580 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 
tire crop, garden and all. «The waters began to abate on the 27th of May, and I com- 
menced plowing on the second bottoms, made garden, and put in an entire new crop,’ 
and have never raised a better one, and without irrigation. 
Experience teaches me that fall plowing needs less irrigation than spring plowing, 
and that oats will stand more water than wheat. I reached these conclusions by ex- 
perimenting, first with a crop of winter wheat, which I did not need to irrigate. The 
ground became well settled, and the wheat covered the ground before the warm, dry 
weather came on. I discovered that oats would stand more water than wheat in ths 
season that grasshoppers visited us. I tried to drown them, but I could not, for they 
would crawl to the top of the oats and wheat blades, and bid defiance. 
We can raise good crops here if we do our duty, and take especial pains to keep 
water in full supply. You cannot always tell exactly where the lateral ditches should 
run. A main ditch must be provided on the highest ground; but, in my experience, I 
have found it necessary to wait until water is brought on before establishing the 
smaller water-courses. I have run water-courses through grain after it was well up; 
and though this seemed wasteful, still, on the whole, it was profitable. It costs a great 
deal to irrigate, more than some represent; still, the large yield will pay for all out- 
lays. I have raised wheat which was so heavy that in throwing my hat upon it from 
a distance it would remain on top. We find that our land does not require half the 
water, after a few years, that it did at first. I think that such land as you have 
should be flooded, and that it will not do to depend upon soakage. With a good head 
of water aman will do well if he can irrigate an acre a day. Do not undertake to 
irrigate with a small stream. Water enough must be had to keep a man constantly 
busy, and he must not stand waiting for the water to make its way, for it wiil 
do no such thing ; he musi keep along with the water, hoe in hand, conducting to this 
place and that, and see to it that every point of the field is watered. To turn water 
upon a field or garden and go off expecting it will do what is required, is useless; for 
it will make no progress, or it will run in wrong directions. It is true that, where the 
pocket-gophers are in the ground and have made passage ways the water will run 
for several rods, and irrigate well. Their work may be detected by the fresh dirt 
thrown up, but there are no visible holes. The work of prairie-dogs is different; they 
have deep holes, and water running into them will be wasted. Such holes must be 
stopped. I have seen no land in Colorado which will not yield well if water is applied. 
Ground plowed in the fall will stand more dry weather than when plowed in the 
spring. I sow from ninety to one hundred pounds of wheat to the acre; and as many 
as ninety pounds of oats, and one hundred pounds of barley. In early sowing the grain 
soon covers the ground where it settles, and the water is more easily run over the sur- 
face while moisture is retained. Ground should always be rolled, to pack it on the 
surface. I once sowed oats.without rolling, and only a part came up; then I rolled 
the whole, and it all came up. ki 
Trrigating ground to start the grain I think impracticable, except on small pieces, as it 
would require a vast amount of waiter, far more than any one would suppose, and would 
keep busy four or five men to the acre. Therefore, we all depend upon snow and rain 
to get the grain above ground. I put my grain in deep, and prefer to have the ground 
rather rough until after sowing, when I harrow and pulverize thoroughly. ; 
I sowed about two acres of timothy and clover, which did well. At first the clover 
occupied the ground; after that the timothy came in, and now there is no clover. I 
cut about two tons of timothy hay to the acre, and it is this which gives us the first 
green grass in the spring. Clover does best on upland. The weeds are a great cause of 
difficulty in getting a stand of grasson the bottoms; and I had to weed my timothy and 
clover. It will be several years before you will be troubled with weeds on the upland ; 
need never be troubled if you keep them down as they appear. It is a good plan to 
sow timothy along your ditches; by so doing lam getting a good sod, while wasting 
is prevented. 
We grow as good corn here as is grown anywhere, but the crop is not so large as in 
Mlinois;_I should say not to exceed an average of 25 bushels to the acre. We plant 
any time after the first of May. It will mature if planted by the 20th. -One advantage 
with corn is that it can be put in and gathered when there isno other work; and after 
itis ripe it may stand in the field for years without injury. Corn will not mature 
.without water. I should plant about five inches deep, and I have planted on sod, with 
a spade. A hand corn-planter does well. There isno use of planting corn in 
ground, for it willnever come up. I find that it pays to do work well, and that when 
more work is undertaken than can be done well your labor is thrown away. 
You will be likely to experience some trouble in getting garden seeds to grow. I 
have found it a good plan to lay boards on the rows, when seeds are planted, for moist- 
ure is drawn up, and the seeds are sure to start. When they’are ready to break 
through remove the boards. It will not do to plant as shallow as in the States. When 
we commenced we knew nothing whatever of irrigation, and we were told to do this, 
and to do .that, and there were a dozen ways. Something may be gained from our 
experience. 5 ; 
