IRRIGATION IN FIELD AND GARDEN. 



BY PROFESSOR E. J. WICKSON. 



(Reprinted from Farmers' Bulletin No. 138, issued by U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.) 



The furrow system is the simplest, cheapest, and most widely 

 used method of irrigating all field and garden crops which can be 



FIG. 16. Field irrigation by the small-furrow system. 



grown to advantage in rows (Fig. 16). It is practicable on surfaces 

 differing widely in slope and in soil characteristics. If the slope be 

 not too sharp to carry a small stream without much cutting, the rows 

 are run straight down the grade from the lateral or flume running 

 along the crest or ridge of highest ground; if the descent be too 

 rapid, the rows are run diagonally from the supply ditch at whatever 

 angle gives the proper slope. The distance a stream in a furrow can 

 be carried successfully depends upon the nature of the soil and the 

 size of the stream. The coarser the soil the larger the stream or the 

 shorter the distance. 



With shallow- rooting plants, like those comprising most field and 

 garden crops, a larger stream and a shorter run are used than in irri- 

 gating fruit trees, because it is desirable to have the water spread 

 freely nearer Ihe surface. For this reason, and to secure more even 

 distribution over the field, a second lateral ditch or flume is taken 

 across the slope at a distance of 40 rods or so from the first, and a 

 lower length of furrows is fed from this secondary source. 



The whole system, then, on a broad, gentle slope would consist in 

 a supply ditch passing down the slope with laterals at right angles or 

 on contour lines, from which the water is admitted to the furrows 

 made with a small, double moldboard plow between the rows of plants. 

 The lateral, whether it be ditch or flume, should be as nearly level as 

 possible and kept well filled with water, so that the amounts dis- 



