CHAPTER X 



METHODS OF APPLYING WATER IN IRRIGATION 



WHEN water has been provided for irrigation and 

 brought to the field where it is to be applied, the 

 steps which still remain to be taken are far the most 

 important of any in the whole enterprise, not except- 

 ing those of engineering, however great, which may 

 have been necessary in providing a water supply 

 which shall be constant, ample and moderate in cost ; 

 for failure in the application of water to the crop 

 means utter ruin for all that has gone before. 



To handle water on a given field so that it shall 

 be applied at the right time, in the right amount, 

 without unnecessarily washing or puddling the soil or 

 injuring the crop, requires an intimate acquaintance 

 with the conditions, good judgment, close observation, 

 skillful manipulation, and patience, after the field has 

 been put into excellent shape ; and right here is 

 where a thorough understanding of the principles 

 governing the wetting, puddling and washing of soils, 

 and possible injury to crops as a result of irrigation, 

 becomes a matter of the greatest moment. There is 

 great need of more exact scientific knowledge than we 

 now have to guide the irrigator in his handling of 

 water. 



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