Garden Irrigation 



385 



Fig. 112. Diagram of garden beds. 





beds, when the irrigator dams the current at his feet 



with a gunny sack and with a long -handled basin 



dextrously bales the water out as rapidly as it reaches 



him, dashing it over 



the littered surface 



until, in his judgment, 



water enough has been 



applied. The dam is 



then moved and a 



second area irrigated, 



the operation being 



repeated until the 



ends of the beds have 



been reached, when the head ditch is opened and 



closed in another place, turning the water in between 



other beds. 



When the water has had time to penetrate the 

 soil, when the surface is beyond danger of crusting, 

 and the delicate plants have begun to emerge from 

 the ground, the litter may be raked off. In this 

 manner a man was observed to irrigate an area 33 

 feet by 150 feet in one hour, using the water which 

 could flow through a short 3-inch pipe, filling it half 

 full, and Fig. 112 is a diagram of the beds, 15 feet 

 wide between the waterways. 



Another type of irrigation is shown in Fig. 113, 

 where the garden is ridged and furrowed every 18 

 inches. Celery is planted on one side of each ridge 

 and lettuce on the other. When irrigation is required 

 the furrows, 6 inches deep, are flooded one at a time 

 from a stream led along their head, and these, when 



