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Show DRAIN IRRIGATION LAND Oxygen Is Necessary to Life of Plant Rootfets. Drslnags as Esisntial for Successful Suc-cessful Crop Raising as Is IrrigationSoil Irri-gationSoil Must Have Some Variolation. Irrigation does not offer complete Immunity against crop failure, aa some people seem to think. It has been clearly demonstrated that farming farm-ing Is not made simpler by reason of Irrigation. On the contrary It has often been made more complicated. Tbe Idea that all one haa to do to grow crops In the arid and semi arid districts Is to apply as much water aa ran possibly be obtained Is an egregious egre-gious error. Water can never take the place of cultivation and fertilization. fertiliza-tion. While moisture Is absolutely lecessary for plant growth there are other essentials that play as Import-int Import-int parts In their development Plants must breathe and plants must eat and planta must have sanitary environments. environ-ments. Plant physiology teaches us that oxygen la necessary to tbe life of plant rootlets since the cells of newly formed roots are filled with living ce'ls which consist of a transparent Fig. 1. In Wet Soil the Roots Grow Near the Surface and Are Left Without Water Supply During Drought. lolly-ilke substance called protoplasm vhlch manifect tbe various phenomena phenom-ena of life. Protoplasm may exist in an active state when the plant Is (rowing and while In this state It requires re-quires both food and oxygen, and without It cannot live. The presence ot oxygen In tbe soli Is Indispensable to the life of all upland plants and a method of Irrigation that abandons Ullage la suicidal. Tbe soil must be ventilated. A crust on the surface of tbe soil, sucb as always follows Irrigation Irri-gation by flooding, Is a great Bind-3 Bind-3 ran ce to Its proper ventilation. The Irrigation farmer who falls to follow each flooding of bis land by tillage, as soon as the drying out of the soils will permit It, commits an error that In ime will bear heavily upon bim by at east partial crop failure. Another fatal mistake being made iy the Irrigation farmer Is the neglect jf drainage. Drainage Is as necessary '.o the perfect development of the plant as irrigation. The Irrigation farmers of the lower Kto Orande valley val-ley have been taught this by the evils resulting from the wants of drainage to carry off tbe surplus water after flooding. They were ratber slow In realizing the needs of drainage, but t has Impressed Itself upon them very forcefully. A careless use of Irrlga-:lon Irrlga-:lon water Is largely responsible for '.he appearance of alkali In tbe Hlo Jrande valley. Alkali will never be hindrance In tbe valley wbere a system sys-tem of drainage Is Installed. To avoid the appearance of alkali should not be he prime object of drainage. A system sys-tem of Irrigation without drainage tends to raise tbe water table and i :."-; 'K-'--N Fig. 2. Roots Grow Deep in Well-Drained Well-Drained Soil and Are Not Affected by Drought plants suffer as a result of the soil becoming be-coming waterelogged, making It Impossible Im-possible for tbe roots to obtain oxygen oxy-gen and the plants are drowned. The position of tbe water table Is Important Import-ant Where It lies deeply, plant roots may delve to a considerable deptn without Injury. Hut wbere It U shallow shal-low tbe plants cannot perfect a complete com-plete and sturdy root system. Drain as will lower tbe wster system and Increase Use space tor a more perfect development of plsnt root system. |
