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\. 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 
®-*& 
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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 
