IRRIGATION TOOLS AND DEVICES 



437 



most common check is a shovelful of dirt placed in the 

 ditch at the point where the division of water is desired. 

 At times the checks are made by a dammer, while the 

 ditch is dry- before the irrigation. The dirt check is only 

 temporary, is often washed away, and involves consider- 

 able labor. A portable wooden dam or check, or dam 

 made of a board with one or more holes in it, which can 



FIG. 159. Beet cultivator attachments. 



be inserted wherever needed and removed at will, has 

 been found very satisfactory. The metal dam or tappoon 

 has also given satisfaction. The canvas dam has of recent 

 years been extensively adopted, and is said to be of 

 especial value because it may be made to fit the ditch 

 snugly. It is held down by a shovelful of dirt, so that it 

 is really a modification of the original dirt check. The 



