CAXAL COXSTKUCTIOX. 01 



ditch laterals as the common plow and scraper. Make 

 the ditch bottom as wide as the scraper even for the small 

 laterals, if they are to be permanent. The first plowing 

 should be at least three times as wide as the finished 

 ditch, so the earth may be thoroughly broken up and no 

 smooth or grass-covered surface left for the bank to rest 

 upon. On a sidehill the plowing should extend well 

 down the lower side. Under an extensive canal system 

 a water consumer's land may lie a mile or two distant 

 from the main ditch. In a case of this kind the laterals 

 must be of a permanent character. This work may re- 

 quire as much skill and judgment as the construction of 

 the canal itself, and should be well done. When the 

 ditch is completed let a very little water in for the first 

 few days and shut it off every afternoon. The high em- 

 bankments will settle and are reasonably sure to crack, 

 and the earth must then be tamped into the cracks. 

 The ends of flumes will need tamping and puddling. 

 The coarse gravel in the banks will leak like a sieve and 

 will require many a shovelful of fine earth to fill up the 

 interstices. In a few weeks, however, all will be settled 

 in place. 



