178 The Principles of Vegetable -Gardening 



By the aid of these slides the flow of water may be regulated at 

 will. If a row is receiving too much water the gate may be 

 partially closed. Before the water is turned on, the ground be- 

 tween the rows should be thoroughly cultivated and small fur- 

 rows run out on both sides of the rows, plowing away from the 

 row. A hand garden plow is used, and only a very slight furrow 

 plowed. The plan is to run small streams of water alongside 

 the rows for several hours until the ground about the roots of 

 the plants is thoroughly soaked. By this means the ground is 

 all thoroughly wet and not puddled. Persons without experience 

 in distributing water, are inclined in the beginning to spread 

 the water over the whole surface of the ground between the 

 rows. This is not the best plan. The whole surface will bake 

 and the soil will be puddled to the depth of several inches by 

 the attendants walking over it in distributing the water. By 

 the plan given above it is possible for the attendants to walk 

 on dry ground at all times." 



In a more recent article (Amer. Florist, Sept. 9, 1899) Crane- 

 field makes the following suggestion for the modification of the 

 board trough: "Bore one -inch augur holes every few inches in 

 one side and near the bottom. Directly above each hole attach a 

 wooden button, slightly over an inch wide and three or four 

 inches long, by means of a screw; this to be used as a gate or 

 valve to control the supply of water. Place these troughs across 

 the head of the field on a slight incline and admit the water at 

 the upper end. By aid of these one man can attend to the wa- 

 tering of a very large field." 



He continues: "Irrigated fields should be given thorough 

 shallow cultivation as soon as possible, to form a mulch and 

 conserve the water. By reference to the plat (Fig. 39) it will be 

 noticed that two plats of strawberries were irrigated in addition 

 to other grounds. The ground slopes gently towards the lake. By 

 placing a row of troughs across the south and higher end of 

 the south plat, water was carried alongside of the rows running 

 north and south and the surplus water was run across the alley 

 to the lower plat and the nursery. After the troughs were set 

 up one man with a hoe was usually able to attend to all the work. 



