26o IRRIGATION FARMING. 



season the crop will need irrigating once a week, and 

 sometimes twice, depending a great deal upon the 

 character of the soil. Toward the latter part of the 

 season it is unnecessary to be so particular about stir- 

 ring the soil after each irrigation. When the first 

 tops begin to fall down irrigation should cease. 



For furrow irrigation the onions are planted on 

 level ground, the same as when irrigation is not prac- 

 ticed. The rows should be about fourteen inches 

 apart. Run a Planet Junior cultivator between each 

 row, and the peculiar shape of the teeth will leave a 

 small furrow, at the same time not throwing enough 

 soil on either side to interfere with the plants. 

 Through each one of these furrows run a very small 

 stream of water, just sufficient to keep running but 

 not large enough to overflow the banks. This water 

 passes off and must have an outlet, and should run in 

 the furrows until it has soaked the soil to the center 

 of the rows for about six hours. After the ground is 

 sufficiently dried it is cultivated in the same manner 

 as described in flooding. We are rather in favor of 

 the furrow system, which is the only one to use in 

 * ' the new onion culture, ' ' or the transplanting method. 

 In doing this transplanting the water should follow in 

 the furrow, and a slight ridge for the sets is prefer- 

 able. It might be well to know that onions grown 

 with too much water are apt to yield scullions, and 

 the bulbs will be of inferior quality and prove poor 

 keepers. In no case would we advise irrigation oftener 

 than once a week. 



One of the best onion growers in the Arkansas val- 

 ley of Southern Colorado gives the following as his 



