Show FOR THIRSTY GARDENS windmill plays important part in production of food ack ot timely rainfall Is often doom of otherwise carefully handled and tended patch conserve water pumped that the farm windmill should play fin important part this year in the great food production campaign Is the belief of II 11 walker drainage and irrigation engineer kansas state agricultural college the farm windmill should be no slacker this year said professor walker it should be ready day and taught to absorb the energy of the wind to lift water for thirsty gardens lack of timely rainfall is often the doom of an otherwise carefully handled and tended vegetable garden this year the farm garden will be an important factor in reducing the cost of living accordingly every precaution should be taken to present a failure of the garden crops in those areas where the natural rainfall Is not dependable some simple method of ir ri gatlon should be provided the farm windmill will serve faith fully and w ell in lifting water for irrigation it given an opportunity professor walker pointed out this faithful source of farm power however will not save the garden unless the owner operates in conserving the water pumped the average windmill lifts water intermittently and at a slow rate consequently if the water pumped Is allow ed to flow directly onto the warm dry soil a small area only can be satisfactorily covered A small trickling flow does not spread laterally over the surface of the soil but it per cobates deeply into the soil beyond the reach of the shallow rooted vegetables if the water lifted on the other hand Is stored in tanks barrels or reservoirs a volume sufficiently large can be secured in a surprisingly short time to effectively irrigate a much larger area A barrel of water con kalning 31 gallons will cover a gar den bed six feet wide by eight feet long one inch deep A quantity of water even as small as this it properly applied will greatly help alie lettuce bed or the shallow rooted radishes it Is advisable therefore to use even an ordinary barrel for storage nothing larger Is available la preference to direct pumping A reservoir jarge to hold all of the water the average windmill can pump in three or four days is more desirable |