THE IEEIGATIOK AGE. 



507 



mental. This is done by adding considerable quantities 

 of gypsum or land plaster. Land plaster is sulphate of 

 lime. When this comes in contact with carbonate of soda 

 there is a chemical change and the carbonate of soda be- 

 comes sulphate of soda, and the sulphate of lime becomes 

 carbonate of lime or common limestone. The remedy for 

 white alkali is to provide proper drainage and wash the 

 salts out of the soil with irrigation water. The worst 

 alkali soils may be made productive in this way. 



There are a few crops which will thrive in the pres- 

 ence of much white alkali. The principal one is the sugar 

 beet. If the salts can be diluted by irrigation before the 

 seed is planted so there is no serious retardation of 

 germination, sugar beets will make good crops on strong 

 alkali soil. Another useful plant to grow in places which 

 would otherwise be waste, is the English or Dwarf Rape 

 for soiling and pasture. One of the best plants to grow in 

 such places either for forage or to improve the soil in 



supply the early growth of the plants. Potato soil should 

 be irrigated in the spring before it is plowed. Some crops, 

 like potatoes and sugar beets, require the most moisture in 

 the later part of the season. Wheat should be irrigated 

 most during the middle part of the time of its growth. 

 To be on the safe side, barley should be irrigated when 

 quite young. These things show the variations which must 

 be practiced to produce the best results and point to the 

 importance of the farmer looking up the culture for each 

 crop he expects to raise. Some few crops, like onions, 

 should be flood irrigated. Other crops give best results 

 if water is never allowed to touch the crowns of the plant. 

 Some crops should not be irrigated at certain stages of 

 growth unless absolutely necessary to save them. Expe- 

 rience tells the farmer when his crop is suffering for water 

 and no general rule can be laid down. Short season crops 

 may be ripened early by keeping water away. Often late 



Wet Mountain Spring Snows Make Flood Water for Storage. A Typical Wyoming Scene. 



vegetable mold is the white sweet clover. There is no need 

 of leaving the alkali places as unproductive and unsightly 

 wastes. 



Different crops and each kind of soil require par- 

 ticular treatment and general rules are only of value in 

 so far as they throw light on the underlying principles 

 which may be made use of by the individual farmer whn 

 understands them and their application. 



As a broad general statement, we believe the time to 

 irrigate is when there is no crop growing. , Nearly all crops 

 should be irrigated before they are planted. The soil 

 should be put in the best possible state of tilth and stored 

 with enough moisture, at least to germinate the seed and 



irrigations are responsible for injury to the immature crop 

 by frost. 



Over much of the arid region there is possibility of 

 running water on to the soil in the winter season and 

 often sufficient moisture may be stored for the production 

 of most excellent crops the following season. On some 

 farms in the West, even during freezing weather, the water 

 supply from springs or ditches may be run on the land 

 and stored, either as moisture in the soil or as ice on the 

 surface. Using the water in this way in the winter and 

 the same water for irrigating additional land in the sum- 

 mer makes a small water supply cover double the amount 

 of land. 



Everything the farmer can do to make the application 



