GROWING FIELD CROPS IN" SUGAR-BEET DISTRICTS. 



31 



soil, and length of rows. Some men prefer to run the water on row 

 crops during the hours of daylight and turn it on the alfalfa or grain 

 crops at night. (Figs. 22 and 23.) 



The farmers of the Greeley district irrigated their beet crops three 

 times on an average. The first irrigation came early in July, the 

 second late in July or early in August, and the third usually early in 

 September. The dates for irrigation at Fort Morgan are similar, 

 but the average number of irrigations is 2-J. This shows that the 

 irrigation of grain and alfalfa is practically completed before water 

 is put on the row crops. The irrigation of beets is delayed later some 

 seasons than others. The water for grain and alfalfa irrigation is 

 usually obtained direct from the supply in the rivers and streams of 



■ , i 



- •MWtm&sm 



Fig. 24.— Furrowing a field prior to planting cantaloupes. Seed is planted alongside each row, and water 

 is run through each furrow to supply moisture for germination. 



the region, but for irrigating row crops reservoir water is usually 

 used, as not much water is flowing in the streams after July 1. One 

 man will irrigate 3 to 6 acres of beets per day. 



Potatoes are irrigated like beets, but one man can cover more 

 acres in a day as a rule, as the furrows are made deeper and the rows 

 are farther apart. Water is usually run between each two rows of a 

 row-tilled crop. Potato irrigation does not usually begin as early in 

 the season as that of beets. The irrigation period for beans was 

 shorter than for other row crops, being usually begun about the 

 middle of July and completed soon after August 15. Beans are 

 irrigated two or three times. One man can irrigate 5 to 6 acres of 

 beans in a day, the average time per acre being 1.4 hours. Beans 

 are usually irrigated the first time just prior to the beginning of the 

 blooming period. 



In irrigating row crops care must be taken to avoid injuring the 

 plants. Beans should be irrigated late in the season, lest they make 



