264 IRRIGATION FARMING. 



moved. The remainder of the furrow may be filled up 

 by running a one-horse plow the opposite way along- 

 side the plants, which will also leave a furrow for irri- 

 gating. Water should then be turned on and allowed 

 to run until the ground is well soaked up to the plants. 

 The ground must be kept free from weeds by a narrow- 

 bladed cultivator. When plants begin to set fruit use 

 the one-horse plow again, this time running on each 

 side of the row, which forms a ridge and keeps the fruit 

 out of the water. We have found three irrigations on 

 the very driest soil sufficient up to the fruiting period. 

 Too much water will raise a heavy growth of vines 

 and interfere with the ripening of the fruit. When the 

 plants need water they will turn dark in color. They 

 need water oftener after the fruit begins to ripen, to 

 keep up the size and weight. 



One drawback to the culture of tomatoes under irri- 

 gation is a disease known scientifically as cedema, 

 which is a swelling of certain parts of the plant, 

 brought about by an excess of water stretching the 

 cell walls, making them very thin and the cells very 

 large. The excess of water may be so great that the 

 cell walls break down, and that part of the plant dying, 

 exerts an injurious influence in adjacent parts. In an 

 ordinary rainy season the irrigation of the tomato plant 

 should be a secondary consideration. In ordinary 

 moist land a good wetting just after transplanting and 

 again in ten days, with subsequent cultivation, are 

 usually quite sufficient. Too much water is a bad 

 thing for tomatoes. Peppers require exactly the same 

 methods. 



Cucumbers. — For this crop a warm location is 



