GROWING FIELD CROPS IN SUGAR-BEET DISTRICTS. 
29 
much variation for different farms in cleaning alfalfa ditches, depend- 
ing upon the type of soil and the slope of the land. Some ditches 
are inclined to wash clean and deep each year, but others tend to 
fill up. 
Fig. 20.— Irrigating alfalfa by the ftoo cling .method. One man can liandle a large hoad of water. 
At Greeley and at Fort Morgan the first water of the season is run 
on the alfalfa. The irrigation practice in these districts is very 
similar, but at Rocky Ford it is somewhat different. Alfalfa is 
usually irrigated three or four times at Greeley and at Fort Morgan, 
the first water being applied about May 20, the second about June 
10, and the third about July 1. Where a fourth irrigation is given 
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Fig. 21. 
-Irrigating corn. The furrows are deep and a good head of water is used. Corn is a crop of in- 
creasing importance in the three districts o f Colorado studied . 
it is applied about July 25 or in September. This gives two irrigations 
before the first crop is cut and one soon after the crop is stacked. 
The fourth irrigation is just after the second or third crop is cut. 
The time per acre required for irrigation varies greatly with the 
flow of water, the type of the land, and the number of applications 
