176 



THE IRKIGATION AGE. 



(2) A small stream may be handled effectively 

 over a large area, and the irrigator may apply the 

 stream at any point of the field he desires. 



(3) No field laterals are required, which is a 

 direct saving in the crop-producing area of a field, as 

 well as in the time required to construct and repair 

 these laterals. 



(4) There are no laterals and the surface of the 

 land is free from obstructions. Crops, therefore, can 

 be harvested with greater ease and with less wear and 

 tear on farming machinery. 



(5) With pipe and hose land can be irrigated 

 with little or no preparation, although it is better to 

 level land to some extent, if it needs it. 



(6) Introduction of noxious weeds into a field is 

 prevented. 



The disadvantages are: 



(1) Initial cost is high, especially where under- 

 ground pipes form part of the system. 



method is not practicable, and where it is not only 

 necessary to prevent erosion but to conserve the water 

 supply to the greatest possible degree, a number of or- 

 chardists use cheap metal, conduits in which the water 

 is conveyed to the basins without loss in transit. Where 

 these devices are used it is possible .to plant trees on 

 steep slopes and still have them so arranged in regular 

 order that land may be readily cultivated. The con- 

 duits which will now be described are in use in the 

 foothill orchard district lying to the north of Monrovia, 

 in southern California. 



PIPE IRRIGATION IN ORCHARDS. 



The pipes in common use are quite similar to 

 ordinary water spouting and are made in lengths of 

 from sixteen to eighteen feet, according to the space 

 between the rows of trees. They are usually made of 

 such length that one section will reach from one basin 

 to the next. The pipes are strung out between two 

 rows of basins and connected. After the first or low- 



Wooden Head Flume. 



(2) Pipe and hose require careful handling to 

 prevent their being damaged. Canvas hose, even with 

 best care, is short lived and requires frequent renewals. 



(3) It is necessary to have pressure head on pipes 

 in order that a fair-sized stream may be carried in 

 conduits of medium sectional area. 



Field irrigation with pipes and hose is undoubt- 

 edly impracticable in many sections of the West on 

 account of high cost. Numerous other sections, like 

 southern California, possessing a scanty water supply, 

 could well adopt the practice and thus extend the area 

 watered with their small supply. 



USE OF METAL CONDUITS IN HILLSIDE ORCHARD 

 IRRIGATION. 



In the citrus-fruit region of California the best 

 fruit-producing lands are frequently found along the 

 foothills, where the general slope of the land is quite 

 steep. In the irrigation of orchards on such slopes 

 particular care is required to prevent washing of the 

 loose soil and the formation of deep gullies. This is 

 accomplished in many cases by laying out the orchard 

 so that the ditches supplying the basins can be carried 

 on a uniform grade across the slope. Where this 



est basins have been filled from the full length of the 

 pipe the last joint is detached, the second basins from 

 the bottom are filled, and so on, one basin after another 

 is filled until the highest trees in the rows are irri- 

 gated. As each length of pipe is detached it is laid 

 over in the adjoining row and connected with the one 

 previously detached and moved over. In this way the 

 line of pipe for the new row is placed together while 

 the basins in the first row are being filled and no time 

 is lost in handling the pipes. When the highest basins 

 have been filled the pipe is attached to another stand 

 and the operation repeated for the second row of trees. 

 In this way a head of from twenty-five to forty inched 

 will keep one man busy, but he will have ample time 

 to attend to the basins and see that no water is need- 

 lessly lost. 



The best pipes for this purpose are made of No. 

 24 iron, are about three inches in diameter, and are 

 corrugated to give them rigidity. The disadvantages in 

 the use of pipes lie in the fact that the sections are 

 bulky and awkward to handle, one or two pipes being 

 a load for a man to carry. Another and more serious 

 trouble is that the pipe will not stand rough handling 





