OCR Text |
Show TO PREPARE FOR IRRIGATION. It should be welcomo news to the practical irrigators of all thjs region, that the Department of Agriculture la about to Issue a bulletin 'describing methods of preparing land, forirrlga-tion forirrlga-tion and applying water to crops In different dif-ferent sections of the arid region In the United States," as announced In" The Tribune yesterday morning, ftva Washington Wash-ington dispatch. , 1 The bulletin, as described win be on practical lines, will relate .to'.the. preparation prepa-ration 6f the ground to recplve the water, wa-ter, describing a number ofmpthods; and to the -methods of applying ithfe water, -and -the quantity itf use. The deep-ditch system will be contrasted . with liopding, and with the shallow ditch, and with tinder-drainage, and it; will be shown that with the deep-ditch system, one-third' more land can be tilled wlh the same quantity of water han is'thc case where flooding or the shallow ditch is in use. The reason isrbbvibus; the deep flitch -prevents -evaporation to' .a large -degree, and apjilles' the water ' to the roots, where It ''is needed, and the (making, of deep ditches adds to the cultivation, and In turn, cultivation to a much greater 'extent than . farmers often 'realize serves instead of water to keep crops In good condition. A very little wator with much plough and hoe serves better for tillage than much water with little plough or hoe. t ., This bulletin ;ought to be gladly wel-1 corned, as said before; but will It be? If yes, then so much the better for the farmers: if no, then they will be by so mucin the loser. It Is often very hard to convince a farmer wfx has been irri- ( gating In his own way for twenty, thirty, thir-ty, or forty years, that there Is a better way to do it. He Is- apt to resent the man," or a "school 'man," knows jmdre about the subject than rhe does. And, this resentment' and(the feeling of su'-s ,"perlority so frequently manifested by farmers oyer thosn who have had Bpe-, clal and expert training, a'nd would willingly impart their .knowledge, Is a serious handicap to prc-grcss In agricultural agricul-tural lines In the arldjbelt. t What is needed more than anything else In the farming Interests .Is a spirit of 'inquiry, a desire to iloa'rn and to apply ap-ply the laiowiodge gained by experts, to their business. If 'it la true, as the experts ex-perts claim and as wp have no doubt Is the case, that the water commonly used in "Utah for Irrigation purposes is double dou-ble the amount really needed, and' that even with the present supply, and with the proper preparation ptf the soil, at least seventy-five per cent might be added to our tilled area, then surely it is worth while to listen to those who have the knowledge requisite to bring about such results, and to follow their; instruction. , This bulletin which Is to come from the Department of Agriculture ought to be of verj great benefit 'to the people of the whole arid region; and it will be If they will learn from It and put that learning totuse. We have "got about as far as we. cab go under the old system; pven with the -relief which the Govern,-ment Govern,-ment improvements contemplate, there will come a limit to tillage Under the old and wasteful .methods, and there, will still be land untllled. And then the people -will have to 'Btudy the economL-1 cal and sparing use of water and the best methods to eke it out and make it' go as far as pbfeBlble. Happy will "be the ' farmers who learn that lesaon now, and put It into practice b6fore 'stern necessity: ne-cessity: compels. " it Is conceded that American universities universi-ties have quite as much to offer the student stu-dent as has Oxford. |