354 



IRRIGATION PAEMIXCi. 



not to irrigate the Qrst time until the grain is five or six 

 inches high. One good reason for not irrigating a grain 

 crop earlier than the twentieth of May is because early 

 in the season the water is cold and consequently chills 

 the crop. Another objection tp irrigating before the 



FIG. 55. IRHTOATIXO A ORAINFIELD. 



1 ilnnts cover the ground is that flooding bakes the soil 

 and prevents a free circulation of air. There is still 

 another important reason. When the soil is moist near 

 the surface the plant does not send its roots down as 

 deeply as it would if the supply were stinted, and hence 

 lias not such abundant supplies to draw from. A month 



