OCR Text |
Show L IRRIGATION. While the question of irrigation is always a vital one in Utah, and while the white men made the first attempt at irrigation in the United States in Utah, this tate, in fact, is not up to date . ,..,., ... ., ,T , -o'jwiiiiiwiiiii"i on the science. The people are using twice as much water as there is any occasion for, and many of their methods are most bungling. In the states along the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, better work is being done than in Utah. There the question is how little water they can get along with, and when the supply is short they try to make up the deficit by increased cultivation, cultiva-tion, and by selecting plants to cultivate that can get along with little moisture, or that will send their roots down into the ground to rustle for water. The 100th meridian is the dividing line between be-tween the moist and dry regions from North Dakota to the panhandle of Texas. Where the arid belt begins there begins the trouble. The plan that meets with most favor now is tc plough very deep, plant the crop and then by constant cultivation keep the surface pulverized to as near fine dust as possible, the object being, as explained, to form a blanket of fine soil above the seed-bed and so retain to the end of the season sea-son a greater portion than usual of the limited rainfall. This thought came from the fact that it has been found that where fine sand has been scattered over ground there will always be moist earth below it. But the plan followed involves incessant labor from the time the crop is planted until it is almost al-most ready to harvest, and will not be taken kindly to by any farmer who has acquired the easier methods of the west. However, in Utah, in a thousand places the use of less water and more muscle would insure better results in farming. |