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Show FOR LESS IRRIGATION Excessive Use of Water Causing Much Damage. By Proper Cultivation of Soil, Surface of Ground Is Kept Loose So That Moisture Is Prevented From Evaporating. The more 1 go over the state, the more I see the necessity of the people peo-ple being awakened to the fact that they must do more cultivation and less irrigation. There are vast areas of land all over the state that are being be-ing ruined by excessive irrigation. It is causing large areas to become wat-ter wat-ter logged and swampy, Bays a writer in the Desert Farmer. It is causing large areas to change from fertile fields to alkali beds. It is causing vast areas to become over-run with weeds. By proper cultivation of the soil, the surface of the ground is kept loose so that the moisture which has soaked into it from rains and melting snows is prevented from rising to the surface and thus evaporating into the air. We can cultivate with less ex-, pense than we can irrigate and our soil by so doing is always kept In better condition for crop production. Irrigation always has the tendency to produce shallow rooted plants because the roots always develop where they can get the moisture. The roots of such plants will be able to get less food from the soil for the development develop-ment of the plant than will the roots of plants which penetrate to greater depths into the soil because they will have less area from which to draw their food. Plants require a considerable amount of moisture for their proper development. It has been estimated that under normal conditions it takes about 750 tons of water to produce one ton of alfalfa hay, and about 5U tons of water to mature one bushel of wheat. An inch of rainfall on one acre weighs a little over 113 tons, so that where the annual rainfall is about 12 inches, 1,356 tons Of water falls upon every acre of gvound every year. This would be enough to produce, if it were all conserved and culd be used by the plants, 1.88 tons of alfalfa or 27 bushels of wheat. The only way in which we can conserve thi3 moisture mois-ture in the soil, so that the plants can use it when they need it, is by thorough thor-ough cultivation. The cultivation, too, must be done at the proper time, which is as soon in the spring as the ground can be worked without danger dan-ger of injuring the texture of the soil, and after each heavy rain storm. If it is left until some more convenient time much moisture is lost. Last spring I induced a farmer to plow two acres of land upon the same day during the last week in May. Soil samples were taken to the depth of eight feet immediately after plowing and the moisture determined. The two acres contained about 16 per cent, of moisture or 2,240 tons of water was held in the soil on each acre to the depth of eight feet. One acre was harrowed immediately after plowing and the other acre was left rough without being harrowed for one week. After a week, soil samples were again taken to the depth of eight feet. The acre that had been harrowed had lost 70 tons of water, while the acre that had not been harrowed had lost 770 tons of water, or enough to produce one ton of alfalfa, or 15.4 bushels of wheat. Think for a moment, if you can, of the thousands of tons of water wa-ter that are being lost each day, each week and each year in our state. Think of the vast amount of irrigating irrigat-ing this would save, and the great increase in-crease in yield wkich this would bring to our state. |