METHODS OP APPLYING WATER. 1 79 



required by the lay of the land, as will give them only 

 a slight descent. A hoef ul or shovelful of earth thrown 

 in the furrows at the entrance keeps them closed. 

 When the land needs water the little gate or sliding 

 board at the canals is raised as far as needed to let in 

 the required amount of water. This is raised or low- 

 ered as may be necessary in the course of irrigating a 

 field. 



The lateral being filled with water, the irrigator 

 opens the upper ends of the plow furrows by taking 

 out a shovelful of earth. The little furrows then be- 

 come filled. The water seeping through or running 

 over the sides gently trickles along over the surface 

 and soaks into the ground. Flowing thus from each 

 side the waters soon unite between the furrows, and 

 thus the moisture becomes uniform and general. The 

 farmer may remove all obstrudlions by clipping off a 

 bit of dirt at intervals from the sides of the furrows, 

 and flood his land till the water will everywhere cover 

 the surface. In this way he can in an hour or two 

 give an entire farm what would be equal to a heavy 

 soaking rain. These floodings are often given about 

 the heading-out time, and the result is the produdlion 

 of heavier and more perfect grain. The water should 

 be put on as rapidly as possible with no let-up — the 

 quicker the better. It should not be allowed to stand 

 in pools anywhere, because standing water stops all 

 the pores in the soil, cutting off the air from the roots 

 and, as it were, taking the life out of them for some 

 time. Flooding requires more water than many other 

 methods, but at the same time much less labor is 

 needed, and it may be called the lazy man's system. 



