216 STORRS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 
IRRIGATION IN CONNECTICUT.* 

BYS CHS. LPH RLS: 
The subject of irrigation as related to the arid regions has 
received special attention during the past twenty years. Mil- 
lions of dollars have been expended by individuals and corpora- 
tions in some half dozen of the Pacific Coast and Rocky 
Mountain States, in order that fruits and grains may be made 
to flourish on what would otherwise be barren soils, and within 
the past few years Congress has made liberal appropriations for 
investigating the best methods of agriculture by irrigation. 
Up to the present time, however, little has been done in the 
Hastern States in the use of irrigation either on farm, garden, 
or orchard crops. But its great value has been demonstrated 
in a few striking instances by some of our leading fruit grow- 
ers, and these instances, together with the general interest that 
is being manifested in the subject, show the need of inquiry. 
Within the past two years there has been a lively agitation of 
the subject through the agricultural press of the East, and 
farmers and small fruit growers are beginning to appreciate the 
value of artificial watering, and an increasing demand seems to 
exist for all the information obtainable on the subject. 
In the Eastern portions of this country the intensive system 
of agriculture is rapidly replacing the extensive. ‘This has 
become necessary because of the rapidly increasing population 
and a corresponding increase in the value of lands. In the 
past fifty years the agriculture of New England has been 
entirely changed. A system of mixed husbandry has been 
largely replaced by special branches of farming. ‘The many 
thriving manufacturing cities and towns that are being built 
up have caused a great demand for fruits and vegetables. 

* The substance of this article is about to appear as part of a longer article by the 
author in a Bulletin of the Office of Experiment Stations of the United States 
Department of Agriculture. 
