ARID AGEICULTUEE. 113 



bent over so that a rubber boot Avill not be cut 

 when used to shove it in. In flooding from 

 field ditches some kind of a lateral dam must be 

 used. The practice of damming these laterals 

 by means of earth thrown into them from the 

 sides of the ditches, is not to be recommended, as 

 it is apt to weaken the ditch banks and soon 

 makes holes in the farm. The canvas dam is 

 easily made and is thoroughly reliable. A piece 

 of canvas as ^vide, at least, as the ditch on which 

 it is to be used, and some three or four feet long, 

 should be tacked to a 2x4 scantling, or small 

 pole, so that when rested across the top of the 

 ditch, the canvas will lie in the bottom of the 

 ditch up-stream. A little earth then thrown on 

 the lower edge to hold it down, will make a 

 strong dam. Perhaps no appliance is more es- 

 sential than the canvas dam. Ten or twelve oimce 

 canvas is the best weight to use. Semi-circular 

 sheets of metal attached to a wooden cross-piece 

 are also used for this purpose. They are called 

 tapoons, and in use the edge of the tapoon is 

 shoved into the bed of the ditch, which the metal 

 should be made to fit. Gates for allowing a part 

 of the water to continue on down the lateral may 

 be easily made in either the canvas dam or the 

 metal tapoon. In this way the irrigation stream 

 may be readily divided. In making banks for 

 the cheek method of irrigation, the ground con- 

 tained within each check should first be made as 

 level as possible, by means of a blade, or other 



