51 



crops. Caivful observation shows likewise that tho yield is seldom 

 iiuuli lessened by the presence of laterals for the following reasons: 

 Thev increase the eiiculation of air and the amount of sunshine in a 

 field bearing a medium or heavy crop, and they increase the yield 

 along the lower edge of the lateral by sul)irrigation from the bed of 

 the channel and l)y furnishing a top dressing of soil to nearby plants. 

 The cost of hoveling tields that have been cultivated for a nund^er of 

 3^ears and making the laterals varies from 10 to 75 cents an acre, 

 depending on the character of the soil and the degree of thoroughness 

 with which the work is done. A brief description of the methods 

 adopted and the avei-age cost of such work from a few of the most 

 successfid irrigators of Montana an^ lunewith gi\'en: 



Cod of j>repari)ig hnul for irrii/otion. 



Description of methods used. 



Land leveled, ditches made, and manure dams put in (first 



year, 50 cents). 

 Land thoroughly leveled, laterals made witli lister, and <lams 



made. 

 Land gone over with 4-h()rse leveler,and laterals made with 



disk plow. 

 Land leveled, laterals made with ditch plow, and earth and 



manure dams put in. 



Land leveled, laterals made, and dams put in 



Head ditches plowed after sowing, and dams made with 



dammer. 

 Laterals made with Itl-incli lister, and dams made with 



dammer. 

 After cropping lield leveled and laid oil" in lauds aho\U 15 



yards wide by running lateral ditches that far apart, lat- 

 erals made by throwing a furrow each way and running a 



wedge-shaped opener tlirough them. 

 Main diteli plowed and ilirt pushed out with .scraper, laterals 



made with lister, and mainire dams put in. 

 Furrows plowed 60 feet apart and furrows cleaned and dams 



made at same time with dammer. 

 Laterals made (> or 7 inches deep with l(i-inch lister, and 



dams made with dammer. 

 Land leveled, and laterals made by throwing a furrow each 



way and running a crowder through the ditch. 



Cost 

 per acre. 



SO. 20 



.10 

 .05 



Name and address. 



F. L. Benepe, Bozeman. 

 1'. Bergland, Manhattan. 

 J. A. Lovely, Livingston, 



G. M. Fuller, Bozeman. 



H. Monforten, Bozeman. 

 E. C. Kinney, Bozeman. 



William Frank, Belgrade. 



J. E. Kanouse, Townsend. , 



.Tohn Holliday, Livingston. 

 W. H. Sales, Salesville. 

 W. R. Bell, Central Park. 

 P. Kireher, Clyde Park. 



CHECKS IN LATERALS. 



Reference has been made to dams of earth made b}^ a dammer. 

 These are contined principally to the grain farms. The most common 

 kind of check for both grain and hay lands is a base of half-rotted 

 straw or coarse stable manure covered over with a thin laj^er of earth. 

 The manure is distri])uted in small heaps along the lateral, the space 

 between the heaps varying from 30 to 80 feet, according to the grade. 

 Before irrigation begins it is arranged so as to form a more compact 

 check, and thin coverings of soil are usuall}" placed over the upstream 

 slopes. During the process of irrigating these checks are thrown out 

 on the edge of the bank, leaving the channel f I'ee for the passage of 

 water as far as the next check below. 



In regions like the Yellowstone Valley, where alfalfa is the princi- 

 pal crop, some form of canvas dam is general h^ used. Some prefer to 



