QUANTITY OF WATER 347 



produced with a very small amount of irrigation 

 water. Secondlj'', it follows that it would be a great 

 deal better for the farmer who raises wheat, for in- 

 stance, to cover ten acres of land with water to a 

 depth of five inches than to cover one acre to a depth 

 of fifty inches, for in the former case four hundred 

 bushels and in the second sixty bushels of wheat 

 would be produced. The farmer who desires to 

 utilize in the most economical manner the small 

 amount of water at his disposal must j^repare the 

 land according to dry-farm methods and then must 

 spread the water at his disposal over a larger area 

 of land. The land must be plowed in the fall if the 

 conditions permit, and fallowing should be practiced 

 wherever possible. If the farmer does not wish to 

 fallow his family garden he can achieve equally good 

 results by planting the rows twice as far apart as is 

 ordinarily the case and by bringing the irrigation 

 furrows near the rows of plants. Then, to make 

 the best use of the water, he must carefully cover the 

 irrigation furrow with dry dirt immediately after 

 the water has been applied and keep the whole surface 

 well stirred so that evajDoration will be reduced to 

 a minimum. The beginning of irrigation wisdom 

 is always the storage of the natural precipitation. 

 Wlien that is done correctly, it is really remarkable 

 how far a small amount of irrigation water may be 

 made to go. 



Under conditions of water scarcity it is often found 



