METHODS OF APPLYING WATER. 



199 



lower the water surface, so that the rows are not 

 moistened underneath. Some farmers run the rows 

 diredlly down a steep slope, and in irrigating let a tiny 

 stream trickle down the rills for a day or two, thus 

 succeeding in having the moisture penetrate the rows. 

 To make the water enter so many rows at once requires 

 a very level head ditch, or the greatest pains and in- 

 genuity in the way of checks to effedl that end. The 

 idea of tiny rills under these circumstances is best 

 exploited by putting in lath 

 funnels at the top of each 

 row, as described elsewhere 

 in this work. In an irri- 

 gated country there is nat- 

 ural prejudice to hillside 

 farms. Still, if the soil is a 

 stiff clay it may be irrigated 

 by flooding without tearing 

 to pieces, even if rather 

 steep; but in this case it is 

 next to impossible to spread 

 the water so evenly and 

 thinly that the soil can absorb all that is applied. 

 Hence usually a large part of that used runs off into 

 hollows and draws, and is lost to the user. 



Along the line of many irrigating canals, large 

 tra(fts of land are often found which have a decided 

 fall or are rolling. Where this occurs in large tradls, 

 the expense of terracing is generally too great for the 

 average farmer, and a system whereby the distribution 

 of water can be assured suited to the contour of the 

 ground must be devised. On land sloping similarly, as 



59— A PLAN FOR WATER- 

 ING ROUGH LAND. 



