49 



We begin irrigatino; as early as May 10, and thus get the use of the high water in 

 the spring when it is abundant. Water is again used for this purpose during the 

 fall niontlus when it is not needed for regular crops. The land is broken up with 

 .S-gang plows drawn by 8 horses. An outfit of this kind will average al)out 7 acres 

 per day. Soon after plowing the corners of the field and the dead furrows are thor- 

 oughh' disked. A leveler 24 feet long, made nf square timbers and drawn l)y G or 

 8 horses, is then drawn diagonally with thi' way the land was plowed. The field is 

 again disked, in part at least, and the hf)memade leveler is dragged diagonally across 

 the field for a secoml time, but in a different direction from the first time. This 

 second leveling will generally put the ground in first-class condition for seeding. 

 The field lies in a state of rest or summer fallow until the following spring, when it 

 is seeded to oats. This work can usually be connnenced in March or whenever the 

 frost is out of the ground and the soil is thoroughly dry on top. We use a disk 

 drill, and with 4 horses can seed from 16 to 20 acres a day. The amount of seed 

 varies from 8.5 pounds, when sown during the first half of April, to 100 pounds when 

 sown in ^lay. 



In soiiK' other parts of the State where irrigation i.s practiced the 

 original surface is uneven, containing what i.s known as butl'alo wal- 

 lows. It is botii difficult and costly to prepare such land for irriga- 

 tion, the cost being sometimes over ^10 per acre. The process of 

 leveling involves the shifting of considerable (juantities of earth. The 

 grading, however, can not be successfully done on fresh sod, and the 

 usual practice of ])reparing land of this character is to raise first a 

 crop of wheat without water and when the sod is well decomposed and 

 pulverized the grading can be done more cheaply and effectively. 

 The removal of the top layer of .soil from the high places in a field and 

 its deposition in low ]}hices are also serious drawbacks, since the yield 

 is much reduced on what was originally the edges of the wallows. 

 Summer fallow and the action of frost, rain, and sunshine seem to be 

 the conuuon remedies for these spots, A heavy coating of manure is 

 also beneticial. 



Perhaps the most common mistake to be found in supply ditches is 

 the steep grades on which many of them are built. In pioneer days 

 water was conducted along plow furrows running down the steepest 

 slope. A channel of this kind, although small at hrst, was gradually 

 increased by erosion until it linall}- ])ecame in the majority of cases a 

 wide, deep chasm. These unsightly channels detract from the appear- 

 ance and value of a farm, and cause the waste of much water through 

 seepage. The most obvious remed}^ is to change the location; but this 

 can not be easily done, for the reason that the rights of way for such- 

 water courses have become vested in one or more owners, and the loca- 

 tion can not be changed to one of less grade without an abandonment 

 of the old and the purchase of the new right of way. In such cases, 

 and for volumes not exceeding 200 miner's inches, the writer has rec- 

 ommended the use of tile pipes laid at least 1 foot below the surface, in 

 order to permit the surface to be cultivated. The value of the crops 

 that can be raised on the land occupied by such ditches will in a short 



