298 MISCELLANEOUS FARM SUBJECTS 



ceiving water in the following order: Potatoes, sugar beets, wheat, 

 oats, and barley. This is known to correspond with general practice. 

 (A. R. Ex. S. 1908.) 



When to Irrigate. How often to irrigate and how much water 

 to apply must be decided by each individual in accordance with the 

 character of his soil and the crop he wishes to produce. One experi- 

 enced irrigator says : You can't irrigate by the clock. You must put 

 water on when the crops need it and take it off when the want is 

 supplied. Enough water is better than toe much. Two irrigations 

 are usually sufficient for a crop of alfalfa or grass. Four or five are 

 required for young orchards. Melons and beets should have no water 

 for some time previous to maturity of the crop. Alfalfa, clover, and 

 timothy should have no water during the maturing of the seed if 

 seed is desired. Some foresight is required in using the water at 

 your command, so that sections of the land may be irrigated con- 

 secutively for economy of both water and labor of applying it. Above 

 all, watch your work. Do not start the water over a field and then 

 go to town to spend the balance of the day. Each little stream re- 

 quires attention. (Ex. S. Bui. 145.) 



Rotation of Crops. The continued planting of any soil to the 

 same crop will have the same effect on irrigated as on unirrigated 

 land, the beet crop particularly being a heavy drain on soil fertility. 

 Rotation, therefore, is an absolute necessity in maintaining the soil 

 at its full productive capacity. Alfalfa, the principal crop through- 

 out the irrigated areas of the West, is the plant most used in rotation. 

 It not only fertilizes the soil by its nitrogen-absorbing properties, but 

 is deep-rooted and yields good returns. 



Two systems of rotation are usually employed. They are the 

 six-year rotation and the eight-year rotation. In the first system 

 the order is : Alfalfa, three years ; potatoes or sugar beets, two years ; 

 and oats or wheat, one year. Alfalfa seed is sown usually with wheat 

 or oats in the sixth year, and in the seventh year the ground grows 

 alfalfa. In the eight-year rotation the order is : Alfalfa, three years ; 

 beets, one year ; potatoes, one year ; beets, one year ; wheat, one year ; 

 oats, one year. Alfalfa is again sown with the oats. (F. B. 392; 

 Ex. S. Bui. 218.) 



The advantages of farming under irrigation as compared with 

 farming in a humid climate are : 



(1) Better opportunities are given to properly prepare the seed 

 bed, as the rainfall is seldom sufficient to make the soil so wet that 

 it can not be properly worked into a good tilth. 



(2) A dry surface promotes a better and deeper root growth and 

 thus produces a much more vigorous plant. 



(3) Water can be applied at a time that will produce the larg- 

 est yields. 



(4) The opportunities for harvesting without injury from rains 

 are better. 



(5) The yields of a first-class article are better. 



Estimates of the cost per acre of farming under irrigation are 

 given on the next page. 



