Show i I MOISTURE FOR CROPS I Great Want of Farmer Is Water During Dry Spells Many Localities in West Where Supply Supply Supply Sup Sup- ply of Water Can be Obtained for Irrigation Defying and Assuring Big Crops Mr H H. H. H Lyon says I had rather rath rath- er see the government assist In soly- soly solvIng solving ing some of ot our problems of water- water supply than to see so much money going Into irrigation and other I schemes at enormous distances from our markets marets Owing to the fact that copious rains have frequently fallen so soon n after atter great battles In which tb re had been heavy artillery firing It was generally believed that the firing fir fir- lug ing of heavy guns caused the mols mols- I p I uro ure with which the air was laden to toe toe e condensed into drops and fall to he earth producing rain in a dry i time In order to test this belief I congress appropriated several thousand thousand thousand and dollars which was expended durIng during dur dur- ing lag a great drouth in Texas by army officers writes J. J H H. Ingram In the Country Gentleman The heaviest guns were fired continuously for tor a week and brought no rain The great want of ot farmers Is moisture moisture mois ture In their fields when rains do no not come at the proper Intervals and their crops suffer or are utterly de do- The person who could discover discover discover dis dis- cover an effectual remedy for the severe severe se se- vere to which most of our country Is Is subject would be a greater benefactor than the inventor of ot the steam engine or electric telegraph A Wisconsin writer says A sufficient amount of moisture stored up in the tarth arth would supply this want rain in JL t dry time even if it no rains fell tell from the time Ume of ot planting crops until harvest harvest har bar vest time Had he said a sufficient amount of ot water stored up on top of the earth I could have agreed with him In Colorado Colorado Colorado Colo Colo- rado Utah and California where they can obtain a supply of water on top of the ground for tor irrigation they can defy the and raise good crops every ear Water where it can be turned on the fields when needed is asure asure a asure sure thing Capillary attraction or orthe orthe orthe the wonderful rise of ot the ground Water wa Wa- water ter to the surface In spite of the attraction attraction at at- traction of gravitation is of immense value to agriculture when assisted bythe bythe by bythe the cultivator but there is a limit beyond be bei yond pond which it will not work and a reservoir of water a few feet under his fields would be of no use to the farmer unless brought to the surface by a pump Thre are places where there are abundant supplies of ot water stored hIthe in id inthe the earth but the crops suffer as badly badY bad bad- ly Y there from drouth as in any region of our country In Kalamazoo Mich l there is a large extent of ot country underneath un- un which there is an inexhaustible ible supply of water which when tapped by artesian wells rises nearly to the surface The city of Kalamazoo Kalama Kalama- zoo containing inhabitants is fully supplied by artesian wells The water is underneath the valley like a a. shan shallow ow lake and is forced up nearly to the surface when tapped by the pressure of the rain water descending descending descend descend- ing from the surrounding hills The bountiful reservoir is too deep for capillary attraction to draw it up and when the writer was there during during du duo ring an August drouth there was no green to be seen in the meadows and the grass In the city park had to be watered to keep it alive There is water enough under the great Desert of Sahara Wherever artesian artesian artesian ar ar- wells have been bored a plentiful ful supply has been found and It ca pillary attraction could bring it up there would be no desert there Level Levelland Levelland Levelland land plowed nine inches deep will retain retain retain re re- tain all an the rain water it Is capable of absorbing and as much uch as if It plowed deeper Of course clayey soils will retain re re- retain tain more that than sandy When the rainwater rain rainwater rainwater water has sunk punk much below the depth we usually plow It has escaped beyond beyond beyond be be- yond the power of capillary attraction to bring it bac back to the surface I Ilave have lave been In coal mines in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Pennsyl- Pennsyl vania vania tr from m which the steam pump was working night and day hoisting out a stream of ot water nearly enough to turn a mill and yet the farmers farmers' fields nea nea by were suffering for tor lack of It Capillary attraction often orten receives credit for tor moisture which U t t does not supply but which Is supplied by condensation condensation con con- of ot the moisture in the tho atmosphere at at- lIke like the condensation of the drops on the outside of ot the ice ice- pitcher You break the crust that has formed on the surface of ot your corn field fiela and expose the cooler earth rth below the air coming in contact with that cooler earth Imparts moisture to It The condensation is not so apparent apparent ap parent as In the case of the water ice-water pitcher because the soil absorbs it which the pitcher does not The Thc government government gov gov- government has tried to get rain tain by firing fir fir- ing lg cannon and failed It Its is extremely extreme extreme- ly Iy doubtful whether it could get any water-supply water for Mr Lyon except by irrigation |