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Show INSURES GOOD CROP Irrigation Used for Growing Vegetables Veg-etables in East. With Up.to Date System Farmer Is Absolutely Independent, So Far at i Moisture Is Concerned Plant ! Used at Any Time. I For many years great attention has I been given to irrigation In the west, j but uot until recently have any con-! con-! slderablo number of vegetable grow-! grow-! its In the cast seriously considered (he desirability of Irrigating their varl-' varl-' 3us crops. Peter Henderson, V. W. Hawson, Ohiuler and others of the j older writers frequently spoke of tho Increasod profits derived from wa-terlng wa-terlng or sprinkling their crops, but only an exceedingly small percentage j i of growers resorted to any systematic I method of irrigation. In all f the eastern states there are now many up-to-date Irrigation plants, writes Prof. It. L. Watts of the Pennsylvania Statu college, in the Orange Judd Farmer. Water has so many functions that gardeners should not fall to recognize Its Importance in the growing of garden gar-den crops. It Is a powerful solvent. Manures and fertilizers are of no value to crops unless there Is sufficient suffi-cient water In the soil to dissolve and render available the various elements of plant food. Water also holds In solution various acids, as carbonic acid, which are more powerful solvents sol-vents than water alone. Food is conveyed con-veyed in the soil to the feeding roots by the constant movement of water, and after entering the plant it Is again carried by water to the leaves, which are the laboratories of the plant. All garden crops aro made up largely of water. Usually the per ccnlages run from about 75 to 95. Now tho amount of water actually stored up In vegetables represents an exceedingly small percentage of that taken lu by the plants. Kvery pound of dry matter stored In the plant requires re-quires from 2U0 to 400 pounds water to produce it. The aoltutlons of food which enter the plant ure very dilute, and tho water not actually stored In the plant transpires from the leaves. This Is looking at the matter from a scientific point of view. Now let us gee what the benefits are. It frequently haiipens that there Is dry weather at tho time seeds Bluml'T tie sown. The gardener may delay sowing on this account, and thus may delay the maturity of the crop, decreasing de-creasing yields and reaching the market mar-ket after prices have declined. With an irrigating plant, which may be used at any time, the soil may be watered before sowing, and as ntttT as necessary afterward to maintain proper moisture conditions for germination. germi-nation. This will not only cause prompt germination, but will secure a more even stand than is possible in soils lacking a uniform supply of moisture. Watering Is often Important at the time of transplanting. It may be the means of saving an entire crop and putting it on the market much earlier than would be possible without Irrigation. Irri-gation. For examplo, I looked over a lrden at Cleveland last summer immediately after a large plot of lettuce let-tuce had been transplanted. Part of the plot was en.-lly reached with sprays from overhead pipes. The plants on this portion of the plot had recovered from the effects of transplanting trans-planting and were mnking fine growth. The rows which could not thus l reached with water had suffered seriously, and it Is doubtful whether they would recover sufficiently to make a good crop. Wkth an uptodate system of watering water-ing the grower is absolutely independent, inde-pendent, so far as moisture Is concerned. con-cerned. F.xperleneed growers In all parts of (he country concede that Inl-gatlon Inl-gatlon It creases yields, improves quality qual-ity end makes it possible to mature crops i-ailler than where It Is not practiced. Tho question of quality in many vegetables is largely a matter of succulence. They must be grown quickly to secure tenderness, but qntck maturity is impossible without an ample supply of soil moisture. Many examples might be given showing show-ing Increased profits from Irrigation. 1 One large grower of my acquaintance ' rlatms that Irrigation makes it possible pos-sible for blm to make several thousand thou-sand dollars more a year than could 1 be done without artificial watering. Many growers who are prepared to ' Irrigate claim that their profit are ' greatest In years of drouth, when neighbors are unable to produce sat- 1 Isfartory crops, and when prices are 1 ftaturally higher. i |