262 



T HE-IRRIGATION AGE. 



-_ jCo'STOU'*. -,. 



In flooding clover and alfalfa fields in Montana the field 

 ditches usually run across the field on a grade of 0.5 to 

 0.75 inch to the rod. (See fig. 12.) The spacing between 

 ditches varies with the slopes, the smoothness of the 

 surface, and the volume of water, but 80 feet is about an 

 average. The head used is seldom less 

 than 1.5 or more than 4 cubic feet per '^_u_] 

 second, the larger heads being divided '^J Me H *~f, 

 between two or three ditches. In ir- 

 rigating, a canvas dam is first inserted 

 in each ditch or set of ditches, 75 to 

 100 feet below the head. The water is 

 then turned into each channel and 

 flows as far as the canvas dam, by 

 which it is checked and as a conse- 

 quence rises and flows over the low 

 places of the lower bank or through 

 opening made with the shovel. When 

 these small tracts have been watered, 

 the canvas dam is raised, dragged down 

 the lateral 75 to 100 feet, and again 

 inserted in the channel to serve the 

 next tract. Manure dams sometimes 



take the place of the movable canvas 



dams. Some time before a field is to 



be irrigated and after the ditching is 



done coarse manure is placed in small 



heaps within each ditch channel at 



suitable intervals and each heap is covered with earth on its 



upper face to a depth of 1 to 2 inches. When this check 



has served its purpose it is broken and the water flows 



down until stopped by the next check. In some instances 



permanent wooden check boxes are inserted in each lateral, 



while in others the canvas dam is used. 



The thorough irrigation of 4 acres is con- 

 sidered a good twelve hours' work for 



one man. By the use of 100 miner's inches 



two men can irrigate 7 to 10 acres in twen- 

 ty-four hours at a cost of 45 to 65 cents 



per acre. 



In the Salt Lake Basin the heads of 



water used by the irrigators of alfalfa 



vary considerably with the flow of 



the streams. In spring heads of 4 to 



6 cubic feet per second are common, 



while later in the season, when the 



streams are low they are reduced to 



1 to 3 cubic feet per second. A field 



is usually divided into strips, 200 to 500 



feet wide by laterals extending across 



it (fig. 12). A permanent wooden 



check box or a canvas dam is inserted 



in the main supply ditch below each 



cross ditch, causing the water to flow 



into the cross ditch. From there it is 



spread over the surface through small 



openings in the ditch bank and any ex- 

 cess water is caught up by the next lower 



ditch. In this way each ditch serves a double purpose, 



acting as a drainage channel for the land above it and as 



a supply channel for the land below it. 



In summarizing the advantages of the flooding 

 method, it may be said that in first cost it is one of the 

 cheapest, it is adapted to the delivery of small volumes of 

 water (50 to 100 miner's inches) in continuous streams, it 

 is particularly well adapted to forage and cereal crops of 



V If 

 11 



n 



Fig. 12. Preparing Land for Flooding in Montana. 



all kinds, the top soil is not removed from the high places 

 to fill up the low places, and firm soil, although it be on 

 steep and irregular hillsides, can be successfully watered. 

 The chief disadvantages consist in the fatiguing labor 

 required to handle the water, the small area which one 



FIR. 13. Flooding from Head Ditches in Northern Colorado. 



man can irrigate in a day, the difficulty in applying water 

 after dark, and the unequal distribution of water on the 

 field unless more than the average care is exercised. 



OREGON FRUIT FARMS PROJECT. 



Great Activity in Willow River Valley Notes on 

 Progress. 



Although the snow has been deep and an unprecedential 

 winter has been passed all through the West, still the progress 

 and development in the Willow River Valley has not ceased. 

 Hundreds of men and horses have worked during the whole 

 winter season ; have graded twenty-five miles of railroad, built 

 reservoirs; put in miles of irrigation ditches; erected hotels, 

 stores and office buildings at Brogan. 



The Spring is now here and the settlers are busy getting 

 ready for tree planting and putting in their crops of potatoes, 

 beets, etc. The hills are green and the whole valley is a beauty 

 spot. While the snow has been deep, there was little or no 



frost in the ground, and the moisture, instead of running down 

 the streams, has gone into the earth, leaving it in a better 

 condition for planting than has ever been known in this lo- 

 cality. 



In four weeks of travel, the writer saw no place in the 

 great progressive west that showed the advancement that was 

 being made here. In no place did he see as good an oppor- 

 tunity for investment that meant sure returns to the man of 

 push and thrift. Surely the day of the reckless stockman and 

 the "Buckaro" is a thing of the past and gardens will bloom 

 where waste has been heretofore on this, "The Last Frontier." 



Ezra Lamb, a young surveyor in the employ of the Col- 

 orado Southern Irrigation Company, recently sustained seri- 

 ous injuries by tumbling 100 feet down the mountain side, in 

 the Grape Creek Canyon, ten miles west of Canon City. It is 

 reported that his injuries are not fatal. 





