IUUIGATION OF FIELD CROPS. 159 



"Water ways become coated and moisture fails to pene- 

 trate to the roots of plants along their course. To irri- 

 gate properly the furrows must be well made and as 

 nearly free of obstructions as careful methods will permit. 

 The slope of the laud will determine the distance it is 

 practicable to run water for uniform results. No greater 

 (luautity should be turned into each furrow than will 

 flow with uniform rate. Seepage is slow at best and it 

 usually takes many hours to secure the proper amount of 

 moisture to the soil to prove of lasting benefit. In irri- 

 gating corn no great quantities of water are necessary, 

 as is the case with root crops. While irrigation at the 

 proper time is often essential to the right development 

 of the corn product, the crop is impaired by excessive 

 watering, and hence there is no more certain way of re- 

 tarding growth and maturity than by the careless appli- 

 cation of water. Better not irrigate at all than to use 

 water lavishly. After the grain glazes there is no further 1 

 need of water to mature the crop. Caution is advised in 

 irrigating corn on sandy land that the stalks are not 

 washed out at the roots and thus tumble -over. 



Egyptian Corn. Plow the ground into ridges 

 three or four feet apart, run the water through deep fur- 

 rows, then level the ridges down and with a disc harrow 

 stir the soil perfectly and cut it fine. Then when it is 

 completely level plant with a double-row corn planter. 

 A single one will answer, of course, but the better is the 

 double-row planter with the check-row attachment, let- 

 ting a boy work the handles as fast as he can conven- 

 iently, so as to drop four or five seeds in a place, and not 

 more than eighteen or twenty inches apart in the rows. 

 The planters make the rows three feet eight inches apart, 

 which is convenient for cultivation. The disc harrow 

 which is used for ridging and cultivating, is perhaps one 

 of the best cultivators, although any cultivator which 

 can be used for corn will serve the purpose. The ground 



