242 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



No. 12. The twelfth ditch was lined with cement 

 lime concrete 2 1/2 inches thick, composed of % part 

 of cement, Va P ar t f lime, and seven parts of gravel 

 and crushed rock in equal quantities. 



Before lining with cement mortar, cement concrete 

 and cement lime concrete, the slopes and bed of the 

 ditches were well wetted by sprinkling. These three 

 linings were also kept wet for several days after the 

 construction. 



The oil ditches had been finished about ten days 

 before the water was turned into them. This was 

 necessary for the oil to soak in well and also for the 

 lighter volatile parts of the oil to evaporate. The 

 water was first turned in on July 23, 1906, and ob- 

 servations were then started. 



(To be continued.) 



first season working for older ranchers who understand 

 the business for by this means he can get many valuable 

 lessons that will enable him 'to avoid costly mistakes 

 in laying out his fields and running his ditches. Irri- 

 gation fanning is different in many respects from 

 agriculture in sections where moisture is supplied by 

 rainfall. Denver Field and Farm. 



THE TROUBLES OF A NEW IRRIGATOR. 



The people who go out onto the plains to settle 

 on the light sandy soils under some of the great 

 reservoir systems have been told that they will have a 

 good deal of trouble in irrigating successfully. Be- 

 cause the soil is so loose and light it- has been thought 

 by many that irrigation would be found impracticable 

 on account of excessive seepage and washing of the 

 surface. This difficulty has been experienced in some 

 instances, but only for the first season or two. After 

 the soil has been thoroughly wet and has been irrigated 

 and cultivated for two or three seasons it naturally 

 becomes heavier and has more of the appearance of a 

 clay soil. While the ground never bakes as it does in 

 many other sections and clods are unknown, it loses 

 some of the lightness and looseness that have been 

 looked upon with disfavor by the newcomers floating 

 in from the heavy black soils of the alluvial Mississippi 

 Valley back in the central states. 



Experience has shown that when irrigation ditches 

 have been in use for two or three seasons, grass and 

 weeds such as sunflowers grow along the banks, the 

 roots forming a network that hold the soil in a solid 

 mass, thus preventing breaks. During the first year 

 of the operation of a large ditch occasional trouble has 

 occurred on account of breaks, but after two or three 

 seasons when the banks become compacted no difficulty 

 ot consequence is so likely to occur, although a big 

 waterspout may come along at any time to create a 

 good deal of damage. 



Many of the settlers have begun improvements 

 >vith no very definite conception of the work that must 

 be done. They generally have their minds set upon 

 alfalfa and try at the very outset to get a crop started, 

 without first thoroughly preparing their fields. Later, 

 they will have trouble, because the land is not even 

 enough and the water can not run without interruption 

 or puddling. The better practice is to seed annual 

 crops for a year or two, plowing and leveling each year. 

 The leveling process is not difficult, but to do properly 

 in one season is expensive. By cultivating the ground 

 a few seasons it can be brought to even grade and then 

 when alfalfa is sown and a good stand has been secured, 

 water turned into the ditches at one end of the field 

 will run clear to the other without much trouble. 

 Greater and more even crops will thus be secured. 



The newcomer who has had no experience with 

 irrigation can profitably spend a large part of his 



POTATO GROWING AT GREELEY, COLO. 



BY JOHN G. HALL. 



At the present time Greeley puts upon the market 

 each year about 12,000 cars of potatoes, with about 

 600 bushels to the carload. These have a world-wide 

 reputation for quality and are marketed west as far 

 as California, east as far as New York, to Canada 

 on the north, and hundreds of carloads are shipped to 

 Texas. 



Greeley is located 52 miles north of Denver, is 

 considered to be as attractive a fanning locality as 

 can be found in the United States, and is watered by 

 the Big and Little Thompson creeks, by the Cache-la- 

 Poudre river, and the South Platte. Some of the early 

 appropriations from the stream date back into the 

 early '60's. Greeley was settled by a colony in the 

 early '70's, and the colonists in planting potatoes in 

 their gardens discovered that the country was particu- 

 larly adapted to the growing of the tuber. 



Since we have found that alfalfa plowed up is 

 such a wonderful fertilizer, each farmer endeavors to 

 plow alfalfa that has stood for two or three years for 

 his potato ground, reseeding enough each year to take 

 its place. So, late in April or early in May, with a 

 good strong riding plow drawn out sharp by the black- 

 smith, the work is begun. With four or five heavy 

 horses hitched, the plow set down to a depth of eight 

 or ten inches, the new growth of alfalfa, whatever it 

 may be, is turned under for additional fertilizer, and 

 as the plowing progresses the newly plowed land is 

 leveled off twice each day, or harrowed to prevent wind 

 and sun from drying out the soil. 



Experience has taught us that from May 25 to 

 June 1 is the best time to plant, as this brings us into 

 August, when the nights are getting cool for the pota- 

 toes to set on the vines. Seed raised by rainfall is 

 most desirable for planting, because seed grown by irri- 

 gation loses a part of its vitality on account of its 

 forced growth. 



The Aspinwall and Evans planters are considered 

 the best, and with these, with either two or four horses 

 attached, considerable ground can be planted in a day, 

 or about five acres for two horses, and seven for four. 

 These are picker planters. After the seed has been cut 

 and put into the hopper the machine plants one piece 

 at a time any desired distance apart, as the pickers 

 are adjustable to suit the different varieties of potatoes 

 as well as the various ideas of growers. These planters 

 open the furrow for the seed, plant it and cover it over 

 at one operation ; by so doing prevent the land drying 

 out. When the planting is done the cultivator is put 

 to work throwing as much dirt as possible on the row. 

 When the tubers are first appearing through the ground 

 a plank or harrow is iised to knock off the ridge. This 

 removes all small weeds that have germinated and 

 leaves the row free from weeds. Three cultivations are 

 usually given. 



