114 ARID AGRICULTURE. 



scraper, the earth that is being scraped away 

 being left at about the location of the bank. This 

 bank can then be shaped up by a "ridger," which 

 is the reverse of a home-made "A," the side not 

 being allowed to meet at the point of the "A." 

 This instrument, drawn with the large end for- 

 ward, shapes and straightens the bank. The 

 places where the banks meet must be left unmade 

 and these can afterward be filled in by hand 

 or by a special machine made for this purpose, 

 which is simply a scraper made so that its load 

 can be easily dumped in one place. For furrow r 

 irrigation, a home-made instrument called a 

 "marker," is used for making the furrows. It is 

 simply a few 4x6 timbers, two or three feet long, 

 bevelled at the lower edge and drawn along par- 

 allel to each other, being held the proper distance 

 apart by a strong wooden frame. The front of 

 the furrowing timbers should be slanted and 

 shod with diamond-shaped sheets of iron. Fur- 

 rows can also be made by special hoe teeth for a 

 common cultivator. This leaves the furrows 

 rough and loose. The furrows for beets and po- 

 tatoes are usually made with a simple shovel 

 plow, with or without wings, or with a small 

 double or listing plow. 



HEAD GATES Small head gates are necessary for each main 



lateral and sometimes a larger one for the ditch 

 bringing the water to the individual farm. When 

 water is plentiful and drain ditches are provided 



