1867.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
would advise those who make a practice of 
keeping their land clean only where it is planted, 
and of allowing fence corners, etc., to raise their 
own crops of weeds, not to irrigate, because, if 
they do not keep their ditches and all water 
avenues clean and free from weeds, they will 
assuredly bring such crops upon their land 
every tune the}' water it, as will soon disgust 
them with the whole system. 
The first thing to be done is to get the water 
to the highest part of the land to be cultivated. 
Here this is done by communities ; each com- 
munity having its own peculiar by-laws as re- 
gards compensation of the Major domo, division 
of the water, etc., all being governed by the 
general laws of the Territory as regards the 
election of the Major domo, and the fines for 
delinquency in working the "Ascequias," as 
the canals are called, or for stealing water, &c. 
The advantages of irrigating by open ditches 
are many ; principally, that you get your water 
on the land at a much higher temperature than 
from a well. I have seen persons here, when 
short of water, use their wells, and give their 
crops of cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, &c, such 
a "back-set" as often to lose the whole crop. We 
are here 8,000 feet or more above the sea level, 
and have to take the greatest care as regards the 
temperature of the water and the time for irri- 
gating, or it would be impossible to raise any 
of the more delicate vegetables. Again, by 
ditches, if well made at the outset, the advantage . 
is that they are aheays there, whereas if one has 
complicated machinery it is liable to be out of 
order when needed, and before the repairs can 
be made the good time has gone by. 
In preparing for irrigating a garden, which 
can be laid under water from one line, as in 
figure 1, run the main ditch as near level as 
possible, because, as the water has to run in this 
ditch to feed all the smaller ones, it will cut 
away, if sloping, much more than the smaller 
ditches. Those ditches which slope much 
should be well paved or lined with plank. In 
figure 1, A, B, O, D is a plot of ground having 
a slight fall from B to A, and a greater fall from 
B to B, the lowest point being at G ; m, the 
main ditch, entering the plot at B and leaving 
at A; V, V and V are the cross ditches, linra- 
get the upperhand while he is repairing borders. 
This ditch, to a practiced irrigator, is almost 
unnecessary, except in cases where neighbors 
above him, using from the same stream, may let 
all the water upon him without warning; but, 
in any case, it is better to have it, as it can 
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~?\%. 1. PLAN OF IRRTOATION. 
bered in the order in which they would be used 
when irrigating the whole plot ; n is a ditch of 
the same size as the main ditch, and is used for 
running off that part of the stream which is sur- 
plus when irrigating ; it is also used as a channel 
for the whole stream when breakage occurs, 
and the- gardener has fear that the water may 
Fig. 2. — MANNER OP LETTING ON THE WATER. 
be used also to irrigate the right hand row 
of beds. The points where flood-gates are 
necessary to regulate the amount of water are 
marked f ; w is a walk, bridging the cross 
ditches at the points b, which must be enlarged 
or added to according to taste or convenience ; 
but all walks or roads should be made on a level 
with the border above them, and in fact serve 
to form the border, as they give strength to the 
beds. is a continuation of the ditch ; n serves 
also as an outlet for the water when one tier of 
beds has been watered, until the next tier has 
been started. The same principle marked in 
this plot will apply equally to a garden of fifty 
acres or more, and the larger the garden the 
more will the labor be lessened by following 
some such system. 
Now, let us suppose the main ditch dug, and 
water running through it : the first thing will be 
to make the upper row of beds (marked 1) ; com- 
mencing on the right band, make the first bed ; 
of course the land has been ploughed well long 
ago. For vegetables of most kinds, no bed 
should exceed ten feet by twenty,and before the 
first season is over the gardener will find that, 
by making small beds, he 
has saved much labor. The 
first line of beds is made 
with borders, or raised mar- 
gins, from six to nine inches 
above the level and at least 
six inches across the top, 
and the cross ditches finish- 
ed down to the lower edge 
of the completed beds. The 
next thing is to ascertain that 
they are perfectly level, and 
this is best done by opening 
them, as in figure 2, and 
letting in the water slowly, 
and if there is a corner high- 
er or lower than the rest of 
the bed the water will surely 
find it for you. Leveling the 
beds well previous to plant- 
ing is absolutely necessary, 
for if you have to irrigate 
very young plants,( which, in 
many cases, will give them a two weeks' start 
over those left later.) and the beds have not been 
exactly levelled, some of the plants will be 
drenched or covered with sediment, while others 
will get no water. 
While beds No. 1 are filling you can be mak- 
ing the next row, and so on, until your plot is 
D 
all terraced ; and if, wherever the fall increases, 
the beds be made narrower, much labor will 
thereby be saved. Next put in the flood-gates, 
(see figure 3,) and sink boxes in the cross 
ditches, at the points where you open the beds, 
or make holes and line them with brick ; these 
boxes, or holes, are so placed that when the 
border of a bed is opened for irrigation, the 
water has to run over the hole to get in- 
to the bed, so that all sand which would 
otherwise go into the bed is caught ; and 
whenever these holes fill with sand before 
3"ou have water enough in the bed, clean 
it promptly. It is better, where the lay 
of the land will admit of it, to water the 
beds from the lower corners. But always 
commence to water those beds which are 
the highest, so that if a border breaks the 
water will run into a dry bed; whereas, on 
the other hand, if you commence at the 
lower beds, and the same accident should 
occur, the water runs into beds already 
full, and may burst a dozen borders before 
you can stop it. Another reason for ir- 
rigating from the top beds is, that while one bed 
is filling you can open as many below as you 
choose, and in this way you are ahead of your 
work, always ready to spare a few minutes to 
remedy any accident, and also have perfect com- 
mand of the water.— "When the plants are strong 
enough to allow of a good stream being used, 
one man can, in this way, easily water from 
150 to 200 beds in a day. 
In figure 2, is shown the method of letting 
on the water. First, break the border ef bed 1 
Fig. S. — FLOOD GATE. 
at the point e, throwing the soil across the cross 
ditch c, so as to form the dam d, then open the 
floodgate marked by the dotted line /, until the 
amount of water needed passes; and if the 
whole of the water running in the main ditch, 
is used, shut the flood-gate in in ; but if not, 
open all the flood-gates on the main ditch enough 
to allow the surplus water to pass on. Now, 
while the first bed is receiving the water, open 
other beds in succession, as indicated by 2, 3, 
and when the first bed has received sufficient, 
draw the first dam over again to its place in the 
border, and allow the water to flow into the next 
bed, and so on to the end of the work ; always 
taking care to keep your boxes (b) clean, and 
never leave any of the beds open to the ditches 
when not irrigating. This is a slovenly fashion, 
and often from a heavy rain, or by the leaking 
of a flood-gale, is the means of ruining the beds 
so left, and of course the plants they contain. 
Figure :l shows the flood-gate in general use 
here; it is a square box, open at the top, except the 
braces for strengthening it, with a door sliding 
between cleats nailed on the inside and bottom, 
and having a frame (/) through which the han- 
dle slides, and which is bored so a- to be Fasten- 
ed at any height by a peg or nail. i'. is set in 
its place so that the end (.A at which the water 
enters shall be a little below the level of the 
ditch, marked by the dotted line K I. By this 
means the water is not so apt to lift the gate 
out of place, and it al-o catches much sand. 
and so helns the boxc^ in the cross ditches. 
