280 



Kansas State Board of Agriculture. 



FIG. 218. Ridger for making borders. 

 [Sketch made from cut in U. S. Department Bulletin 373.] 



side banks of the ditch. In this manner the ditch is cheaply and efficiently 

 constructed, and when it is completed and the water turned in the surface 

 of the water is above the ground surface to be irrigated. Lateral ditches 

 over the area to be irrigated may be constructed in a similar manner, but 

 these smaller ditches may require only a single lister furrow. 



METHODS OF DISTRIBUTION. 



The location of the distributing system must conform to the lay of 

 the land and the method of applying the water. Where the surface is on 

 a general slope and flooding from laterals is practiced, the lateral ditches 

 should be located, in general, with the contour of the slope, and the area 

 between laterals is then flooded as shown by the sketch in Fig. 219. This 

 practice is favored quite largely in the upland areas, the distance be- 

 tween field laterals being about 100 to 350 feet, depending to some ex- 

 tent upon the steepness of the slope. The land is then flooded as shown 

 by Fig. 223. 



Another method followed extensively in Kansas, and more particu- 

 larly in the valley regions, is to lay out the field laterals in much the 

 same manner as for flooding. These laterals are usually about 250 to 

 350 feet apart. The spaces between are then divided into checks by 

 throwing up borders every 50 or 80 feet at right angles to the field 

 laterals. These borders are low ridges 8 to 10 inches high and 6 to 8 

 feet wide. In applying the water the space between the borders, and 

 extending from lateral to lateral, is flooded. This is known in manj 

 localities as the strip-check system of irrigation. This last-mentioned 



