CHAPTER XII. 

 IRRIGATION OF FIELD CROPS. 



^T^ HE application of water is the one thing impor- 



* , tant in all irrigating operations, and must 

 ^^3 receive the most careful study and considera- 

 tion. Every man must be his own preceptor 

 to a great degree, and it is only the general rules that 

 will be useful to him. The mechanical part of the 

 science of irrigation is easily learned and quickly 

 understood by the novice. There is a branch of the 

 science, however, not so quickly mastered, because 

 not fully understood by pra(5lical farmers — the quan- 

 tity of water which any given grain or vegetable re- 

 quires. No fixed rule as to quantity can be given 

 because the nature of the soil, lay of the land and the 

 season all tend to modify the amount required. The 

 relative amount, however, can be ascertained with a 

 fair degree of certainty. Experience shows that it is 

 easy to exceed the quantity required by the crop, and 

 that every excess is injurious. Extravagance is the 

 common fault, so much so that the most successful 

 irrigators are invariably those who use the least water. 

 Cultivation, too, is a primary fadlor to the attainment 

 of the fullest success in the magic art, and on this 

 account the writer is constrained from time to time to 

 digress from what may seem to be the real text of the 

 subje<5t. 

 206 



