IMPROVEMENT OF THE SOIL 53 



basin, this being repeated until the entire field has 

 been flooded. It is possible in this way to wet the 

 land very thoroughly, and it has advantages for 

 certain purposes. It seems to be a favorite method 

 with the small Mexican farmers in the Western 

 states. The flooding of rice lands is managed in 

 much the same way, except that for this crop the 

 water is held on the land for a considerable period. 



With crops that are grown in rows, what is called 

 row or furrow irrigation is often practiced. This 

 requires less water tlian flooding the entire surface. 

 Sometimes, as is usually the case with sugar cane, the 

 row is planted in the bottom of a deep furrow that 

 afterward serves for irrigation. With more deli- 

 cate plants the row i-s planted on a low ridge and the 

 space between the rows serves as the irrigation fur- 

 row. If the rows are far apart, as in orchards and 

 vineyards, an irrigation furrow is opened near the 

 row on one or both sides. Furrow irrigation is usu- 

 ally only applied to permanent plantings of this 

 kind, to vegetable or truck crops, and to sugar cane. 

 When water is very scarce and expensive, it is some- 

 times brought to the ends of the rows in wooden 

 troughs with holes and plugs so arranged that it can 

 be run directly into the furrows as needed. This 

 obviates the loss by seepage in the ditches, but it is, 

 of course, more expensive. In the tobacco fields in 

 some parts of Cuba water is pumped from deep wells 

 and is carried to different parts of the field in iron 

 pipes, being then distributed to the plants in buckets 

 by hand. This method is not only expensive but 

 inefficient. 



