THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



11 



about two feet in width. Many plows of different sizes 

 similar to this, made entirely on the farm or with ths 

 help of the village blacksmith, may be seen about Gree- 

 ley, Colo. 



Another homemade furrowing device is the so- 

 called "A," which is drawn through an ordinary plow 

 furrow and crowds the loose earth to the sides. No de- 

 scription of this implement is necessary, as it is used 

 quite commonly throughout the West. 



LAYING OUT LATERALS. 



In laying out a system of laterals to serve a farm 

 of, for . instance, 160 acres, it is important for the fu- 

 ture saving of money and labor to run the main 

 lateral along the highest portion of the farm, in order 

 to command the greatest irrigable area. This sounds 

 so reasonable it seems scarcely necessary to mention 

 it; yet, unfortunately, many an inexperienced irrigator 

 upon taking up a new tract of land may see in the 

 area of his farm certain broad fields of gently slop- 



In Wyoming and northern Colorado many an irri- 

 gator can be found who realizes the advantage of hav- 

 ing his laterals laid out with a surveyor's level in order 

 that when the time comes to construct his ditches they 

 may command the greatest area at the least cost and 

 be permanent. The most emphatic advice given by 

 old irrigators is, "See that your laterals are laid out 

 to the best advantage at the outset and that your fields 

 are thoroughly graded." The old adage that "work 

 once well done is twice done" can be applied with 

 no stronger significance than in preparing fields for 

 irrigation. 



COST. 



The cost of preparing land for irrigation varies 

 with the condition of the ground and the price of labor. 

 An approximate estimate, including the cost of re- 

 moving sagebrush, plowing, harrowing and grading, 

 'has been made from information obtained from the 

 farmers in southern and middle Wyoming. The cost 

 of grubbing sagebrush is based upon the supposition 



Home-Made Lateral Plow Rear View. 



ing ground so pleasing to the eye that his very first 

 impulse is to run a lateral from the nearest point in the 

 main canal to the choicest piece of ground, altogether 

 overlooking or not duly considering the worth of less 

 favorable ground, thereby leaving excellent pieces of 

 land high and dry above his main lateral. When the 

 time comes in which he finds it will be profitable to 

 expand the cultivated portions of his farm and to put 

 every square' foot under irrigation, then, instead of 

 supplying the fields he wishes to water from his main 

 ditch (perhaps passing near by), he discovers the ne- 

 cessity of going to his original source of supply and 

 building another ditch, often paralleling his main lat- 

 erals, but on high ground. If the original laterals had 

 been properly located, instead of being obliged to build 

 a new main ditch large enough to carry a sufficient 

 supply for his whole farm he could have simply ex- 

 tended sublaterals from the main laterals already com- 

 manding his farm and proceeded to reclaim whatever 

 part he wished of the unbroken area. 



that one man can grub an acre a day. The contract 

 price for such work is $1.50 an acre, based upon the 

 fact that the usual wage paid farm hands in Wyoming 

 is $30 a month with board, which is considered equiva- 

 lent to a wage of $45 a month. 



The cost of grading land depends upon the condi- 

 tion of the surface, but after thorough plowing and 

 harrowing $1 per acre for grading would probably 

 cover the cost in most cases. Thus to prepare land for 

 irrigation the cost would sum up as follows: 



Per acre. 



Grubbing sagebrush $1.50 



Plowing 2.50 



Harrowing 50 



Grading J.OO 



Total 



(To 'be continued.) 



.$5.50 



