54 



may require 9 to 12 inches in depth over the surface for one irrigation. 

 Seldom more than half the quantity of water is used for a second irri- 

 gation. In the Gallatin Valley the first irrigation should be applied 

 early in order to have the soil ready for the second application before 

 the heads become too large and heavy. A heavy irrigation applied 

 three weeks before the grain is cut may prove more injurious than 

 ])eneficial, as the weak stems in the soft soil are not capable of sup- 

 porting the heads in an upright position. Several days after the last 

 irrigation the laterals are filled in and leveled in order not to obstruct 

 the reaper. This may be done by the use of a small walking plow and 

 two furrows or by means of a special implement containing two disks, 

 which throw the earth to the center and fill the ditch. 



Cost of irrigathuj a 40-acre barley field. 



Leveling, ditching, and checking, at 75 cents per acre $30. 00 



Value of water used, at $1 per acre 40. 00 



Applying sufficient water to mature crops, at 85 cents 34. 00 



Leveling laterals, at 7 cents per acre 2. 80 



Total 106-80 



Gross returns from barley, 58 bushels, at 50 cents 1 , 160. 00 



Net returns 1 - 053. 20 



IRRIGATING ALFALFA IN YELLOWSTONE VALLEY. 



Alfalfa being a perennial plant, the annual cost of plowing, culti- 

 vating, and seeding is saved. There is, however, more urgent need 

 for thorough preparation at the time the crop is put in, since an 

 uneven surface or badly located ditches may materially diminish the 

 yields of every crop for a long period of years. The loss, from any 

 one of these causes, of lOO pounds of alfalfa to the acre at each of three 

 cuttings would amount to $9 per acre in twelve years, but such causes 

 frequently reduce the yield to the extent of half a ton per acre, when 

 the loss in the time named would amount to §108 per acre or about 

 double the present value of alfalfa land. 



In preparing a field for alfalfa it is better to plow it in the fall. It 

 is then evenly graded and cultivated in the following spring as early 

 as the ground is sufficiently dry to work and the seed drilled in to a 

 depth of about 3 inches. The quantity of seed sown in the Yellow- 

 stone Valley averages about 22 pounds per acre. Many prefer to 

 plow the laterals before seeding and to run the seeder as close as pos- 

 sible to the edge of the ditch. This prevents, for a time at least, the 

 growth of alfalfa in the ditches. 



Young plants arc tender at first and require moist soil for a seed 

 bed until the roots strike into subsoil that is continually moist. They 

 are also lia])le to be choked by weeds. This can ])est be prevented by 

 running a mower over the field with the knife set high. By this 



