METHODS OF APPLYING WATER. 1 75 



20th of May. The first water is turned upon the pas- 

 ture,' meadow, or orchard, just as it may be required. 

 One year in the thirty that we have farmed in Colo- 

 rado we commenced on the 24th day of May to irri- 

 gate, to germinate the grain that had been sown. We 

 irrigated three times that season. We commence gen- 

 erally from the loth to the 25th of June to irrigate the 

 small grain crop. The matter of leaving water turned 

 on is regulated largely by the condition of the soil. 

 While some land will soak full of water in from ten to 

 twenty minutes, another kind of soil may require as 

 long again to soak. We turn the water on and let it 

 stay until the ground is thoroughly wet and soft as 

 deep as it was plowed — eight to ten inches — then the 

 water is let out of the ditch a little further on, and so 

 on until the field is all irrigated. 



Every crop tells when it wants water. The grasses, 

 clovers, and small grains have a language that cannot 

 be mistaken. Whenever their green color becomes 

 very dark and sickly turn on the water. When corn 

 wants water it tells the fadl by its leaves being curled 

 up in the morning. Salsify needs but little if any 

 water after it is well under way. Carrots cannot bear 

 an irrigation by flooding after they are half grown. If 

 covered with water the crowns decay. All species of 

 the cabbage family require a good deal of water. In 

 other words, they like wet feet, and are very particular 

 how the water is applied. All plants in a dry climate 

 should be pushed in their early stages of grow^th by a 

 judicious application of the proper amount of water 

 and frequent cultivations, at no time letting them 

 stand, or go back from want of water and proper 



