112 



ARID AGRICULTURE. 



LEVELING 



IMPLEMENTS 



SMALL 



IRRIGATION 



TOOLS 



After having cleared the brush from the land 

 and plowed it, the next question is leveling the 

 land, or rather grading it so that it is of a uni- 

 form slope, suitable for irrigation. For land 

 that contains many small humps and holes, some 

 type of grade scraper is usually best for leveling. 

 Where the knolls are large and the hollows deep- 

 er, a Fresno or "slip," or other scraper, may be 

 used, according to the distance the earth must be 

 hauled to level it off. The finishing touches 

 should be made by the home-made leveler. This 

 is a large frame made of 2x6 or 2x8 timbers, 

 edges down, thoroughly braced, so that they 

 will drag along the earth from the higher 

 places and will deposit it in the lower places. 

 The central cross-piece should be made adjusta- 

 ble by means of a lever, so that it may be lowered 

 or raised. This, as well as the other cross-pieces, 

 should be shod with iron. The adjustable scraper 

 can be made to take off quite a slice from a high 

 place, as the whole weight of the machine may be 

 made to rest on its sharp edge. These levelers 

 may be made 16 feet long and 5 feet wide for 

 four horses, or 24 feet long and 5 or 6 feet wide, 

 where eight horses are used. 



The great implement used in the flooding 

 method of irrigation is the common shovel, but 

 there is a difference between shovels. The best 

 irrigation shovel is one made strong at the waist, 

 with a sharp point, and with the top of the blade 



