DEEP FURROWS AT RIVERSIDE 



197 



My ditches are run on a grade with a fall from _' to 3 inches to the rod and 

 from 5 to 8 feet apart. At each irrigation the water is run about thirty-six 

 hours before changing. The round of the orchard is made in ten to fourteen 

 days. _ None of my small ditches exceeds 400 feet in length. VVhen I begin 

 to irrigate a section I turn on from the reservoir water sufficient to cover 

 that section in a few hours, then lessen it until it just reaches the end of each 

 row, but see that it reaches the end of each row if a little surplus passes 

 over. This surplus I take up in a main ditch, to be again used on lower 

 ground. This is continued until the lowest part of the orchard is reached, 

 and very little water is ever wasted. By running on a grade that is so nearly 

 level the water is applied uniformly, even on the driest parts of the hill 

 slopes. I run the main distributing ditches in a zigzag manner, taking water 

 from these ditches to cover the lower sections. I formerly used pipes to 

 lead the water down the steepest grades, but this system I have abandoned 

 and now use open zigzag ditches for mains. From the main zigzag ditches 

 I do not take the water at the turning point, as there is more liability of 

 breakage than if taken when running straight, or at whatever point is neces- 

 sary to keep the distributing ditches on an average of 8 feet apart. The 

 length of the zigzag ditches varies according to the slope of the hillside. 

 When steep, the ditch, before turning, must be of greater length than where 

 the ground is more level. (See diagram.) I use no gates, but bush the 

 openings with coarse swale hay. I also bush the turning points of ditches, 

 as they are in permanent use throughout the season, and after the first few 

 days' use require but little care to keep them in order. These ditches are 

 torn up during the season of cultivation and have to be renewed every year. 



I use a level set on a frame 8.25 feet long and about 2.5 feet high (one 

 leg longer than the other) to make any grade desired. Then I drag its length 

 on the ground after getting the level, and can mark the line of ditch nearly 

 half as fast as a man can walk. 



During the last ten years I have used many thousand feet of pipe in irri- 

 gating, but have found it too expensive to be practicable, and it frequently 

 gets clogged, causing much trouble. The zigzag method of taking the water 

 down hills on the dry ridges, distributing to right and left, picking it up 

 again in zigzag ditches at the end of the rows or system, to be used again 

 on lower ground, brings into use the largest quantity where it is most 

 needed and utilizes it all without waste. 



Irrigating by Small Furrows. It has already been suggested 

 that recently the small furrow method of irrigation is undergoing 

 certain modifications. The occasion for the change is that in 



Newer system of furrow irrigation at Riverside, Cal. 



