Published by 
The Rural Publishing Co. 
333 W. 30th Street 
New York 
The Rural New Yorker 
The Business Farmer's Paper 
Weekly, One Dollar Per Year 
Postpaid 
Single Copies, Five Cents 
Vol. LXXIV 
NEW YORK, MARCH 20, 1915 
No. 4298 
WATER IN PLANT AND ANIMAL LIFE. 
The Great Need of Nature. 
E ffects of drought.— it was a sizzling hot 
August afternoon that we. a fanner friend and 
myself, were walking through the fields, in¬ 
specting his growing crops and his live stock. “IIow 
the corn on yonder knoll is wilting and drooping,” 
said he. “Yes.” I replied. "We are badly in need of 
rain; it has been four weeks now since a drop of 
water has fallen, and if this drought continues it 
will seriously affect the production of fruit and the 
yield of most of our field crops. Even the second 
crop of clover is suffering, see how the leaves are 
drying up and falling off even before the blossoms 
are full; all on account of lack of water." 
As we walked up the lane towards the farmhouse 
evidences of lack of _ 
water to the cows from the well, as the spring, far 
up on the hill yonder, is not supplying water enough 
to fill the tank even once a day.” Such remarks 
from my companion, together with personal observa¬ 
tions just noted, impressed upon me very strongly the 
great value of and necessity for plenty of water for 
crops and for animals. 
NATURE OF WATER.—Come with me for a few 
minutes while we study the nature of water, its 
functions and how the farmer can best insure an 
abundance under all conditions. Water is composed 
of the chemical elements, hydrogen and oxygen, two 
parts of the former being combined with one of the 
latter, the sign used being. 1120. Water is a liquid 
of such a nature that upon the application of 212 
degrees of heat (Fahrenheit) it will be evaporated, 
or will entirely disappear into the air. By applying 
moisture were apparent 
everywhere. The brook 
which normally flowed 
through the meadow, 
and under the bridge 
which we crossed, al¬ 
ways sparkling and re¬ 
freshing to the cattle in 
the pasture below, was 
now totally dry. The 
swale and bottom grass, 
usually so green along 
the banks of the stream 
and so tempting to the 
pasturing cattle was 
now short and yellow. 
The home garden was a 
veritable ash heap, the 
clinging vines of the 
pole beans were soft 
and droopin g. the 
leaves of Ihe cucumber 
plants had turned brown 
and dropped off long be¬ 
fore their time, the 
sweet corn usually so 
green and luxuriant, 
was but half grown 
suckers with but few 
ears showing. “It we 
do not have rain soon 
I shall be unable to seed 
those two acres to 
Alfalfa, and it will be 
considerable loss to me, 
as I have spent much 
time and money getting 
the land ready.” "Yes,” 
I replied, “few persons 
appreciate until drought 
is upon them what a ne¬ 
cessary factor water is 
to crop production, and 
how we should always 
strive to conserve 
through cultivation and 
Cover crops the moist¬ 
ure which is so plenti¬ 
fully given during the 
later Winter and early 
Spring.” 
NEEDS OF LIVE 
STOCK.—Just then we 
r e a died the poultry 
house, and I was urged 
to inspect his fine flock of 200 White Leghorn hens, 
and sure enough they were a fine lot; but why were 
they panting so hard, with their months open and 
their wings drooping by their sides? To be sure it 
was hot. but that alone surely was not the reason. 
“I’ardon me a minute.” my farmer friend called, as 
he hastened to bring a pail of fresh cool water from 
the well to fill the long-empty drinking vessel. And 
how those birds did vie with one another for the 
first chance to get a taste. So even the poultry 
were suffering from the hot, dry weather and from 
neglect to keep the fresh water always before them. 
I r<un the poultry house we visited the cow barn. 
“Look at the cows gathered around the water tank 
in the barnyard. For five days now the brook in 
the pasture has been dry, and l have had to carry 
A CROP OF MANGEL BEETS, RELISHED BY ALL STOCK. Fig. 150. 
WATER BARREL, IN SHADE. SUPPLYING CHICKS' WATER TROUGH. Fig. 151. 
this method of evaporation to take out the water 
from different crops the chemist is able to determine 
the amount of water present in any class of product. 
WATER IN PLANTS.—The function of water in 
plant growth is to dissolve and carry into solution 
the food particles in the soil; to transport the food 
material into the plant through the tiny root hairs; 
water also fills plant tissues, thus holding the plant 
in an erect position, making the tissue crisp and 
brittle. Plants require a great deal of water. Green 
clover contains as high as 1)2 per cent of water, gar¬ 
den turnips contain about 90 per cent., and the corn 
crop contains about nine-tenths of its whole volume 
in the form of water. Is it any wonder that during 
the drought the corn wilted? A sunflower plant, but 
a little over three feet in height has been known to 
exhale in 12 hours 1 Vi pounds of water. By this 
exhaling, water is given off through the leaves. 
This transpiration causes an upward movement of 
water from the roots through the stem, bringing 
with it food material in solution. There are many 
means of securing water for the growing plants. A 
soil mulch over the top of the ground, breaks up 
the normal capillarity and therefore checks the evap¬ 
oration of soil moisture. In this way the Spring 
rains and the water accumulated from the melting 
of the snow can be kept in the soil for the use of 
the plant roots which go down many feet below the 
surface in search for it. The dry farmers of the 
Middle West, about which we hear so much, plan 
to grow a crop every two years. This is made pos¬ 
sible by the fact that two years’ rain supply is kept 
conserved in the soil by frequent cultivation. One 
_ year’s rain is not suffi¬ 
cient to grow a crop to 
maturity. 
COVER CROPS.—An 
easy way to insure 
plenty of water is by 
the use of cover crops. 
Cover crops when sown 
in the Fall make a lux¬ 
uriant growth during 
the Winter, covering the 
entire surface of the 
soil, thus preventing 
much loss through evap¬ 
oration. The presence 
of this mass of roots in 
the top soil prevents 
washing and causes 
much moisture, which 
would otherwise run 
off. to be absorbed by 
the soil. The humus or 
vegetable matter, in¬ 
troduced into the soil 
by these crops increases 
greatly the water hold¬ 
ing capacity of same. 
This is especially valu¬ 
able in light, open, 
sandy soil, where the 
ground water is apt to 
leak to very low levels. 
IRRIGATION is an¬ 
other method which is 
becoming more a n d 
more popular for insur¬ 
ing plenty of wafer. 
Dikes are built about 
the fields; these are 
provided with outlets so 
arranged that the water 
can be distributed over 
a given area. Pipes 
which contain m a n y 
small openings arranged 
in rows either laid on 
the ground or elevated 
a little are becoming 
popular as a means of 
w a t e r distribution. 
These pipes are connect¬ 
ed with some source of 
water supply u n d e r 
pressure, the water be¬ 
ing forced out through 
the openings in the 
form of a spray. The pipes can be rotated to con¬ 
centrate the water on a given spot. We have all 
read about, and some of us have seen, the immense 
projects which Uncle Sam is promoting in the bar¬ 
ren areas of the Southwest. These projects which 
are called reclamation efforts, consist of large dams 
and reservoirs for storing up immense volumes of 
water which is accumulated during flood seasons, 
and which otherwise would be wasted, besides caus¬ 
ing considerable damage. This water is distributed 
by the use of canals and dikes on heretofore unpro¬ 
tected land. Thousands and thousands of acres have 
been transformed from barren deserts into veritable 
garden spots. By the use of irrigation methods, a 
supply of water can be assured on limited areas, 
but what is of greater benefit to the average farmer 
