164 



THE IBBIQATION AGE. 



the mile. Such land costs little to put into shape for the 

 spreading of water over it, and the slope insures good 

 drainage. Sometimes the land is cut up by ravines which 

 increase the labor and cost of putting water upon it, or 

 it may have too much or too little slope. In other cases 

 it is full of buffalo or hog wallows, which are difficult to 

 bring to an even grade. If land which is naturally smooth 

 on the surface and of the right slope costs $5 per acre to 

 prepare for irrigating, hog-wallow land may cost $15. 

 Besides, some hog-wallow land is inferior in quality, 

 frequently being charged with injurious salts. 



Lastly, good drainage is essential for a permanently 

 productive irrigated farm. It is practically impossible to 

 supply crops with sufficient water for the best growth 

 without applying so much that some will seep into the 

 subsoil. Unless this can flow away the level of the ground 

 water will rise until it comes near the surface and drowns 

 out crops, and perhaps cause an accumulation of alkali. 

 If the natural drainage is not good it must be supplied ar- 

 tificially, but this need not be done until a few crops have 

 been raised, for the reason that it is not possible to tell 

 until after irrigation where the drains should be placed 

 to drain the land most effectively. 



The frequent failures to get a good stand of alfalfa 

 in the humid portions of the United States have led some 

 writers on this subject to prescribe within somewhat nar- 

 row limits where and under what conditions this forage 

 plant can be grown successfully. That this view is not 

 correct as regards the irrigated portion of the United 

 States is amply shown by the fact that it is grown suc- 

 cessfully in every state and territory of the arid region, 

 in localities which are not only widely separated but pos- 

 sess many radical differences in the way of rainfall, tem- 

 perature, altitude, topography and soil. 



Figure 2. Sagebrush Grubber Used in Clearing Land Near Riverton, 

 Wyoming. 



The Removed of Native Vegetation. 



In arid America few places are so barren as not to pro- 

 duce plants of some kind, and the first step in preparing 

 land for irrigation is the removal of this native vegeta- 

 tion. When this consists of native grasses, low cacti, or 

 small bushes they can be plowed under or removed with- 

 out much extra expense, but when it consists of large sage- 

 brush, mesquite, or greasewood, the cost is high and the 

 task of removing it may require special implements. Of 

 all the desert plants sagebrush is the most common. For- 

 merly the grubbing hoe, or mattock, and plow were the 

 only implements used to remove this bush. Breaking 

 down the branches and then digging out the roots before 

 attempting to plow proved laborious. By this process 

 the cost of grubbing, gathering the brush into piles, and 

 burning varied from $2 per acre in light sage to $5 per 

 acre in heavy sage. Of late, farmers who are well pro- 

 vided with work teams greatly expedite the work and re- 

 duce the amount of manual labor by first dragging a rail- 

 road rail or heavy timber over the sagebrush. This work 

 can be done best when the ground is frozen. If only two 

 teams of two horses each are available, one rail will suffice. 



but with six, or, better still, eight horses, four at each end, 

 two railroad rails may be bolted together. If iron rails 

 cannot be had, two large logs chained together make a 

 good substitute. In railing brush, as it is termed, the rails 

 are dragged at least twice over the same trip, but in op- 

 posite directions. The few stumps which remain are then 

 grubbed out by hand or left to be plowed out and the 

 brush raked into windrows and burned. A brush rake 

 may be made of a 6-inch timber 12' feet long, by boring 

 2-inch holes through the timber, 10 inches apart, and in- 

 serting in each a wooden tooth about 3 feet long. The 

 rake is then fastened by two joists to the rear of a wagon 

 to which a team is hitched. In the San Joaquin and Im- 

 perial valleys of California the railroad rail is bent in the 

 form of a V, but it is a question if this form has any ad- 

 vantages over the straight rail. A more effective imple- 

 ment for light brush is sketched in figure 2. From 8 to 

 12 horses are hitched to it and 20 acres may be cleared in 

 one day. In Kern county, Cal., a 6 by 12-inch timber. 

 24 feet long, shod with steel, is preferred. The steel shoe 

 projects about half an inch and a board on the back, sim- 

 ilar to that of a buck scraper, serves to keep it in position. 

 A team is hitched to each end, crossing the field and re- 

 turning on the same track. The cost of the removal of 

 sagebrush by means of teams and a minimum amount of 

 hand labor runs all the way from $1.50 to $4 per acre, de- 

 pending on .the character and extent of the growth. 



In the Imperial Valley of California, the Rio Grande 

 Valley of New Mexico and Texas, and in parts of Arizona, 

 the mesquite tree is quite troublesome to remove. This 

 usually has to be "rubbed out by hand and the cost varies 

 from $5 to $40 per acre, depending on the number and 

 size of the trees. Oscar Snow has 600 acres in alfalfa in 

 the Mesilla Valley, New Mexico. In its natural state the 

 land was covered with a dense growth of tornillo, 

 mesquite and shad scale. He states that it cost 

 him $40 to $50 per acre to cut the brush, grub 

 out the roots, grade the land, and seed it to al- 

 falfa. The usual price paid for grubbing out 

 mesquite bushes in Salt River Valley, Arizona, 

 is 30 cents per tree and the cost may run as 

 high as $100 per acre. The larger trees have 

 usually some value as firewood and fence posts. 

 Mr. Hubbard, of Weiser, Idaho, rids the raw 

 land of sagebrush and plows it to a depth of 8 

 inches before grading and leveling the surface. 

 Whenever possible, this work is done in the fall 

 and early the following spring the tract is thor- 

 oughly disked and harrowed. He prefers flood- 

 ing the tract before seeding in order that the 

 water may show us the low as well as the high 

 places and also to insure ample moisture for 

 the speedy germination of the seed. When the 

 surface dries out sufficiently to pulverize after 

 the harrow, it is seeded. In this part of Idaho 

 the cost per acre for removing sagebrush varies 

 from $2.50 to $4; for plowing, $2.50 to $3; disk- 

 ing, 50 cents to 75 cents; harrowing, 35 to 50 

 cents. Grading and leveling are discussed under 

 another heading. 



In localities covered by native grasses, nothing more 

 is necessary than plowing and thorough cultivation. The 

 native grass lands of Montana are usually plowed 2 to 5 

 inches deep in the fall. In the spring the surface is double- 

 disked, perhaps cross double-disked, harrowed, and leveled, 

 and then seeded to grain rather than alfalfa, in order to 

 properly prepare the surface of the ground for the later 

 crop. 



The cost of plowing new land in Kern county, Cal., 

 where the surface is covered with low sage, wheat, and 

 wire grasses, runs from $2 to $4 per acre, depending chiefly 

 on the depth of nlowing, which is usually more than 4 

 inches and less than 10 inches. On the extensive holdings 

 of Miller & Lux traction engines are used to operate gang 

 plows, followed by harrows. By this means, it is claimed, 

 the cost can be reduced to between 75 cents and $1 per 

 acre. 



In all the older irrigated sections of the West alfalfa 

 (Continued on paye 183.) 



