HILLSIDE ORCHARDS. 



A METHOD OF IRRIGATING ORCHARDS ON SLOPING LAND AND 



DIFFICULT HILLSIDES. 



'"pHREE different systems have been used to irri- 

 gate orchards on sloping land. First, the 

 underground pipe system. Second, the system 

 of grading the land until the surface is a plane and 

 running the rows of trees in the direction that will 

 give the ditches the proper fall. Third, the system 

 of planting the trees in straight rows up and down 

 the hill and running the ditches the same way. In 

 using the third method a very small stream of water 

 is turned into the ditch and it is allowed to run for a 

 much longer time than if the ground was more nearly 

 level. The second system was described in a recent 

 issue of THE IRRIGATION 

 AGE. The expense that 

 generally attends the use 

 of the first and second 

 methods forbids their use 

 except at experiment sta- 

 tions, and in the case of 

 wealthy men who plant or- 

 chards for a diversion. The 

 third is a poor man's method, 

 but if the ground is at all 

 steep it is difficult to keep 

 the ditches from washing 

 into gullies and there is 

 generally an unnecessary 

 waste of water. In the sys- 

 tem here described the ex- 

 pense is trifling while the 

 results will compare favor- 

 ably with the more expensive 

 methods. 



The accompanying sketch 

 represents an orchard plant- 

 ed in accordance with this 

 system. The upper half is 

 steep with a ridge running 

 down the middle, while on 

 the lower half the slope is 

 gentler and the ridge dis- 

 appears. 



A B C D represents the ditch which supplies the 

 water. To prevent waste the water in the supply 

 ditch should have as great a velocity as the ground 

 will stand without washing. In the more compact 

 sage brush land a ditch to carry one-half a cubic foot 

 per second can be given a fall of 4 feet in 100. 

 In sandy ground the fall should be less. In order 

 that the ditch may have a fall of 4 feet in 100 

 it is made in a zigzag with an angle every 25 feet 

 until it reaches the point B, where the proper fall 

 can be given by running to the right. The ditches 

 at the sides are to carry off the waste water. The 



DIAGRAM 



curved lines represent the furrows which carry the 

 water to the trees. These should be run on a uniform 

 grade with an engineer's level. The fall they should 

 have depends on their length. If they are but a few 

 rods long they may be made level. I have found 

 that for furrows 40 rods long a fall of 8-10ths of a 

 foot in 100 feet does very well. These furrows 

 should be run before xhe trees are planted and their 

 distance apart should be the same as required be- 

 tween the rows, although the distance will vary 

 somewhat with the change of slope. After the fur- 

 rows are run the trees may be planted in straight 

 rows up and down the hill 

 with a tree below each fur- 

 row. To run these furrows 

 rapidly and accurately, the 

 ground should be rolled 

 and points located with the 

 level every 25 feet, the rod- 

 man pacing the distances. 

 To avoid the use of stakes 

 the rodrhan maybe followed 

 by a man with a hand plow, 

 running a furrow through 

 the points located by the 

 level man. It is well to run 

 a horse-plow twice over 

 these marks, throwing the 

 furrow the last time down 

 the hill. If the furrows be- 

 come too far apart by reason 

 of the ground becoming flat- 

 ter, a short furrow may be 

 run between as shown at E. 

 A useful implement in 

 work of this kind is a short 

 roller three or four feet long 

 with a bulge in the middle 

 to run in the furrow. It 

 packs the ground and pre- 

 vents the water from break- 

 ing out on the lower side. 



The ground in the angles of the supply ditch is a 

 good place to plant asparagus, hazel bushes, or any- 

 thing requiring much moisture. Fruit trees may be 

 planted in the angles of the waste ditches and culti- 

 vated by hand. 



After the trees are planted the yearly plowing of 

 the ground can be best done in lands running up and 

 down the hill. The cultivator can be run both ways, 

 but if the ground is cultivated up and down the hill 

 the first time in the spring and the last time in the 

 fall and the other way during the summer, the work 

 of remaking the furrows is avoided. 



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