Show IRRIGATE IN GROWING SEASON by proper handling ot 0 water farmer farms may draw from lower depth for plant food while it Is true that the majority of field crops reach down into the soil two or telee feet and tap UP the plant foods at these depths yet the surface of tho the eoll soil would still be deficient were it not for tle water brings the foods up from the lower depths and distributes them evenly among the roots thus by the proper ban adling of irrigation water we can draw from the lower depths the fertility ot of the soil equally distributing it tun fun bishing a greater feeding ground for the plant system and consequently a stronger and better growth writes A mcpherson in ranch and range each farmer should study his soil know its depths and have some idea of at the plant foods therein to he be able to irrigate intelligently a farmer should be possessed of these facts it Is necessary that he should know the depth of the soil in order that he may know how bow long bo he should irrigate or to what depth be may mar safely safety saturate bla his ground it more water Is forced into the soil than it has power to assimilate damage will result deep soil will stand more water than shallow soil and shallow soil requires ulrea more frequent irrigation under ordinary conditions it I 1 were asked how long water should run on a particular piece of ground I 1 would first want to know the depth ot or the soil and also how long it would take to force the tho water to the required depth all the sol soil needs Is just enough water to moisten its particles thoroughly more afore than this of water would be detrimental and damaging to irrigate properly property means to supply the needed moisture at the right time to equity lly distribute the plant food by reaching reaching down into the lower depths dissolving the plant food there and raising it up to within reach of the plant roots this is accomplished by rain under certain conditions it we could h have ve a shower just when we needed one it would be all right but we cannot we have too much water or too little as a rule seldom if it over ever the right amount dy by irrigation the water can be forced downward to any depth thus increasing the area of the feed ing ground for the plants we might have a dozen good rains during the growing season none of which would force the water downward beyond a certain depth or tap additional strata of plant food and make it available Is one good irrigation would force folce the water ater far beyond the depth reached by the rains and bring upward a much larger quantity of plant food the is to get as much out of the soil as an possible and the deeper the feed ing ground the more plentiful the food and the better tho the corps this Is why I 1 believe that irr iga tion fertilizes the soil better than ratu fall for it draws the plant producing qualities from greater depths and at more opportune times making crop failure absolutely impossible further more the upper strata of the i loll 1011 in irrigated districts are not constantly being robbed of more than their share of plant producing elements being constantly restored by the drain tron from below |