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Show GOOD RULES FOR IRRIGATION Among Other Things Excessive Use of Water Washes Out Plant Food and Crowds Out Air. (By W. P. SNYDER, Superintendent Nebraska Ne-braska Sub-Experiment Station, North Platte.) Too much water is an injury to soil. First. It washes out plant food. Nitrogen is the plant food element that the western soil is most deficient in. It Is easily washed out. If washed below feeding ground of plant roots, it is lost. Second. It clogs the surface few Inches of soil by cementing the small particles together and thus produces puddling, which all recognize as very injurious to soil. Third. It crowds out air. This lessens les-sens the action of bacteria in making plant food. Fourth. It lowers the temperature of soil. This retards growth. Seasons Sea-sons are too short in northern states and growth should be hastened. Fifth. The excess water that goes into the soil comes out somewhere. It often seeps out on the land lower r.nd injures it, or even destroys its use for agricultural purposes. Sixth. Water has a value the same as any other material. No man has a right to more than he uses properly. If he uses more than he needs or wastes it he is using up something that does not belong to him. |
