IRRIGATION AND CLIMATE— HOW TO IRRIGATE ALFALFA. 



a land well adapted for the highest development of irrigation. The climate, the soil 

 and the water are present, but only by a wise use of the last of the trio can man fully 

 appreciate the blesing of the other two. 



HOW TO IRRIGATE ALFALFA. 



ARTHUR E. niOT, Secretary Tulare County Beard of Trade, VUolla, California. 



While the amount of water applied and the time of its application must be largely 

 governed by the nature of the soil and the weather conditions, the system of flooding 

 is the universal method used. Under this method of irrigation a uniform distribu- 

 tion of water over the surface of the land is the prime object to be attained. Hence 

 the preparation of the land is the first and most important factor in the proper irri- 

 gation of alfalfa. The better the land is leveled and checked and supplied with dis- 

 tributing ditches, the better the result in spreading the water a uniform depth over 

 the land will be. He who plants alfalfa should remember that the work being done 

 is not temporary, but must stand for years, and that once properly done is always 

 done. Also, that the time and labor expended in the proper preparation of land is 

 an Investment. The saving of water alone in the amount required for irrigation on 

 land properly prepared will soon repay the expense incurred in thoroughly do- 

 ing the work, to say nothing of the increased yield as the result of proper 

 irrigation. As to whether square or contour checks are to be used, will 

 depend upon the topography of the land to be irrigated, and the amount of 

 land to be inclosed in each tier of checks should be governed by the volume of 

 water available for irrigation purposes. The greater the volume of water, the farther 

 apart the checks may be placed; and contrariwise for a small water supply. The 

 checks themselves or ridges should in all cases be built with scrapers, and should 

 have sufficient width of base to enable them to be broad and rounding at the top so 

 the mower and rake can pass over them with ease, and that the alfalfa may find suffi- 

 cient surface on the top of the ridges to form a sod uniform in thickness with the 

 level land. When the water supply is cheap and abundant, the water may be spread 

 over the land by drawing it from check to check; but where the supply of water is 

 limited, a great saving will be accomplished if the land is plentifully supplied with 

 small ditches from which the water can be delivered into the checks, thus preventing 

 the continuous flow of water from one tier of checks to another, which is wasteful 

 from the fact that the first tier of checks into which the water is delivered will 

 receive a greater amount of water than is actually required, while the last checks 

 will possibly not receive a sufficient quantity. In pump irrigation (by this we mean 

 where the water for irrigation is supplied with pumps) small checks and numerous 

 supply ditches are an absolute necessity for economical irrigation; and under this 

 system it is better to carry the water to the point farthest from the pump to com- 

 mence irrigation. Then if for any reason the pump has to be shut down and the 

 water supply stopped, it is not necessary to traverse the same land a second time in 

 the delivery of the water. As to how much water should be applied at each irriga- 

 tion, is a question that can be decided only by the nature of the soil upon which it 

 is to be applied. Where the water level Is close to the surface of the earth, frequent 

 irrigations are not necessary. Through a greater portion of the San Joaquin Valley, 

 and especially the upper part — which is formed by the deltas of the Kings, Kaweah, 

 St. John and Kern rivers— one and two irrigations a season are sufficient. On sandy 

 or gravelly lands, where the surface water Is not close enough to the surface to fur- 

 nish sub-irrigation, the amount of water applied must be greater and the number of 

 irrigations more frequent. In all cases we believe that the best results are obtained 

 by thoroughly saturating the ground In the early spring and lessening the amount of 

 water applied as the weather becomes warmer. Where the water supply is available 

 at all times, an irrigation of from three to six inches after each cutting will be the best 

 method of irrigation upon lands that have no sub-irrigation supply. On heavy allu- 

 vial soils that are sub-Irrigating in their nature, one irrigation in the spring and one 

 the latter part of June will be all that Is required. 



***** 



The World To-Day, of Chicago, in its March issue, out February 20, will contain a 

 highly Illustrated article entitled "Building Up a State by Publicity." This relates to 

 the work of the California Promotion Committee and organizations throughout the 

 8tate which are working for California. 



