578 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 
no more is wanted in it than can be taken care of. Tho main, having been closed 
below, is opened at the highest part of the land, where, if the ground is level from side 
to side, and sufliciently inclined from the ditch, the water will soon find its way to the 
farthest end of the land. If, however, some portion is higher than the rest, the safety 
of the small ditches each side of the land is apparent; for then the center opening is 
closed, and the water let through the side ditches until it reaches the point of obstrue- 
tion, when it is let out to low on again; and this may have to be repeated again and 
again upon the same land, though generally there is no such trouble, the water flowing 
unobstructed over the whole. When the land has been fully fooded, the work is done 
and the water is shut off. -If there are low places where the water stands, on the com- - 
pletion of the flooding, it is well to draw it off at once through the side ditches, which 
have come into use again. Beginners are apt to irrigate too early the first time. Ido 
not think that small grain, if sown in season, will need irrigation until about the last 
of May, when, being in the milk, grain suffers the quickest from the want of water, 
and must then be well cared for. 
Corn, potatoes, and garden vegetables we plant in rows, and irrigate by sending a 
stream of water between the rows. Potatoes are easily spoiled by flooding, and do 
not generally need water till in blossom. When the leaves of the corn curl up in the 
middle of the day it is an evidence of the want of water. There are indications of the 
need of water which can be learned only by experience, but the beginner is more 
likely to err in using too much than too little. In the irrigation of trees, avoid allow- 
ing the water to touch the tree, and shut off early in the fall, so as to give the wood a 
chance to ripen, and thus avoid winter-killing. ; 
Mr, J. H. Latey, of the firm of Godbe & Co., writes that— 
Too much water in the summer time causes vegetation to be yellow; if too little is 
used the leaves will parch; if applied too late in the fali it is said to be injurious to 
trees, a3 tending to promote growth which is endangered if frost suddeniy setsin. It 
is almost impossible to wear out land, for the reason that irrigation brings out fresh 
soil and manure. The disadvantage is that it is very hard to keep down weeds. 
Mr. L. K. Perrin, of Denver, makes the following statement: 
There are two methods of irrigation practiced by the older farmers in this section, 
viz., flooding and soakage where the soil is light or does not bake; though I find very ~ 
little of such soil adapted to irrigation by soakage, that is, upon which the object may 
be accomplished in a reasonable time. With grain almost every one floods, it being a 
much quicker mode, You inquire, ‘ Shall we level our land so as to form beds?” Cer- 
tainly not. It is too expensive, and is not necessary. Further, it is too laborious. We 
tried that plan years ago, and it has long been discarded. Most of the grain is put in 
with the harrow, and harrowed both ways, the last time going the way the water is to run, 
the water following the marks of the harrow in little rills. The dead furrow is very 
annoying. Sometimes, when irrigating, it will catch the whole stream, unless watched 
continually, cutting badly. Always have your main ditch on the highest ground pos- 
sible. Lrrigation should commence at the lower end of the ditch, thereby saving time 
in repairs; for, if commenced at the upper end, the water usually makes the banks of 
the ditch soft, and breakages are apt to occur, though that depends on the grade of the 
ditch. It is best to use as large a stream of water as the nature of the ground will 
permit to be handled with profit. | 
Some farmers, with clay lands, make a marker with cultivator teeth, placing them 
18 inches apart, thus forming small ditches where little rills of water can flow, 
which will soak through to each other.in twenty-four hours. This would not do for 
sandy soil, as they would be all together in a short time. The shovel-plow is some- 
times used for making ditches in the grain-fields, but such deep and wide ditches will 
shake the good out of almost any reaper in harvest time. Cultivated crops should be 
put in rows, for then, with the shovel-plow to go between the rows, ditches may be 
reade in which small rills of water can flow, and, if the ground is loose, the crops will 
soon be irrigated by soakage. After a crop has been wet, and the ground is dry enough 
to work, the cultivator should go between the rows, to prevent the moisture from bak- 
ing out. A stream of water constantly flowing on a crop will not do any injury, if it 
drains off immediately. Standing water, with no outlet, will insure the loss ef the 
crep. On side-hills, where the lands wash, we use four laths nailed together, which 
forma trough for the water torun in. They should be placed in the ditch, a rod apart, 
near the bottom, and the water can run night and day without injury. ‘This plan is 
followed to considerable extent, as our land is rolling, and does not require much 
watching. You will not see the time, probably, when you will have to irrigate in the 
spring to get crops up out of the ground. We seldom have to irrigate before the first 
or middie of Jane. With the spade or hoe you can soon tell where water is wanted. 
Experience teaches us where water is needed, even from a distance, without minute 
examination of acrop. I would not irrigate fruit trees after the 15th of August. Dead 
furrows are a nuisance; and, if I were to start anew, I would outfit with the swivel- 
