigate the entire field 
at one time or confined to a single row 
of the tile or as many as desired. This 
makes it possible to grow in the same field 
a variety of crops, though some may re¬ 
quire a very wet soil and other the oppo¬ 
site. 
Where the field is only part level, one 
part being lighter and dryer soil a set of 
boxes may be placed between the ditch 
and the main at the line of demarkation, 
thus furnishing a supply to the level place 
without injury to the land and wetter 
part. 
We found it of advantage to run deep 
furrows in planting to come between and 
in the center of the 25 feet rows of tiling, 
making the field into beds, this in case of 
heavy rains provided another means of 
draining off the water. The advantage of 
being able to use the system to water a 
seed bed very wet and another bed com¬ 
paratively dry, can be appreciated at a 
glance and 1 the two dangers to farming, 
too much or too little water, are under en¬ 
tire control. 
We cannot say what the value of this 
system would be when applicable to other 
seeds and in other localities where water 
is scarce and expensive. 
One authority claim|s in addition to 
points named above that the tile drain 
carry warmth and air, or rather warm air 
to the roots of growing crops, and won¬ 
derfully quicken their growth, and that 
more than this, that the same crop has 
been grown on the same ground for a 
dozen years and with splendid results. 
Now a few words about the construc¬ 
tion and material used': Here in Daytona 
we have mostly cement. Plow and dig 
out your ditches. We have a machine 
placed in the ditch into' which we feed our 
mixture, and the tile is laid in one contin¬ 
uous piece across the field, slightly cover¬ 
ed as you gO' to hold it in place before the 
tiling hardens. Say 3 or 4 days when the 
ditch can be covered—before covering 
openings can be sawed into the tile, say 
