Irrigation for the farm

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.

-CHoY^

Shelf __.1.G:5.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

IEEIGATION

FOR

The Farm

/by
A. E. GIPSON,

AUTHOR OF HORTICULTURE BY IRRIGATION,
WHEN AND HOW TO IRRIGATE, ETC.

DENVER, COLORADO.
The Republican Publishing Co.

Copyrighted 1889 by

A. E. Gtpson,
G-reeley, Colorado.

u&

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PAGE.

Preface 3

General Remarks 7

Turning on the Waters 8

The Duty of Water 9

When and How to Irrigate 12

Description of Irrigation 14

Systems of Irrigation 18

The New Agriculture 19

The Asbestine System 20

Other Methods 22

Steam Vacuum Pumps 23

Fall Irrigation 23

Pall Plowing 24

Irrigating the Grain Fields 26

The Period of Irrigation 27

Results of Irrigation , 28

The Union Colony of Colorado 28

A Very Good Irrigating Flume 31

Irrigation Laws 32

Improvements Needed 35

Canal Construction 36

Xiist of Grains, Grasses, Etc., for General Planting 42

Esparsette (Cut of) 44

Alfalfa and Esparsette 45

Corn, Cane, and Fodder Crops 49

The Field Pea 51

Tobacco 51

The Potato 52

4 IRRIGATION FOR THE FARM.

Convenient Potato Cellar." 53

Buckwheat 54

Peanuts » 55

The Sugar Beet 55

Conclusion , 57

Best Soil, Number of Irrigations, Etc., for Various Crops 58

PEEFAOE.

The great importance of artificial irrigation to the
Agricultural development of our Country, and the mani
fest need of some simple guide to the proper application of
water to field crops, has prompted the preparation of this
work. It is written for practical men, and especially to
assist the beginner in farming by irrigation. The limits of
the work have precluded extended discussion, and mere
theories have been avoided as much as possible.

Greeley Nurseries and Gardenside A. E. G.

Fruit Farm,
Greeley, Colo., May, 1889.

GENERAL REMARKS.

The essentials to best results in all branches of Agri-
culture under irrigation are, deep stirring of the soil, and
thorough preparation of the ground in advance of planting.
In farming by irrigation it should be understood at the
outset, that results will always depend vastly more upon
the ability to command and apply the water at the right
time, than upon the quantity of water used, though the
supply be ever so abundant.

Again plowing and sowing should be done, and the
arrangement of the crop be such that the things to be
grown may receive water according to their needs. In
other words, they should not be so mixed that irrigation
has to be indiscriminate, regardless of requirements or
results. This will be apparent when it is known that some
things need vastly more water than others, and at a differ-
ent time, and further, that while one method of irrigation
would be necessary for one crop, it would not only be
improper, but might prove fatal, to another. The small
grains and grasses for example have to be flooded. The
hoed crops as a rule require later irrigation and a different
system. So too, the hoed crops differ in themselves with
respect to moisture requirements. Hence, it is important
to plant with these precautions in view.

TURNING ON THE WATERS.

THE DUTY OF WATER

The question is often asked : " How much water is
needed to each acre of farm land ? "

The question is too indefinite to admit of an intelli-
gent answer. In the first place, crops differ with respect
to moisture requirements. For example, oats and wheat
will require more than rye and barley ; and buckwheat,
amber cane and corn, still less than the other grains.
Again, " So many conditions are to be taken into consid-
eration in determining how much water may or may not be
needed for any given crop, and so little thought has, until
quite recently, been devoted to the matter of economizing
water, that little data that is at all reliable can be given.
Broad generalization, bordering closely on to ' guess work,'
has been the rule. That there are difficulties in the way of
arriving at accurate conclusions in these investigations,
must be seen at a glance. Local conditions, character of
the soils, slope of the land, cultivation, humidity, evapora-
tion, precipitation, drainage and capillary action, are so
widely at variance in different localities, that there is small
hope of getting any formula that will admit of extended
application. Then, too, the demands of plant life are vari-
able." *

The cubic foot per second is the unit of measurement
usually adopted in the distribution of water from or by the

* Note.— For a further discussion of this subject see " Horticulture by Irriga-
tion," pages 9 to 14 inclusive.

'O IRRIGATION FOR THE FARM.

large irrigating canals of Colorado. A quantity of water
equivalent to a continuous flow of one cubic foot per sec-
ond, during the irrigating season of one hundred days, will
usually irrigate from fifty to sixty acres of land. It will
often do much more than this.*

The duty of water is constantly increasing in nearly
every portion of the country where irrigation is practiced.
To-day in Colorado, some engineers and canal companies
are making the standard of duty nearly double what it
formerly was here. But the crops grown, the system used,
and the means of applying water, all cut a very important
figure. Where flooding takes thousands of gallons, the
furrow system only requires hundreds, and sub-irrigation
tens of gallons for a similar area.

Setting aside the question of the actual quantity of
water used or needed for irrigation, we find that even com-
paring the flow of water allotted to farmers for as long as
they like there are the widest differences. " Taking the
flow of one cubic foot to the second (available during the
season for cereals of Colorado and all the year round for
the orchards of California) without making allowance for
different rainfalls, this supplies in Colorado fifty-three acres;
Italy 70.2 acres ( Col. Baird Smith). Utah, San Barnadino,
CaL, and France 80 to 100 acres. San Gabriel, California,
120 acres; Fresno, CaL, 160 acres; India, 150 to 200 acres,
( Sira Colton) Los Angeles and Anaheim, Cal., rather over

* Note— A cubic foot of water is that quantity of water which a vessel one foot
in length, depth and width will contain when filled. It is equivalent to about
seven and one-half gallons. One cubic foot per second is the capacity of a ditch
that can exactly fill such a vessel each second of time.

THE DUTY OF WATER. II

200 acres; Riverside, California, nearly 300 acres; Ontario,
Redlands, Cal., Algeria and parts of India, 400 acres ;
Sierra Madra, Cal, 580 acres ; Spain as high as 1000 acres;
Pasadena, Cal., 1665 acres; and by sub-irrigation accord-
ing to one or two experiments 1500 to 9000 acres." *

It will be seen then that the points which enter into
anything like an accurate estimate of the real duty of
water are numerous, and that when they are ignored any
statement in the premises can have little more weight than
mere guess work.

The aim should be to apply moisture so that the high-
est results may be secured with the utmost economy in the
use of water, and this aim can never be accomplished until
there is not only ample provision for storing the waters
that now run to waste, but to also convey and utilize them
with the least possible loss from seepage, evaporation, or
any other cause.

This whole business needs the most thorough and
careful systematizing.

* Report on American Irrigation by Hon. Alfred Dakin, M. P., Victoria,
Australia.

WHEN AND HOW MUCH TO IRRIGATE.

One fact should be kept constantly in mind, which is,
that soils as well as crops differ with respect to moisture
requirements.

Cultivation, too, as already stated, will have an impor-
tant bearing in determining the question of water supply.
The soil that is deeply stirred and mellowed is the one that
most readily diffuses moisture, and this is one of the chief
aids to artificial irrigation. Such a condition of soil is the
one to be sought, for any crop. It is better both for the
deep and the shallow rooting plant. To get the best re-
sults from any system of irrigation one must put the plow
down well, and where the cultivator and hoe are needed,
keep them a-going during the growing season.

Among the small grains, oats and wheat usually
require two irrigations during the season. The first time,
along the last of May or first of June, or when the grain
is six inches or so above ground, and the second time as it
is beginning to head.

It is rarely necessary to irrigate land in order to bring
grain up, but this has been resorted to once or twice in
Colorado during seasons of little or no rainfall in the
spring months.

Farmers dislike to resort to this, but they should not
hesitate to where the heavens fail to supply the moisture
needed. The rule among experienced irrigators is to use

DESCRIPTION OF IRRIGATION. I 3

all the water they can possibly handle, and if they have not
enough of their own, they often exchange with neighbors.
When at the work, keep the water a-flowing and never stop
for an ordinary rain until the crop is gone over.

The rains on our Western plains are deceptive, and
should not be relied on to take the place of a thorough
irrigation.

Oats, as a rule, require more moisture than any of the
other small grains* and should be sown as early as possible
in the season. In fact, it maybe said of all the small
grains that the sooner they are in after the soil is in good
condition to work, the better. One irrigation is usually
sufficient for both barley and rye. Where fall planting is
done the seed should be covered deeper than in the spring.

While many practice sowing the grain broadcast, the
use of the drill has its advantages, both in economy in seed
and in the certainty of germination. And especially is
drilling preferable when the soil is in the right condition
for the reception of the seed.

Corn, amber cane, broom corn and all similar products
require substantially the same treatment with respect to
irrigation.

As a rule, one thorough watering will be all that is
needed and sometimes this may be dispensed with if the
cultivation is ample and the soil naturally moist. In all
such crops, deep plowing, or stirring of the ground in
advance of planting, is the one thing needful.

* Note.— Some have had extra large yields of oats by almost continuous irriga-
tion, from the time the crop begins to head, until the grain begins to turn. The
claim made is that this practice checks the first stand, and forces the grain to root,
stool and head very abundantly.

14 IRRIGATION FOR THE FARM.

We append a very good description of irrigation by
flooding, and the essentials to the best results with this
system, from the pen of a prominent Colorado farmer:*

DESCRIPTION OF IRRIGATION.

"The contemplated irrigation of a field of grain need-
ing water, necessarily presupposes a number of things
already accomplished ; that the farmer is a stock holder in
some large canal, taken from some river or smaller stream
not far away; or, that he has hired the water for the sea-
son ; at all events, that he has secured the right to its use;
also, that he has constructed the lateral ditch, as we term
it in Colorado, which is to convey his water from the main
canal down to the border of his farm.

" If he is a wise farmer, too, and has had much experi-
ence in irrigation, the mere fact that he is presuming to use
the water after he gets it into his lateral and down to his
own field, presupposes, also, that before his grain came up,
or at least when it was yet extremely small, he plowed sub-
laterals through it with a heavy double mould-board plow
much used for that purpose in Northern Colorado. These
sub-laterals, of course start from the larger lateral, at the
border of the field or farm to be watered. They should be
from twenty inches to two feet wide on the bottom, from
eighty to one hundred feet apart, according to the lay of
the land ; should take exactly the course unconfined water
would run if turned loose upon the surface of the soil with
no regard to to the points of the compass unless they coin-
cide with the lines of drainage, a thing that very seldom

*Mr. J. Max Clark, of Greeley, Colorado.

DESCRIPTION OF IRRIGATION. I 5

happens, and they should proceed on parallel lines as near
as may be, clear across the field to be irrigated.

"All the mouths of these sub-laterals, at the point
where they intersect the border lateral, are closed with
dams, or with small box flumes with gates in them, until
they are needed to draw the water into the field.

"Suppose, now, that all these preliminary preparations
have been made, you begin, in the first sub-lateral, on the
side of your grain, making a compact dam in it, with dirt
taken from its bottom, you place this dam in the sub-
lateral, perhaps thirty feet from its mouth in the main
lateral, from which you intend to draw water, then you
strip off the bank of the sub-lateral for a couple of feet
just above the dam you have made in it, and on the side
from which you wish the water to flow into your field of
grain.

" Having done this, you next remove the ga'e from the
flume in the mouth of the sub-lateral, or the dirt dam as
the case may be, the water now immediately rushes down
to the dam you have placed below, and you must do so too,
to pack the dirt on it as it begins to settle, and to put on
more if necessary to prevent it from giving away.

"The water backs up, and meeting with this check,
begins to fill the sub-lateral ; rises to the surface, flows over
the depression made in its bank; silently spreads itself
through the standing grain, and — this, my friend, is
irrigation.

"If your soil is comparatively smooth on its surface; if
you have plowed your laterals in the right direction through
your field; if you plowed them deep enough, and the banks

1 6 IRRIGATION FOR THE FARM.

are therefore high enough and strong enough to keep the
water now spreading through the grain from breaking into
the sub-laterals again anywhere below the dam; and — if
you have the water, the process will now be quite simple,
it will spread evenly across the space between the lateral
you are using, and the one next beyond, forming a shallow
silently running stream, eighty or a hundred feet wide as
the case may be, and will slowly creep its way downward
in the direction the sub-laterals run through the field.
Where your supply of water is abundant, you can facilitate
the flow by using two of these sub-laterals at once, and
turning both streams into the same strip of grain, that is —
flow the water from the left bank of one sub-lateral, and
from the right bank of the other.

" Where the conditions are all perfect, water turned into
a field of grain, in the manner described, will run thirty,
forty, fifty and even a hundred rods without a change of
dams. As, however, the flow can be greatly facilitated,
and a more economical use of the water effected, — always
a great consideration — by frequent changes, it is best not
to let it run more than half an hour from the same orifice.
A change is effected by going below the first dam to some
point already reached by the water, and making a second
dam and a second opening similar to the first. Then the
first dam is removed and the bank repaired, and thus the
operation goes on until the whole field is completed.

"A simple contrivance, called a ' canvas dam,' has of
late years come into use, which greatly lessens the labor of
making these small dams. It consists of a piece of heavy
canvas ducking, about a yard and a half by two yards in

DESCRIPTION OF IRRIGATION. 1 7

size, made up in the form of a window curtain, with a
pole through a tuck in one end. In use, the rod or pole in
the canvas is dropped across a sub-lateral, at some point
where a dam is required, the flap or bottom end of the
curtain extending up stream in the lateral. A little earth
is now placed upon the edge to hold it down when the
water strikes it, and the dam is complete.

"To remove the dam, the cross pole is seized in both
hands and pulled up stream, when it is rolled backward
through the water, the bottom at once becomes loose and
the current passes to the next canvas already placed below."

SYSTEMS OF IRBIGATIOK

Although the two systems of irrigation (by flooding
and soakage by the furrow) are the ones generally used on
the farm at the present time, it seems only a question of
not many years, when other systems will be adopted quite
largely. Instead of open canals and laterals, water will be
conveyed by pipes and conduits or through enclosed
channels, and made to do more than quadruple duty by
under surface application.

In the artesian belts, great flowing wells will supply
the average farm, and even large tracts with an abundance
of water, as they are now doing in portions of California, *
but these must be utilized in connection with a proper
system of reservoirs or storage. In fact, the irrigation of

* A fair flow is struck at an average depth of 400 feet and afterwards other flows
are reached at short intervals, and experience has thus far shown that any quantity
of water required can be obtained by going deep enough. Many wells will irrigate
a section of land, and there are a few that will suffice for several, or perhaps for
three or four thousand acres, if the water were collected in reservoirs and properly
applied. The wells on Miramonte are among the very largest.

In the northern part of the Artesian Belt, just south and southeast of Tulare
Lake, there are known to be thirty-four wells within a radius of ten miles; some
deep and others shallow, as more or less water is wanted, Among the deep ones, in
that district, with their average flow each for twenty-four hours, and the names of
the owners of the land upon which they are situate, are the following; Brusie,
2,000,000 gallons; Haley, 2,400,000; Spring, 2,000,000; Mays, 1,200,000; Robinson,
1,000,000; Raymond, 1,500,000; -Moore, 2,500,000; Moebus, 500,000; Haggin, 1,500,000;
another, 1,600,000; another. 2,200,000; and another, 900,000; Hogan, 2,200,000; Arnold,
1,500,000; Smith, 3,000,000; Robinson, 2,000,000; Hutchins, 2,000,000; Miramonte
Colony, 2,700,000.

SYSTEMS OF IRRIGATION. 1 9

the future, by whatever plan, will be synonymous with an
improved and extensive system of reservoirs.

THE NEW AGRICULTURE.

It is possible that the best system of irrigation for this
western country, at least, has not yet been discovered.
The "New Agriculture" provides for storing the waters in
parallel trenches four or five feet deep, and of the same
width, below frost line, and filling in these trenches with
round stones to the depth of eighteen inches or two feet,
tiling to be used if stones are not to be had, then shingling
over with flat stones, or tile, or timber. After which, to
prevent the earth from filling up the spaces between the
stones, any coarse material like straw, hay, weeds, corn-
stalks or fine brush are placed on. A heavy coating of
manure may follow this, and then the excavated soil is
placed on top. A series of these trenches are constructed
on an incline, one above the othei'j about a rod apart ; these
main reservoirs or trenches are connected with smaller
trenches, about eighteen inches from the surface, partly
filled in with small stones, and designed to connect and
convey the surplus water from the trench above to the one
below. These are called overflow trenches. Each of
these main trenches, then, becomes a reservoir capable of
holding three feet or more of water before it overflows into
the cross trenches. This is the method by which Mr. Cole
would store and conserve the rains and melting snows for
use when needed, and it affords an excellent illustration of
the principle of irrigation by capillary attraction, or by the
gradual and uniform raising and diffusion of moisture from

20 IRRIGATION FOR THE FARM.

below. Beyond a question it is correct in principle, and I
am prepared to believe all the reports of results from
experiments at the " Home on the Hillside." As to what
extent this system may be utilized in other parts of the
country, and under conditions widely different from those
where tests have proven so satisfactory, remains to be
seen. Mr. Cole not only reports amazing yields under the
system, but claims remarkable immunity from disease for
all products grown in that way. The expense of fitting
the land for this plan amounts to several hundred dollars
an acre, where it has been tested, which of itself, appears
almost a bar to an extended adoption of the system. But
Mr. Cole does not so regard it, and writes under date of
Dec. 28th, 1887: "As for cost of fitting lands; were it to
cost ten thousand millions to fit under my system the soils
of Colorado, as a return interest, at six per cent, would be
realized, as near as I calculate, on $qoo,ooo,ooo,uoo,ooo,-
000,000. Don't vote me a crank, now, but wait." The pro-
gress of the New Agriculture will be watched with
interest.

THE ASBESTINE SYSTEM.

This method of sub-irrigation was devised in Cali-
fornia by E. M. Hamilton, and is sometimes called the
" Hamilton Process." It consists of pipes made of a com-
bination of Portland cement, lime, sand and gravel, laid at
a depth of two feet below the surface of the ground, paral-
lel to the rows of trees or vines in an orchard or vineyard.
In these pipes, on the upper side, is inserted a wooden plug
opposite each tree or vine, the plugs having tapering holes

SYSTEMS OF IRRIGATION. 21

in the center one-fourth to three-eights of an .inch in
diameter, through which the water finds exit. Each plug
is surrounded by a larger stand pipe, setting loosely on top
of the distributing pipe, open at the bottom and reaching
to the surface of the ground, for the purpose of keeping
the dirt away from the outlet, and rendering it accessible at
all times for inspection. The pipes are connected with
mains leading from a reservoir. The water finds its way
through all the outlets, filling the stand pipes, and slowly
percolating to the roots of the plants. No water appears
on the surface.

The claim is made for this method that it effects a very
great saving of water over the ordinary means of surface
application; that it requires far less time and labor; that
it may be used for the distribution of liquid manure ; that it
does not cause the ground to bake with the heat of the
sun — no water appearing at the surface; that no grading is
necessary ; that the growth of weeds is checked ; and,
finally, that it induces deep, instead of shallow rooting, as
is the tendency with surface irrigation.

The further claim is made that, by keeping the water
from standing on the surface of the ground, injurious de-
posits of alkali are avoided. These points are strong, and
if they can be sustained, which is by no means improbable
in many localities, the system is destined to great popular-
ity and usefulness. In many parts of California it is giving
much satisfaction.

The Australian member of parliament, Mr. Dakin,
from whose report we have already quoted, in commenting
on this system, after a mention of the fact that irrigation

22 IRRIGATION FOR THE FARM.

beneath the surface, if not excessive, is considered the
most perfect method of supplying water to vegetable life;
because it can avoid the dangers of over-saturation, surface
caking, and of washing out the richer elements in the soil,
as well as accomplish an enormous saving in water, says :
" It certainly appears that sub-irrigation is the hope of the
most intelligent irrigators, because it promises a great
economy of water, and the most direct application of it to
the thirsty tree that it is possible to devise."

The difficulties that naturally suggest themselves in
in the way of complete success in this plan are the liability
to have the pipes stopped up, either by tree roots or sedi-
ment. The advocates of the system claim that both these
dangers have been anticipated by ample provision for
either guarding against or clearing obstructions of this
kind. Nevertheless, it is probable that in some localities
obstructions similar to those named might be serious draw-
backs to the successful working of any system of convey-
ing water by pipes. But that all these hindrances will
ultimately be overcome, there seems little doubt.*

OTHER METHODS.

Mention has been made of Artesian Wells, which are
proving so effective as a means of water supply in some
regions. This method, however, must be limited to what'
are termed the Artesian Belts.

Wind mills and hydraulic appliances for raising water,
are also being used with greater or less success, all over

* Note— For the further discussion of "The Best System of Irrigation" see
" Horticulture by Irrigation," pages 15 to 2f) inclusive.

SYSTEMS OF IRRIGATION. 23

the land. But the steam pump promises to become a
most important factor in utilizing water for irrigation pur-
poses, where a supply can be found at no considerable
depth below the surface, The best of these that I have
seen or heard of are the Steam Vacuum Pumps which are
now being manufactured at Greeley. This pump has a
capacity of from fifty to 2,000 gallons per minute, depend-
ing on size. In point of economy it has great merit, as
atmospheric pressure does the work. Runs with waste (or
exhaust) steam from any engine. If run with live steam
the claim is made that it will raise 50,000 gallons of water
thirty feet high with one bushel of coal.

This pump seems to possess the merit of cheapness,
simplicity, durability and economy in use, and the capacity
to do the maximum amount of work with the minimum
expense. It promises to be of especial value to fruit
growers, commercial gardners, and those having small
farms favorably located for utilizing the under surface
water supply.

FALL IRRIGATION.

Without the soil is cold, or unusually moist from any
cause, water may be advantageously applied before the
winter sets in. Indeed, this practice is being adopted quite
generally by successful cultivators where water can be had,
and is especially to be commended in the preparation for
crops which require the maximum amount of moisture, or
where the water supply is likely to be short. It places the
land in the condition of a storage reservoir for the suc-
ceeding season, and experience has shown that the soil

24 IRRIGATION FOR TKE FARM.

that his received a thorough irrigation in the fall, or early
winter, has a big advantage over ground that has not. .
Hence it is worth while to emphasize the supreme value of
applying water at this time. Keep the ditches ready and
the gates in repair, so they may be used in the fall as well
as spring.

FALL PLOWING.

This is another matter that needs more attention on
the part of the farmers by irrigation, than it has received.
At the outset it is safe to say that some lands should not
be plowed in the fall. These are the light, sandy or 'grav-
elly soils, except perhaps at breaking, when the sod may
be lightly turned under. When the tendency is to dry out
too rapidly or blow away, fall plowing should not be
resorted to. But the heavy, tenacious soil can be better
subdued by deep stirring at this season than at any other
time, because it gives the frost and snows full action on the
upturned soil. Besides, deep and thorough disintegration
will accomplish the first step in the retention of the soil of
the moisture needed.

So the claim is made that one irrigation on land that
has been deeply plowed is as good as three irrigations on
shallow plowed land.*

Fall plowing, like fall irrigation, will be practiced
more and more in the future where conditions are favor-
able, and experience is showing most conclusively that
excellent results may be secured by a timely use of water
and the plow at this season of the year. Besides this, in

* " Horticulture by Irrigation," pages 11 and 12.

SYSTEMS OF IRRIGATION. 25

many sections of country fall seeding is done to good pur-
pose and in all such cases it is safe to put down the imple-
ment used to a generous depth.

IRRIGATING THE GRAIN FIELD.

THE PEEIOD OF IEEIGATIOK

This usually begins with most sowed crops during the
last days of May, Corn and similar products will not
require irrigation until later.

The " flooding" system is used for grains and grasses,
and the furrow or soakage system for hoed crops.

As it is not the purpose of this work to treat in detail
the subject of farm irrigation, no attempt will be made to
mention all the products that might be successful under a
system of artificial watering. Only the leading crop
staples, or those that promise to become such in the great
irrigation belts of the west, will be discussed in a general
way. A table given on page 58 will serve as something of
a guide as to soils and the number of irrigations usually
required for the farm crops most largely cultivated.

The statement is here made that in a climate like that
of Colorado, on the average soil, nearly all grasses and
forage plants should receive an irrigation immediately after
each cutting. Meadows and grass lands, too, may be
usually watered with profit as the growth is starting in the
spring. While this is true, it is worth while to repeat that
the determining of the frequency of irrigation is a matter
that must rest largely on the judgment of the irrigator in
any given case. As to soils, the ideal one is not always to
be found, but if one has the deep, sandy loam, with clayey
subsoil, not too heavy, he has a good starter in the direc-
tion of successful farming by irrigation. It is a very safe
" general purpose " soil.

RESULTS OF IRRIGATION".

THE UNION COLONY OF COLORADO.

As this colony was the first and most notably success-
ful attempt in this country at agricultural colonization
under a system of artificial irrigation, a brief sketch of the
enterprise may be of interest in this connection.

Union Colony is located in Weld County, Colorado,
near the junction of the South Platte and Cache la Poudre
rivers, in latitude 400 25' North, longitude 270 48' West
from Washington. It was established here in 1870 by a
locating committee consisting of N. C. Meeker, IT. T.
West and Gen'l R. A. Cameron, and soon founded what is
now the beautiful and prosperous city of Greeley. The
elevation of the city is something less than 4,800 feet
above sea level.

The total amount of land originally occupied and con-
trolled by the Colony was about 30,000 acres. This was
acquired either by direct purchase of railroad, government
or individuals, or by special contract for the control of such
land for a stated period.

The town proper comprised some 800 acres, which
was subdivided into 1,500 lots and blocks. The land out-
side the town limits was divided into five, ten, twenty and
forty-acre tracts, according to the distance from the busi-
ness center. These tracts were deeded to members of the
Colony, with a perpetual water right from the irrigating
canals (to be built) in consideration of the payment of

RESULTS OF IRRIGATION. 2Q.

$150 for each, this amount being the membership fee.
This membership also entitled the holder to the right to
purchase both a residence and business lot in town at a
reasonable figure, on condition that improvement was
made on the same within a limited time.

Those members of the Colony who bought railroad
land, or filed on government tracts were permitted to buy
perpetual water rights on the basis of $150 for each eighty
acres.

The proceeds from the sale of lands, lots and water
were used for various public improvements, like construct-
ing canals, erecting a fine school building (at a cost of
$30,000), laying out and grading streets, planting trees, etc.

The first canal was built in 1870 at an original cost of
$10,000. It was ten miles long, with a grade or fall of
three, feet to the mile. Its capacity at first was fifty cubic
feet per second, but later enlargements have more than
doubled that capacity and increased the expense to about
$25,000.

The second canal was built in 1871, and has cost up
to the present time about $80,000. It covers some 25,000
acres of land, is thirty miles in length, has a grade of
three and two-tenths feet per mile, with a capacity of 585
cubic feet of water per second. It is now twenty-five feet
wide on the bottom and for the first ten miles carries four
and six-tenths feet in depth. The annual cost to the
owners of land under this canal for the maintenance,
superintendence and necessary improvements has been
from $10 to $24 for each eighty acres. The smaller sub-
divisions are proportionately assessed for the same purpose.

30 IRRIGATION FOR THE FARM.

Water rights have advanced rapidly in value and are to day
worth from $r,ooo to #1,400 per eighty acres. The larger
of these two canals is now owned and controlled entirely
by a corporation composed of farmers operating under it,
the Colony having some years since transferred its interest
and control to this company.

The maximum quantity of water in these streams fed
by the mountain snows is reached in June and July, and
these are the months of greatest activity among irrigators.

One cubic foot of water per second is generally used
on from fifty to sixty acres of land around Greeley ; but
farmers often facilitate irrigation by exchanging with each
other, so that they frequently use two or three water
rights on an eighty-acre piece.

The amount of water flowing in the river each day is
known by means of a gauging station located above all the
canals, and this enables the water commissioner to as>ign
to each canal the quantity of water to which it is entitled.
This in turn is subdivided and apportioned to users by the
superintendents of the various canals.

The principal farm crops are wheat, oats, corn, pota-
toes and alfalfa. The soil is lasting and very productive
under a judicious rotation of crops. Vegetables and small
fruits are also grown abundantly in and around the city.
Special varieties of standard fruits also do well.

Mixed farming is now receiving considerable attention
and irrigation is being more thoroughly systemized each
year.

The success of Union Colony may be attributed
mainly (1) to the moral and intellectual character of its

RESULTS OF IRRIGATION.

31

members, (2) to the integrity of the financial management,
(3) to the fundamental law incorporated in every deed pro-
hibiting the traffic in intoxicating liquors, (4) to a reason-
able co-operative basis and (5), but not least, to a location
combining many natural and desirable advantages.

A VERY GOOD IRRIGATING PLUME.

IKK1GATI0TC LAWS.

Notwithstanding considerable legislation has been had
and constitutional provisions enacted, in Colorado, upon
matters pertaining to water distribution from the streams
of the State, important questions are constantly arising
that must be met, not only by the courts, but by law
makers as well. Hence, existing laws can scarcely be
said to be ample to cover and protect all of the interests
involved.

Artificial irrigation is becoming a highly complex
and important system, and may be fairly said to lay at the
very foundation of the prosperity of many States and Ter-
ritories of the West. More than this, it is fast assuming
National importance.

The system of reservoirs contemplated by the Gov-
ernment will become a gigantic National enterprise that
will require much legislation and adjudication to perfect.
Hence, existing laws may be said to be yet in a crude state.
The following is given as an outline of the most important
provisions upon the subject in Colorado :

Persons occupying lands in the neighborhood of
streams are entitled to use the water thereof for irrigating
purposes, and hence have the right-of-way to a point of
the stream high enough to raise the water to a proper
level.

IRRIGATION LAWS. 33

In case of insufficiency of supply, three commission-
ers, appointed by the county judge, shall apportion the
water to different sections on alternate days of the week.

Ditches have the right-of-way, but two ditches may
not be cut through the same land when one can be made
to carry the necessary amount of water.

The shortest route must be taken, and the owner must
permit a ditch to be enlarged when necessary for the
accommodation of other persons, upon payment of a
reasonable compensation

If the channel of a stream changes, the head of the
ditch may be changed accordingly. Any person con-
structing (or enlarging) a ditch must have recorded in the
office of the county clerk a full description of the ditch, its
capacity, and date of construction or enlargement, and no
priority of right attaches until such a statement is filed.

Persons who have used the natural overflow from any
stream have in case the supply is diminished from any
cause the same priority of right to dig a ditch as if the
ditch had been constructed when they first occupied the
land irrigated.

Reservoirs for storing any unappropriated water may
be maintained, provided no embankments more than ten
feet high shall be erected without the approval of the
county commissioners. The owners of such reservoirs are
liable for all damages from breakage or leakage. Owners
of ditches have the right to erect any machinery neces-
sary to raise the water to the proper level. They shall
maintain such embankments that the property of others
shall not be damaged, and shall return the surplus water,
through a tail-ditch with as little waste as possible.

34 IRRIGATION FOR THE FARM.

Vested rights of miD-owners shall not be impaired.

Whenever a ditch crosses a public road the owner
shall erect a substantial bridge, and maintain it thereafter.
If not built within three days, the county supervisors must
do it, and collect the cost from the party who should have
built it.

Head gates must be kept strong enough to control
the water, and the owner failing to keep them so is liable
for all damages.

Water rates are fixed and all matters pertaining
thereto determined by the county commissioners. The
lands of the State are divided by law into different districts,
and the governor appoints water commissioners for the
several districts, who have general control and regulation
of the water.

Any person willfully damaging a ditch or reservoir
with intent to injure any person, or wilfully opening or
closing a water gate without authority, is guilty of a mis-
demeanor, and subject to fine and imprisonment.

Justices of the peace have jurisdiction of such offenses^
with the right of appeal.

Ditches where water is not sold for the purpose of
deriving a revenue are exempt from taxation.

There are very elaborate rules with regard to location,
priority of rights, and proceedings in court in cases of
contests.

IMPKOVEMEJSITS DEEDED.

The time is not far distant, let us hope, when much of
the annoyance which is experienced in the construction
and maintenance of open ditches, may be overcome by the
use of tiling or pipes of some kind for conveying water.
When this plan can be cheaply and effectively adopted it
will not only prove a great saving of water, both from
evaporation, seepage, natural soakage and the like, but will
avoid the unpleasant consequence of breakage, overflowing
and other occurrences which now demand almost constant
vigilance on the part of those having the control of ditches.

In this connection observations are given from leading
Colorado engineers on canal construction and water meas-
urements. But the remark is here made, that nothing
entirely satisfactory has yet been devised for measuring
water in irrigating canals that is sufficiently simple ahd
accurate for general application.

CANAL CONSTRUCTION.

This is a most important feature of any system of irri-
gation, for upon the proper survey and completion of the
canal, often depends the honest and equitable distribution
of water among those interested. This applies, not only
to the main canals, but likewise, to the entire system of
ditches, sub-laterals, channels, etc., by or through which
the water is to be conveyed. Losses and troubles innum-
erable are annually occurring, by reason of the faulty con-
struction, or lack of engineering skill in surveying the
route to be occupied.*

To determine the proper form of channel, the right
slopes, grades, strength of banks, the best route to follow
( if a choice is given) and other things not named, requires
skill and judgment on the part of the engineer. A lack
in any of these essentials may cause widespread ruin and
disaster.

WATER MEASUREMENTS.

The quantity of water which a ditch carries, expressed
in cubic feet per second, may be obtained by multiplying
the area of the wet cross-section of the ditch, expressed in
square feet, by the mean velocity of the water at the cross-
section selected, expressed in feet per second, f

* Note.— For much valuable inf ormation on canal construction and water
measurements, the author acknowledges indebtedness to Messrs. J. S. Green, C. E.
and Walter H. Graves, C. E., of Colorado,

t Note.— A cross-section of a ditch means a vertical section at right angles to
the course of the ditch.

CANAL CONSTRUCTION. 37

In connection with the actual measurement of the
velocity of the water, let it be borne in mind that the
water does not move with equal velocities at all points of
the cross-section, but that, as a rule, the velocity increases
from the sides towards the center of the channel, and from
the bottom upwards to a point a little below the surface of
the water.

By the mean velocity is meant that certain velocity
which, if common to all the threads of water, would
produce the same discharge as that occasioned by the
varying velocities which actually exist; or, in other words,
it- is the average of the velocities of all of the threads of
water passing through the cross-section.

There are many methods, more or less convenient, of
measuring the mean velocity of water flowing in a ditch.
The best, and the one adopted by this department in rating
measuring flumes, is that in which a current meter is used.
The current meter is a machine which registers the number
of revolutions which a vaned wheel when, submerged in
running water, makes in any observed number of seconds.
The number of revolutions divided by the observed num-
ber of seconds, gives the number of revolutions of the
vaned wheel per second. As the meter, before being used,
has been rated, so that the velocity corresponding to any
number of revolutions per second of the vaned wheel is
known, it follows that by its use the velocity of the water
at any point of the cross-section can become known. The
average of the velocities obtained by a number of observa-
tions at the proper points, will give the mean velocity of
the water through the entire cross-section.

38 IRRIGATION FOR THE FARM.

To obtain the maximum surface velocity, select a por-
tion of the ditch, near its head, which is free from weeds,
and from eddies, still water, and other irregularities, and
which is as nearly straight and of uniform cross-section as
can be obtained for, say a distance of 125 feet, then lay off
a line, 100 feet in length, parallel and adjacent to this part
of the ditch, mark the ends of the 100-foot line by stakes;
use for a float a chip, or small block of wood, of such form
as not to catch the wind or project far below the surface ;
cause the float to remain in the swiftest current throughout
its course ; place it in the current some distance above the
upper end of the 100-foot line, so that it will have acquired
the velocity of the water by the time it reaches that point ;
start the stop-watch, or note the time, when the float
passes the upper end of the 100 foot line, and stop the
stop-watch, or again note the time, when the float passes
the lower end of the 100 foot line; 100 feet, divided by the
number of seconds it took the float to run that dis-
tance, will give the velocity of the float in feet per second.
(Illustration : If it took twenty -five seconds for the float
to run 100 feet, the float would run \^ =4. feet per sec-
ond ; if forty seconds were required for it to run 100 feet,
its velocity would be 1-£$ —2.5 feet per second.) Repeat
this operation several times, in order to be positive that the
maximum surface velocity has been obtained.

The form of channel is determined largely by the object
or purpose of its construction ; that is, if to be used to de-
liver water at a certain point some distance from its head,
a trapazoidal form is generally adopted, set rather deeply
into the ground, and with a bottom width of from two and

CANAL CONSTRUCTION. 39

a half to three times its depth, this character of channel
giving the greatest carrying capacity and least liable to
destruction and casualty. This form of channel is also
used on steep hillsides, with but one bank, the lower one.

If, however, it is the purpose to distribute water to the
adjacent land along the course of the canal, the channel
should be shallower, to have the water at all times accessi-
ble, the depth usually one-eighth or one-tenth the width.
When the channel crosses an open, comparatively level
plain it is made partly in excavation and partly in embank-
ment, and has the appearance of parallel railroad grades
with a burrow pit intervening.

In this form a comparatively small amount of excava-
tion gives a large cross-section, and can be cheaply con-
structed, although it is a channel that is peculiarly liable
to destruction.

In loose, sandy or gravelly soils, the side slopes are
usually two and one-half or three to one ; in firm, stiff soils,
one and one half or two to one, and in rock, from a
fourth to one to one to one. In the large canals it is cus-
tomary to slope the bottom towards the center, which is
from one to three feet deeper than the sides

The matter of slope or grade is always a perplexing
question. If the water is to be carried some distance be-
fore'it is to be used, a general rule might apply, viz : To
give the channel all the fall the soil will stand, as the
greater the slope the more rapid the current, and the
greater the velocity the greater the delivering capacity.
This would, of course, lessen the size of the canal re-
quired, therefore the cost of construction. But on the

40 IRRIGATION FOR THE FARM.

other hand it would lengthen the canal, cause it to run
lower and cover less land. To correctly determine the
dividing line between an excessive cost of construction in
order to embrace more territory on one hand, and too
great a sacrifice of territory to the cost of construction on
the other, is a matter that will call for the exercise of the
engineer's best judgment.

However, these matters, as well as most others in canal
construction, are determined by financial considerations
rather than by other conditions; that is, the financial factor
is the controlling one of the problem, and stringent finances
may often be more responsible than poor engineering for
bad results.

Grades and slopes generally range between I in 6.600
or .000151, and I in 1,760, or .000568.

The Citizens canal, in southern Colorado, has a fall of
1 in 10,560, or .0000947 along a portion of its course — six
inches per mile. This is probably the least slope given to
any of the large canals, and the greatest may probably be
found in the rock cuts of the Del Norte canal, which has a
fall of about thirty feet per mile. Of course, nothing but
rock could stand such a current as this.

The larger the volume of water the less the slope
necessary to give it a required velocity, so that when the
nature of the soil is known, and the velocity of current
that it can stand, then, with the volume of water fixed, the
grade-slope can easily be determined.

With too sluggish a current the canal soon chokes
up with water-grass and weeds.

CANAL CONSTRUCTION. 4 1

The velocity of current generally sought is from three
feet to five feet per second.

In the alignment, while it is necessary to follow the
grade line contour in a general way, to adhere to it exactly
would give a degree of sinuosity and in many instances such
sharp, angular bends that the flow would be greatly im-
peded. It is often better to shorten the course and make
it more direct, even at an additional cost in cuttings and
embankments. Of course, the direct line is the shortest,
the delivering capacity of a straight channel is greater, and
the wear and tear is less.

LIST OF GRAINS, GRASSES, ETC.
FOR GENERAL PLANTING.

WHEAT.

Defiance, White Russian, Blounts No. 15, Saskat-
chan, Fife, Spring Wheat.

OATS.

White and Black Russian, White Welcome.

BARLEY.

Hulless — Common six-rowed.

RYE.

Mammoth Spring Rye, fall or winter.
corn.

Improved Pride of the North — Early Dakota — Im-
proved Learning.

POTATOES.

Beauty of Hebron — Rose Seedling — Early Rose —
Mammoth Pearl — Snow Flake.

BUCKWHEAT.

Silver Hall — Japanese (for trial).

SORGHUM.

Early Amber Cane.

LIST FOR GENERAL PLANTING. 43

BROOM CORN.

Evergreen — Extra Early Japanese.

CLOVER.

Alfalfa, Esparsette, Red Clover, Alsike, White Clover.

GRASSES.

Red Top, Timothy, Orchard Grass, English Blue
Grass ; Hungarian, German and Common Millet.

NON-SACCHARINE SORGHUMS.

Kaffir Corn, Yellow and White, Millo Maize, Large
African Millet.

FIELD PEA.

Common Canadian.

HOPS.

EngHsh Cluster.

TOBACCO.

White Burley, Connecticut Seed Leaf, Hester, Mis-
souri Broadleaf.

PEANUTS.

White Teanestand — Savatilla — Early Spanish.

ESPARSETTE.

ALFALFA AND ESPAESETTE.

Alfalfa has become a household word among the
farmers of the west. It is the great staple forage plant in
-at least a dozen states and territories of the country.
Every year adds to its popularity. It grows and flourishes
in almost every soil that is suited to any crop, and under
fair conditions will take care of itself and bring better re-
turns than any similar plant yet tested. It should as a
rule be sown early in the spring on well prepared ground.
The deeper and richer the soil the stronger the growth.

The seed of the best quality, free from noxious weeds
and fresh, should be put in reasonably deep, at least so that
it will be protected from exposure to drying winds. The
drill may be used or seed sown broadcast. In the one
case, about fifteen pounds to the acre will be needed, and
the other case from twenty-five to thirty pounds.

If a crop of seed is to be raised, the stand should be
thin.

Avoid, if possible, watering the young growth until it
is a few inches high, for the reason that the ground is
liable to bake and the tender leaves to sun scald. Some-
times oats and barley are sown with alfalfa, and afford a
very good protection to it in making a start. From three
to four cuttings are usually made in Colorado after the land
is well seeded. In California, on account of the almost
continuous period of growth, double this number of cut-
tings may be secured.

46 IRRIGATION FOR THE FARM.

The land is usually watered early in the spring and
also after each cutting. Alfalfa is a very deep rooting
plant and where the soil is naturally moist, may be grown
without irrigation if it becomes well established.

It is also one of the best fertilizers known to the
farmers of the West. The great roots, when turned under,
enrich the soil immensely, and this fact seems destined to
secure for it nearly as much popularity as the enormous
yields of forage it produces. It can both restore exhausted
soil and furnish the elements of fertility to other soils de-
ficient in them from any cause.

In regard to irrigation, with this as with any crop, one
should be governed by the conditions of the soil. It is
well to observe the precaution of not letting water stand
long on the Alfalfa field, nor to freeze on ground seeded to
it. Neither will it thrive long if water stands around the
roots. Start the mower "just when the plant is coming
into blossom " is the now pretty "generally accepted rule,
without, of course, seed is desired. In this case it must be
allowed to mature, and should always be saved from the
first cutting. " Make hay while the sun shines" is an old
maxim which applies with especial force to the Alfalfa
harvest. " Cut one day, let it lay in the swath and cure all
the next day, rake up early on the morning of the third
and bunch and place in cock; let it cure in cock from one
to three days." These are about the right fair weather
directions. If weather is not favorable a longer time will
be needed to cure the crop. Place the hay under cover if
barn or shed room is at hand. If not, stack securely so

ALFALFA AND ESPARSETTE. 47

that there will be as little liability as possible to injury
from rain.*

Much that has been said of Alfalfa will apply to what
promises, in some parts of the land, to be its great rival —
Esparsette, or Sainfoin (pnobrychis saliva). This plant is of
quite recent introduction in this country, but is of the same
family as Alfalfa, and has a similar history. Esparsette, or
Sainfoin, is thought to be especially adopted to light,
chalky, sandy and gravelly soils, and hill slopes, and in
arid sections where irrigation is not obtainable. But the
hillside or mountain slope, with the limestone formation,
seems to be best adapted to its culture and development.

The claim is made that it will stand dry weather far
better than Alfalfa, and thrive at an altitude 8,000 feet
above sea level. It is said to be the main reliance for
grass in the high regions of Switzerland. It should be
sown early in the spring, either broadcast or drilled, and
from forty to sixty pounds of seed to the acre are recom-
mended. Cover to depth of from one-half inch to one
and one- half inches, depending on conditions of soil and
chances for moisture. Like Alfalfa, it may be sown with
oats, barley or other grains, and should be irrigated after
each cutting. One great advantage claimed for it over other
clovers is that it can be safely pastured without causing
bloat. The grass and hay are of the first quality for stock
and the seed itself is said to be more nutritious than oats.

Two cuttings each season are usually secured. Great

* Note— Those who have the book, " Horticulture by Irrigation." will find in
the special chapter on Alfalfa, pages 91 to 100 inclusive, valuable hints on pastur-
ing, feeding, the relief of bloat in cattle, etc.

48 IRRIGATION FOR THE FARM.

merit is likewise claimed for it as a honey plant. Enough
is already known of esparsette in this country to justify a
pretty thorough test of it in different sections of the land,
but the claim can scarcely be made that is likely to super-
cede alfalfa as a hay or forage plant. The two should go
together to fill the vast needs of the west in the direction
of hay products and pasturage.*

* For the cut of Esparsette shown herewith, we acknowledge indebtedness to
Messrs. Bartildes & Co., of the Colorado Seed House, Denver.

CO-EN", CAISTE AND FODDER CROPS.

Field and garden corn, amber cane or sorghum, and
broom corn all require substantially the same soil, culture
and treatment with respect to irrigation. In the care of no
other crops are the benefits of deep stirring of the soil
before planting more apparent. While irrigation at the
proper time is often essential to the right development of
these products, they are very impatient of excessive water-
ing, and hence there is no more certain way of retarding
growth and maturity than by careless application of water.
Better not irrigate at all, than to use unsparingly.

One irrigation is all that is ordinarily needed, but two
are sometimes given corn. Quite often, however, under
-favorable conditions, no water is required to be turned on.
In this latter instance, ample preparation of the ground in
advance of planting, is usually supplemented by timely
cultivation during the growing season.

Broom corn should be planted rather later than field
corn, but the soil should be in the best possible condition.
The Evergreen is a standard variety. *

One point to be observed in sorghum culture is that
highly manured or fertilized soil is apt to impair the qual-
ity of the sugar or syrup if grown for this purpose.

* The extra early Japanese variety is giving great satisfaction where tested in
Colorado. It is probably the earliest known variety, and matures in about eighty
days from planting. It also stands dry weather and generally matures perfectly
without irrigation. Is especially valuable as a fodder crop.

50 ( IRRIGATION FOR THE FARM.

The plant too when young, is quite tender and gener-
ally requires hoeing or hand work, before the cultivator
can be used, and if there is a tendency to form a crust over
the surface before the growth is fairly up, it is important to
go over the rows with a light rake or some similar imple-
ment, and remove the obstruction. Plant the seed from
one and one-half to two inches deep. As to the precise
time when to apply water, if at all, to these corn or cane
crops, one should be governed entirely by circumstances.
Whenever a tendency is seen to droop and wither on the
part of the growth, and the cultivator does not correct this
it is pretty safe to water. The usual time is. when the silk
is beginning to form or the seed in the cane to develop.
In some instances from three to four irrigations are given,
but this is quite uncommon.

Several non-sacharine sorghums are well worthy of
extended cultivation. Among the most valuable of these
are Kaffir corn, Millo maize and Large African millet.
These are chiefly valuable for fodder purposes, and either
green or when properly cured, are greatly relished by
stock. The soil, cultivation and irrigation required are
similar to corn. One of the chief essentials to success
with these is to have the soil, in advance of planting, in
prime condition. When grown as a forage plant, irrigation
is seldom required, but planting should usually be done
early in the season. For fodder purposes rye and oats are
sown both in fall and spring, and where soil is well pre-
pared in advance of sowing they do not need irrigation.

TOBACCO. 5 1

THE FIELD PEA.

This is often a most valuable plant both for grain and
forage. For best results the soil should be rich and mel-
low and rather moist, although this crop will do very well,
on any average soil. Plant early in the spring with drill
and at the rate of a bushel or perhaps a little more, if for
grain, and if for forage from one and one-half to two
bushels per acre. Harvest for forage when the plant is in
full bloom, and for grain as soon as it begins to ripen and
before the vine is too dry.

Two crops may often be grown for forage under irri-
gation. The field pea when ground is excellent feed either
for cows or for swine, and is more valuable than corn, and
the yield per acre is fully as great. Two irrigations are
generally required for grain and one for fodder.

TOBACCO.

The finest leaf is raised on light, rich, warm soils, but
the average upland soil of Colorado is thought to be well
adapted to its growth.

Grow plants in seed bed and plant in open ground the
last of May, in rows three feet by two feet apart.

If coarse growing kinds are grown, more room than
this will be needed. Let the water follow the planting.
Begin cultivation at once after plants are set out. Stir the
soil close up to them frequently until the plants are two to
two and a half feet high and ready for topping. With
thorough cultivation one irrigation is usually sufficient for
tobacco.

52 IRRIGATION FOR THE FARM.

Strong plants set in May in this latitude will usually
be ready to cut early in September. But when mature the
leaf will stand the frosts of September without injury.

The various operations of priming, (which consists of
removing all the lower leaves near the ground,) topping,
(which is the removal of the flower stalks when large
enough to be taken out,) of suckering, (the purpose of
which is to confine the plant to the growth and quick
maturity of a certain number of leaves,) all require atten-
tion during the growing season. Likewise injurious in-
sects must be watched, and the right development and
consequent value of the crop, will depend on the care and
promptness with which these various processes are at-
tended to. This is likewise true of the matter of curing,
stripping, bulking and packing. But the details of these
are beyond the province of this work.

The cost of producing one acre of tobacco last season
at the Colorado State Agricultural College was found to be
$78.50, and the quality produced was pronounced by
experts to be equal to the best. Of the eighteen varieties
tested there all fully matured.

THE POTATO.

Early and deep plowing are especially recommended
for the best results with the potato, and a good, sandy loam
with clayey sub-soil is found well adapted to the right de-
velopment of the great tuber. Always select sound,
smooth, well ripened seed for planting, and if large, cut
twice in two, and the smaller ones once in two. Avoid

THE POTATO.

53

cutting seed too small in a very dry climate, as it is liable to
wither and become dried up before it has time to sprout.
For the same reason never cut seed many days before
planting as it is apt to become dry and worthless.

Mark the ground off in straight rows from three and
one half to four feet apart. Drop the seed from fifteen to
twenty inches apart in the rows. When the acreage to be
put in is large use a two horse planter.

CONVENIENT POTATO CELLAR.

a, boards; b, straw; c, dirt; d, posts running lengthwise of cellar; h, door; g, shoot

and ventilation; i, bottom of pit.

In regard to irrigation, all potato growers agree that
the longer the vines can be kept growing without water-
ing, the better for the crop, but when they begin to wither
and turn yellow around the roots, turn on the water.
Furrow the rows out with shovel plow with wings attached
and make the channels so that the vines will not be flooded.

54 IRRIGATION FOR THE FARM.

This is an important precaution, as permitting water to
flow over on the vines is apt to ruin the crop. Two irri-
gations are generally sufficient and sometimes one, if ap-
plied at the right time. As soon as the soil becomes dried,
so that it will not be sticky in working, and before it has
time to bake, cultivate up loose and deeply.

By all means keep down the weeds.

The yield can be largely increased by trenching in
well-rotted stable manure or by the use of artificial ferti-
lizers, like bone meal, mixed with the soil in the bottom
of the trench.*

BUCKWHEAT,

This crop succeeds well in portions of Colorado and
the West. In fact it wiil often do well on soils where
other cultivated crops fail. The demand will always be
sufficient to justify quite extensive plantings. But enough
should be sown to warrant its being milled, wherever
grown. About the middle of June is the right time for
putting in in Colorado. The silver hulled is the best for a
general crop. It is a better yielder, matures earlier and is
of finer quality than the common sorts.

The Japanese variety is worthy of extended trial, and
wherever it succeeds is profitable. It is stated to mature
earlier and produce more heavily than even the silver
hulled. Buckwheat requires but little irrigation, and often
none.

* For other hints in regard to potato culture, marketing, etc., see special chap-
ter in " Horticulture by Irrigation."

THE SUGAR BEET. 55

PEANUTS.

Those who desire to grow peanuts as a farm crop will
find them easy of culture, certain bearers and heavy yield-
ers under fair conditions.

Warm sandy soil, moderately rich, is the best, and
the seed may be put in in drills about three and one-half
feet apart, or planted in hills so that the plants can be
readily cultivated. Plant the latter part of April or early
in May, either in pod or shelled, from two to four nuts in a
hill, and about the same depth as corn.*

The peanut stands drouth exceedinly well and scarce-
ly ever requires more than one irrigation, which may be
given as the tubers are forming. But it may often be
grown without any irrigation whatever. An ordinary yield
is not far from 50 to 1 00 bushels to the acre and the de-
mand is large and constantly increasing.

The Savatilla, a new variety, is claimed to be of great
merit on account of extreme earliness in ripening, enor-
mous productiveness and fine quality.

THE SUGAR BEET.

Within a few years a considerable interest has shown
itself in the direction of sugar beet culture. Recent ex-
periments have proven that several Western States are
well adapted to the production of a superior quality of this
beet, and it seems destined to become an important crop
as soon as the problem of the necessary capital and manu-
facturing facilities can be solved. In other words, the

* Note.— It is better to have the seed shelled, but care should be taken not to
break the skin of the meat, as this is often fatal to its germination.

56

IRRIGATION FOR THE FARM.

present enormous expense required for a suitable reduction
or diffusion plant, is almost a bar to the successful manu-
facturing of sugar from the beet except under the most
favorable conditions.

Experiments with the sugar beet in Colorado in 1888
were highly satisfactory as to yield and quality, and in
some instances an analysis showed a per cent, of sugar in
advance of the California product, and about equal to
the best yields of France.

At the Colorado Agricultural College the soil used
was a clay loam, which had been in clover sod for three
years previous and broken in the fall of 1887.

The plants were irrigated four times, cultivated six
times and hoed twice. The varieties tested, and yield of
sugar in pounds per ton of beets, and also the relative
yield per acre, as computed from a careful chemical
analysis, are shown in the following table :

VARIETY.

Tons Beets
Per Acre.

Lbs. Sugar Per
Ton of Beets.

Lbs. Sugar
Per Acre.

29.04
30.45
25.09
24.15

190
240
227
176

5,517.60

Lane's Imperial

Vilmorin :

7,318.00
5,695.43
4,250.40

The remark is here made that, as to what would be a
suitable soil for the sugar beet, must be proven by analysis
or actual tests. Any good, clayey loam might do for the
stock or table beet, but be entirely lacking in the essentials
for the sugar-producing article.

CONCLUSIOK

A summary of the leading points of farm irrigation
will show the following :

1. That results will always be in proportion to the
manner in which the soil is prepared before planting, and
the after cultivation.

2. That deep stirring of the soil and thorough cul-
ture lessens the requirements with respect to irrigation.

3. After land has once been subjected to irrigation, it
will as a rule, with good culture, annually require less water,
until the needs of the soil reach the minimum.

4 Land should never be irrigated simply because
water is abundant.

5. All vegetable and hoed crops should be well cul-
tivated as soon after irrigation as the soil is in a condition
to work.

6. Grass lands and meadows should usually be
watered after each cutting, and once early in the spring.

7. Irrigation should be thorough, especially with grain
crops, but water should not be permitted to stand on any
land beyond the requirements of vegetation.

8. Great saving in the use of water, and numerous
other benefits, may be secured by adopting improved
methods for receiving and applying water, and for discharg-
it from the land, and likewise by observing the effects of
irrigation on different soils and crops. But finally it should
be understood that "the best system" of irrigation for the
farms and broad acres of the West is yet to be perfected
and applied.

58

IRRIGATION FOR THE FARM.

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1

J-Iorti^ulture by Irrigation;.

(ILLUSTRATED.)

BY A. E. GIPSON, EX-PRESIDENT OP THE COLORADO STATE HORTICUL-
TURAL AND PORRESTRY ASSOCIATION.

A. concise, practical treatise on Fruit, Vegetable, Forest tree and Or-
namental Tree and Plant Culture, with a very complete list of fruits, for-
est trees and ornamentals for general planting west of the Missouri.

WHAT OTHERS SAY OF IT:

Brim full of information of value to the farmer and gardener, wheth-
er amateur or professional, which ought to assure its presence in the hands
of every cultivator of the soil in the arid region. — Professor James Cassi-
day, Colorado Agricultural College.

A valuable book. It meets a serious want, and will prove invaluable
to planters on the plains. — Prof. J. L. Budd, the Eminent Horticultural-
ist of Iowa.

I embrace the earliest opportunity of saying how greatly I esteem
this book. .It is most admirably adapted to its purpose. I wish it might
be placed in the hands of every fruit and forest tree grower in the Rocky
Mountain region. — Col. E. T. Ensign, State Forest Commissioner of Colo.

" It is just what is needed. The best work of the kind out, and will
supply a long felt want." — A. N. Hoag, "Good Luck Fruit Farm," Fort
Collins, Colorado.

" A good thing, and those who follow closely the methods therein set
forth, cannot go far wrong." — John Gravestock, Fruit Grower and Nur-
seryman, Canon City, Colorado.

I like the book very much. Just the hand-book needed. — S. W. De
Busk, Pomologist and Editor, Trinidad, Colorado.

It is clear, practial and valuable. — (From Hon. Charles W. Garfield,
* of Michigan, ex-Secretary of the American Pomological Society.)

It covers more ground than any other book of its size and to good
purpose. It is not composed of mere theories, but is full of practical in-
formation from a man whose experience and position give weight to that
which he writes.— (From Charles A. Green, Esq., the well known New
York Nurseryman and Horticulturalist and Editor of Green's Fruit
Grower.)

I wish to express my unqualified approval of the book. I do not see
a single point to criticise. The book should be introduced as a text-book
• into every school in Colorado.— (From Hon. Harris Stratton, of Fort Col-
lins, Colorado.)

Your book, " Horticulture by Irrigation," is " a daisy" and should be
read by every tiller of the soil. — (From V. DeVinny, Esq., a leading hor-
ticulturalist of Denver.)

It fills a long felt want and should be found in every farm house in
Colorado as well as in the home of the fruit grower and market gardener.
I hope the people of Colorado, especially, will show their appreciation of
your valuable book by making a careful study of it. — (From C. S. Faurot
Esq., of Boulder, Colorado, pomologist and ex-president of the Northern
Colorado Horticultural Society.)

Have read "Horticulture by Irrigation " with the greatest interest.
Had the facts contained in that volume been accessible to me when I com-
menced fruit growing, it would have saved me thousands of dollars and
no end of failures and vexations. It is invaluable. — (From J. S. McClel-
land, Esq., the extensive fruit grower and farmer of Larimer County,
Colorado.)

A book of concentrated facts, drawn out by a long experience in Col-
orado horticulture, and fills a very important place as a reliable guide in
one of the most important industries of our region of the country. The
views on horticultural irrigation especially, are valuable, not only to the
new beginner in our peculiar system of cultivation, but eastern horticul-
turists are seeking the very information so plainly given.— (From D. S.
Grimes, the well known Denver Nurseryman and Horticulturist.)

PRESS COMMENTS.

Worth its weight in gold. — [San Luis Valley Graphic.

The best work of the kind published. — [Greeley Tribune.

It is a practical hand-book on the subject of horticulture and is a
valuable compendium of facts and figures gleaned by years of experience.
Professor Gipson is to be congratulated upon getting such an amount of
valuable information into such a concise and compact form. — [Denver
Daily Republican.

In brevity the writer has scored a great point for his work. It is not
only brief, but concise, well written, and everything is clearly under-
stood. Mr, Gipson's book is timely and must be credited with value of
practical study. It will become a standard authority. — [Field and Farm,
Denver.

It is brimful of information relating to horticulture, gardening, irri-
gation, etc., and should be in the hands of every fruit-grower, farmer and
gardener in the State. — [Fort Collins Courier.

The recent work by President Gipson, "Horticulture by Irrigation,"
fills a. long felt want. The illustrations are a great help. The language
is simple and to the point. The book gives the result of practical
experience here in Colorado, and not the theories of men who know
nothing of irrigation. * * * In fact, the book must be seen
to be appreciated. No fruit grower with $1 in his pocket will look at it
five minutes without buying it. — [Colorado Farmer, Denver, Colo.

Price in pamphlet, 50 cents ; cloth 75 cents. Special rates to dealers
and those ordering in quantities. For further particulars address the
author, Greeley, Colorado, or any leading book dealer in the west.

"Horticulture by Irrigation," with " Irrigation for the Farm/' to one
address, in paper cover, 80 cents; both works in cloth $1.25.

IRRIGATION PUMPS

EVERY GRAVEL BED A RESERVOIR.

These Pumps are operated by steam boilers, and will throw from 50
to 2,000 gallons per minute. With live steam they will raise 60,000 gal-
lons of water 20 feet high with one bushel of coal.

WHAT WE CLAIM.

First. These pumps can be bought and put in position ready for
work cheaper than any other pumps of the same water-lifting capacity.

Second. There are no pistons or packing to wear out, and no loss of
power in overcoming friction.

Third. The power is atmospheric pressure, produced by condensing
the steam. They require no steam pressure except on a lift above that
made by the atmosphere, which is 26 feet at sea level.

m Fourth. No skilled labor required to run them. Any ranchman can
operate them.

Send for particulars, circulars and prices, to

THE IRRIGATION PUMP CO.,

CREELEY, COLORADO.

_A_ TILE

THAT IS

Useful and Durable

IS MADE AT

GREELEY, COLORADO.

Can be used either for Draining, Sub-Irriga-
tion or Conveying Water. For Culverts,
Street and Walk Crossings, Bleaching
Celery and various other purposes.
Several sizes constantly on hand.

We Guarantee a First-Class Article at Reasonable Rates.

For Terms and Particulars, Address

THE GREELEY BRICK AND TILE CO.,

GREELEY, COLO.

Jl?e Qreeley Nurseries

WELL KNOWN AND WELL ESTABLISHED,

Foremost in testing and introducing the
best varieties for the INTew West.

Whenever Nursery Stock is needed, address

THE GREELEY NURSERIES,

GREELEY, COLORADO.

The GloverlaaiD Apiary.

CHOICE HONEY

Both Extracted and in Comb constantly
on hand and guaranteed strictly pure.

Goods put up in the best of shape for shipment by
freight or express Everything first-class.

W. L. PORTER, Greeley, Colo.