FARMING UNDER IRRIGATION 67 



under irrigation, as to planting, tillage and harvesting, is 

 very little different from the management of the same 

 crops under humid conditions, except in three particulars. 

 First, all work must protect the irrigation system, such as 

 ditches, furrows and piping, being careful not to damage 

 them in cultivating the crop. Second, the tillage must be 

 performed with a definite view to conserving the moisture 

 in all possible ways. Third, the management of the farm 

 must be more carefully planned as the cost of production is 

 greater on irrigated land than on humid land, and a mate- 

 rial increase of production per acre must result if a sub- 

 stantial profit is to be assured. 



Rotation. The desire for immediate cash returns 

 makes the tendency to single cropping as pronounced on 

 irrigated projects as in the central states or the cotton ter- 

 ritory. Yet the fact that the land is new makes diversi- 

 fication and a carefully planned system of rotation even 

 more desirable than in most other regions. For not a 

 little of the new land which is being brought under irriga- 

 tion is almost entirely devoid of organic matter. This is 

 due to the fact that for many years it has been entirely 

 without vegetation. For this reason and for the purpose of 

 keeping up the natural fertility and the enriching of the 

 soil, it is important to plan a practical system of crop rota- 

 tion from the start. 



Every irrigation farmer should keep in close touch with 

 the state college of agriculture and state experiment sta- 

 tion of his state by visiting the institution and reading its 

 bulletins. In this way he can secure guidance and infor- 

 mation from experts who have been provided with both 

 time and money to investigate and experiment in order to 

 discover the safest and best methods for the farmer. 



