GEOWIXG FIELD CROPS IN SUGAR-BEET DISTRICTS. 



27 



for this crop. The contract laborers hoe the beets usually three 

 times during the growing season. Since beans and potatoes are 

 usually hoed by day laborers, this labor is included in the hours ex- 

 pended in the cultivation of these crops. The cantaloupe crop re- 

 quires more horse labor for cultivation than the beet or bean crop, 

 and the hours of man labor are very high. Hand labor is used in 

 thinning and hoeing the crop. In laying back the vines for culti- 

 vation and in cultivating and furrowing the field the crew often con- 

 sists of one man and one horse. After planting the seed, 23 per cent 

 of the cantaloupe growers harrowed or rolled the land. The crop 

 was cultivated from five to seven times and usually hoed (including 

 thinning) three or four times. The irrigation furrows are made three 



Fig. 18.— Irrigating potatoes by means of deep furrows. Only the alternate rows carry water. 



or four times and sledded usually three times. It was necessary to 

 lay the vines back twice for furrowing or sledding the furrows. The 

 earlier cultivations are often done with two horses, but later it is 

 necessary to use 1-horse cultivators, furrowers, and sleds, as the vines 

 spread over the field surface. The cultivation of cucumbers is sim- 

 ilar to that of cantaloupes, the same types of machinery being used 

 for the two crops. Cucumbers grow more rapidly, and the operations 

 are therefore less in number. 



IRRIGATION. 



Irrigation includes the time expended in the application of water 

 to the crop and the labor of cleaning, repairing, and making the 

 ditches and laterals. The making of furrows between rows of 

 cultivated crops is considered a part of the labor of cultivation. 



In cleaning ditches most of the farmers had to use some horse 

 labor. Ditches or laterals often become filled with trash and dirt, 

 some of it being carried by the heavy spring winds. It is often 

 necessary to use a scraper in cleaning the larger ditches. The 



