148 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



THE PRIMER OF IRRIGATION. 



COPYRIGHTED, 1903. BY D. H. ANDERSON. 



CHAPTER XI. 



LAYING OUT LAND FOK HiltlUATlON. 



If the author had his way about it, he would have 

 the land on each side of every main or large supply 

 ditch sloped down gently for at least one hundred and 

 fifty feet, and on that slope he would plant peas, 

 beans, corn, and melons and raise a good profitable 

 crop without any or with very little furrow or surface 

 irrigation. The seepage water would answer the pur- 

 pose of sub-irrigation, or infiltration, as will be ex- 

 plained in another chapter. This water aided by deep 

 cultivation and pulverization of the soil would be 

 sufficient to gratify his most ardent hopes. 



At the bottom of each slope would be established 

 an open ditch or covered drainage system, and the 

 surplus water caught and utilized for surface or furrow 

 irrigation on the plat below. The land on the ditch 

 slope would be plowed and cultivated parallel with 

 the ditch line, and at right angles to it on the plat be- 

 low the slope. 



This system of laying out the land is equivalent 

 to terracing but more convenient and natural, withal, 

 less expensive, for the ditches can be arranged to suit 

 the slopes of the land rather than the reverse. Should 

 the land be sufficient in quantity to make it worth 

 \vliilo and the topography permit, a series of slopes 

 could be provided for and every drop of the usually 

 wasted seepage water utilized. It is very pretty to the 

 eye and looks very nice and regular on paper, but the 

 author believes that although the ditches run everywhere 

 in the most profuse irregularity and ugliness, destruc- 

 tive even of the refinement required of landscape art, 

 yet there is nothing more beautiful to his eye than 

 a luxuriant crop of profitable plants. Experiment 

 and settled practice has demonstrated the utility and 

 value of this system all over the world. Corn, beans, 

 peas, peppers, onions, even small fruits and crawling 

 berry vines growing to perfect maturity without a drop 

 of water from the clouds or by artificial application, 

 and as to the quality well, they are imported into this 

 country from Europe and the American epicure pays 

 three times as much for them as for home productions 

 because he finds them better suited to his palate. 

 Everv housewife knows that her window plants fkrarish 

 and grow luxuriantly by keeping the "saucer" of the 

 flower pot filled with water without any surface wet- 

 ting at all. 



The system is as old as Egypt and Babylon, and 

 it is adapted to small farms and is an obviously 

 economical system of increasing the duty of water 

 without increasing its quantity, and it is more con- 

 ducive to the- perfection of plant growth and life than 

 "over-dosing." 



DITCH-BANK IRRIGATION. 



The system last referred to is really what may be 

 called "ditch-bank irrigation." The object of it, of 

 course, is to use the water that seeps or percolates 

 from the banks of a raised ditch, which is sufficient to 

 moisten the slope of the bank and the soil for some 

 distance outward from the base. We find that this 

 system was in favor with the old Spanish settlers, who 

 opened a ditch from a stream on a grade so slight that 

 a very slow flow would result. The land on each side 

 of this ditch was" thus moistened and almost even- 



variety of vegetables and small fruits were raised with- 

 out other irrigation. 



To accomplish the purpose, the land is deeply 

 plowed, turning under a good covering of manure, 

 then harrow thoroughly until the soil is evenly settled. 

 After this the land is ready for the elevated ditch 

 from which the seepage water is to be obtained. This 

 is done by throwing back a few furrows to form a ridge 

 which shall be high enougli to command the land un- 

 der it. The ridge is shaped evenly and the surface 

 raked over, a hoe being used to mark out a narrow 

 ditch. When the water is turned in the course of the 

 water may be regulated with a hoe and by a little cut- 

 ting and filling, so that the water will run evenly 

 along the entire length of the ridge. 



In less than a week the soil along the ridge will 

 be in a suitable condition to receive whatever seed or 

 plant it is desired to grow ; indeed, there will be as 

 much space along the base of the ridge as there is on 

 its slope which will be sufficiently moist. If the ground 

 is not too porous, the water will percolate slowly and 

 evenly and moisten the soil without cropping out at 

 the surface anywhere. By thrusting the hand into 

 the soil it will be found that the percolating water is 

 within an inch of the surface, but never quite reaches 

 it, due probably to surface evaporation. As will be 

 noticed in the case of sand, the surface may be dry 

 but water-soaked an inch or so below. 



The number of ridges may be multiplied to suit 

 the quantity of surface it is desirable to irrigate in 

 that fashion, and they may be made large enough to 

 control a quarter or half an acre. Even though the 

 land at the base is perfectly flat, the water flows down 

 the slope and spreads out along the levels. Should 

 the land be sloping generally, the overflow from the 

 first or highest ditch may be troughed to a lower one 

 and so on indefinitely. Wooden troughs of four-inch 

 stuff nailed together in the form of a V, with two or 

 three cross-cleets at the top to prevent warping, are 

 very serviceable, and being about sixteen feet in length, 

 comparatively light, and therefore easy to handle, may 

 be made to reach any desired distance by overlapping. 

 Or, the overflow from a series of these ridge ditches 

 may be collected into one ditch and carried to small 

 fruits or joined with a larger stream. The simplicity 

 of the arrangement, though requiring some labor at 

 first in establishing the proper grade, fairly compen- 

 sates for that work and care, for during the rest of the 

 season the irrigation is automatic, that is, it goes on 

 uninterruptedly and without any assistance. All the 

 repairs needed will be a few strokes of the hoe, a 

 trifle of raking, and the land will always be ready for 

 any kind of crop or succession of crops. Care should 

 be taken not to puddle the bottom or sides of the ridge 

 ditches, as in case of a reservoir. On the contrary the 

 water should occasionally be shut off and the ditch 

 raked up to open the soil, for the object of these ditches 

 is not to store or hold water, but to enable the water to 

 seep or leach out into the soil. 



There is never any danger of the soil becoming 

 soggy, for the quantity of water is small, regulated to 

 suit the demands of the plants, and to allow for a 

 slight evaporation. 



DEPRESSED BEDS. 



Growing out of the ditch-bank irrigation is the 

 depressed or sunken bed system, which is quite similar, 

 the water being fed from ridge ditches, but instead 



