104 ARID AGRICULTURE. 



THE BASIN This is a flooding system used almost exclu- 



METKOD sively for orchards. It is practiced more in Cal- 



ifornia, perhaps, than in any other State, though 

 it has superseded to a large extent the "check" 

 method, which it very closely resembles. The 

 principal difference between this and the check 

 method of irrigation lies in the size of the checks, 

 the basin containing only enough ground for one 

 tree, while the check method used in orchards 

 may contain ground on which several or even a 

 great many trees are growing. The banks 

 thrown up to retain the water in the basins are 

 usually somewhat better constructed and more 

 permanent than those in the "check" system. 

 They are also usually much lower ; as a less area 

 is irrigated in a check. In some instances they 

 are made so low fhat a cultivator may be run 

 across them, by little lifting, without much dam- 

 age to either the machine or the bank. It is 

 commonly thought that, especially where the 

 weather gets very hot, it is injurious to allow 

 water to stand around the base of the trunks of 

 fruit trees. Most farmers concur in the opinion 

 that the heating of water in the basins by the 

 sun will tend to scald the bark of the trees and 

 that it may even produce wilting on hot days. To 

 obviate this condition, usually a small mound is 

 thrown up surrounding the trunk of the tree to 

 prevent the water coming in contact with it. 

 When this is done the water is applied where it 



