SPECIAL FARM TOPICS 283 



Cost of Clearing the Surface. The cost of removing and burn- 

 ing a heavy growth of brush in the manner just described is about 

 $2.50 per acre. Brush which grows from 2 to 3 feet high in clumps 

 about 8 feet apart can usually be removed and burned for $1.50 or 

 less per acre. When sagebrush is grubbed out by hand the cost 

 varies from $1.50 to $3 per acre, according as the growth is light 

 or heavy. In localities where water is cheap and abundant sage- 

 brush may be killed by being flooded, and when dry is readily raked 

 into heaps and burned. 



Grading. Land in the mountain States is first leveled, then 

 graded and smoothed, and afterwards ditched. A supply ditch is 

 first dug to convey water to the highest corner of the field, and per- 

 manent ditches are extended along one or two boundaries and occa- 

 sionally within the interior of field. The land is then deeply plowed 

 and well graded. 



Field Laterals. When a field has been leveled and graded, 

 small ditches, called field laterals, are run through it. This work 

 may be done either before or after seeding. On fields intended for 

 alfalfa or meadows the laterals are made larger and with more care. 

 They are usually located on a grade of from one-half to three-fourths 

 of an inch to the rod, and are spaced about 75 feet apart in grain 

 fields, and down the steepest slope from the supply ditch. Small 

 laterals may be made with a common walking plow, but a lister plow 

 attached to a sulky frame is to be preferred for medium-size ditches. 

 The larger laterals, designed to carry 200 miner's inches, may be 

 easily made by riveting together two steel beam plows, one with a 

 right and the other with a left hand share. This method appeals 

 to the poor settler, because it is less costly than most others. The 

 cost of grading the surface in this way and building field ditches 

 will vary from $2 to $5 per acre, depending on the natural condi- 

 tion of the land in its raw state. (F. B. 263.) 



Cost. The cost of preparing land for irrigation varies with the 

 condition of the ground and the price of labor. An approximate 

 estimate, including the cost of removing sagebrush, plowing, har- 

 rowing, and grading, has been made. The cost of grubbing sage- 

 brush is based upon the supposition that one man can grub an acre 

 a day. The contract price for such work is $1.50 an acre. 



The cost of grading land depends upon the condition of the 

 surface, but, after thoroughly plowing and harrowing, $1 per acre 

 for grading would probably cover the cost in most cases. Thus to 

 prepare land for irrigation the cost would sum up as follows: 



Per acre. 



Grubbing sagebrush $1.50 



Plowing , 2.50 



Harrowing 50 



Grading 1.00 



Total . . $5.50 



(Exp. S. Bui. 145.) 



