THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 131 



The writer has recently laid out a system for a 600-aere rice tract 

 where the water supply is pumped from a drainage cut which is in 

 turn supplied by a canal company. The drainage water is collected at 

 the low corner of the land and from there carried back to the pumping 

 ])lant in a drainage ditch which nuist, of necessity, run against grade. 

 By this means the M'ater which has run over the fields and become 

 thoroughly warmed is again delivered to the head ditch and dis- 

 tributed. It is expected that. l)y this means, the temperature of the 

 water will be very greatly increased and that the growing period may 

 be materially decreased. The results of this experiment will be 

 watched with interest by rice growers generally, as it should definitely 

 determine the relation between the time of maturing and the tempera- 

 ture of the water. 



A good drainage system is of prime importance on a rice propo- 

 sition. Where a crop is kept irrigated continuously for five months 

 of the year there is danger of the soil becoming waterlogged unless 

 adequate drainage is provided. 



Ditches should be constructed which will be capable of quickly drain- 

 ing off all the water when the phuits have hiWy matured in the fall. 

 Defective drainage at this time is a very serious drawback, as it tends 

 to delay the harvesting of the crop. Where the drainage has been 

 properly provided for. it is possible to commence the harvesting within 

 two weeks after the water has been turned off; but there have been 

 cases where, owing to the defective drainage, the harvest has been so 

 long delayed that a consideral)le part of the crop was destroyed by the 

 early rains. 



The topography is a very important item for consideration in the 

 selection of a tract for rice culture. Locations where the soil, water 

 and drainage conditions are entirely satisfactory may be totally unfit 

 for the crop on account of the roughness of the ground. Where the 

 land is very irregular the cost of the leveling becomes prohilutive and 

 the number of necessary laterals and drains cut the field into such 

 irregular pieces that the cost of planting and harvesting the crop is 

 largely increased. Land which is broken by knolls and hollows is 

 especially difficult to handle. Aside from the increased cost of leveling 

 and ditching it has been observed that the points which have been 

 leveled off or cut down to any extent do not yield even average returns, 

 while the low points which have been filled give a heavy growth of 

 straw and but little grain. 



A light regular sloping tract is preferred as it permits of the con- 

 struction of very few laterals, is easily irrigated in large checks and is 

 cultivated, planted and harvested without the loss of time and delays 

 necessitated by narrow checks and irregular fields. A fall of five feet 

 to the mile is probably ideal. While permitting good drainage it is 

 still possible to have the minimum number of ditches and large checks. 



The methods and appliances for leveling land are many and varied 

 and no effort will be made to mention all of them. The Fre.sno scraper 

 has probably seen the longest service and is still the most satisfactory 

 and popular tool for the construction of the irrigation ditches and 

 laterals. Experience has shown that banks so constructed last much 

 longer and give much better service than when put up by any other 

 means. 



