CHAPTER XIII. 

 IRRIGATION OF THE GARDEN. 



THERE IS no part of the farm that ought to re- 

 , ceive more attention in the way of cultivation 

 ^^^ and irrigation than the garden, and it is here 

 that the most flattering results may be ob- 

 tained as the reward for one's labor. The first thing 

 to be done after securing a suitable location is to 

 thoroughly break and pulverize the soil. As irriga- 

 tion is an essential element of success, the garden spot 

 should be harrowed, leveled and rolled, so that water 

 can easily be carried to all parts equally. After many 

 years of careful observation and experience, the writer 

 is constrained to say that it is a better plan to have the 

 garden laid out in the form of a parallelogram, with 

 the narrow and highest end abutting on the lateral. 

 In this way the water may easily be taken from the 

 ditch, and if the rows of crops run the entire length of 

 the patch there will be no difiiculty from applying 

 water to one crop at the expense of another. 



Fig. 62 gives the diagram of a well-laid-out garden 

 after the style of these suggestions. The lateral is 

 represented by a; ^ shows the measuring-box or flume, 

 c the head-flume or box at the head of the furrows, 

 and d shows the gates or checks at the head of each 

 row. If possible to do vSO, it is always best to flood the 

 land before preparing the ground. Then when dry 

 enough to work, prepare and plant at once, and the 

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