54 MODERN STRAWBERRY GROWING 



berries, causing the water to cover the ground 

 completely, either pumping in the water at 

 some convenient place, or damming up a 

 convenient brook or stream. 



Furrows. — It is a very common practice 

 in the West or mid-West to lay out a straw- 

 berry field in such a way that water from large 

 main irrigation ditches can be brought on the 

 field and led only in the alternate rows of 

 strawberries (because the rows between must 

 be firm ground for the pickers) in deep, broad 

 furrows, holding the water in these trenches 

 until it has spread considerably in a lateral 

 direction. It is not possible, in these 

 droughty sections, without this or some other 

 method, to place enough water at fruit time 

 within reach of the roots so that irrigation 

 would be unnecessary. The chief objection 

 to this method is the fact that it is not eco- 

 nomical of water. This would be quite a fac- 

 tor if the water were bought by the gallon. 



Sub-irrigation, — As its name implies, 

 something below. Where this method is 

 used lines of tile or perforated pipe of vary- 

 ing sizes and lengths are laid below the sur- 

 face, generally one or more large mains with 

 many smaller laterals, sometimes the mains 



