Show NATURE MUST BE IMITATED f no matter how water I 1 applied air and blazing sun will take up much moisture it Is the Irrl gators business to tate natural conditions as closely ae possible at the very beginning he la handicapped by the condl tlona that make irrigation necessary no matter how he applies his water the dry air and the blazing sun ot the arid region will through rapid evaporation deprive him of a large part of the moisture in other words it requires more irrigation water than rain water to moisten the same area of eoll to the same depth and degree of batura alon even after he has succeeded in getting the water into the soil the average irrigator Irrl gator does not know where it goes or what becomes of it As long as irrigation water was plentiful and the irrigated area small loss of moisture through wasteful methods failed to attract attention with small regard to water economy giving no thought to the damage in flirted upon both land and cropf through excessive moisture the farm ers after leveling their fields flooded them allowing the water to seek its ft ay without much guidance or at j tempt at proper distribution the check or basin method under which i the area to be irrigated Is divided by ridges into rectangular basins of equal eize brought about better distribution but it did not reduce evaporation losses and it interfered with the use of farm implements under this letb i nd enormous evaporation losses were caused by the moistening of the en tire surface and early cultivation was made impossible of late years the most progressive Irrigator a have adopted the furrow method wherever possible especially in orchards and vineyards heat and wind movement increase evaporation A reduction of the tern pera ture by seven degrees will according to investigations decrease the rate of evaporation from water sur faces one tenth of an inch a day heat and wind movement as causes 0 evaporation are strongest at the sur face of the soil observations in the arid region have frequently shown temperatures of degrees at the surface of soil with a decrease of from twenty to thirty degrees five inches below the surface furrow irrigation therefore by lesar ening the area moistened by protect ing the water from wind and from the high surface temperatures makes a larger percentage of it available tor the use of the plants |