Show WATER APPLIED TO ALFALFA systems have been planned in moun tain states to deliver water in quite small streams flooding from field ditches or late als la still the most common method of applying water to alfalfa out in athla country especially in the states ol 01 colorado montana wyoming utah and to a large extent in idaho saya the denver held and farm abl manner of wetting dry boll originate hwe in the mountain states and tb past half century has witnessed a gradual evolution of the plan BO that now it has not only become firmly established but la regarded as the best suited to the conditions under which it Is practiced it can be profitably used on elodea that are too bleed bleep tor other methods fields having a firm loll 1011 and a fall of twenty five to ona hundred feet have been flooded successfully cess fully from this extreme the slope may diminish to less than one tenth of a foot in feet ita cheapness Is another feature which recommends it to the farmer of limited means ordinary raw land can be prepared for flooding at an expense of 2 to 5 an acre again it Is adapted to the use of small water supplies here in the mountain states the irrigation systems have been planned and built to deliver water in comparatively email streams for use in flooding or in furrows and water users should ba certain that the larger volumes required for checks and borders can ba secured before going to the expense of preparing their fields tor either ol 01 those systems in grading the land for this particular method it la not customary to make many changes ta the natural surface only the smaller knolls are removed and deposited in the low places an effort Is made al ways however to make the farm lat brals fit into the natural slope and con figuration of the tract to be watered BO as to bring the water to the high places on steep slopes the literals laterals late rals may be less than fifty feet apart on flatter slopes they may be feet or more apart whatever the spacing it Is always desirable to have the slope between them as nearly uniform as possible when the land in its natural state Is uneven the grading can ba done with a scraper it it Is campara com para lively smooth and level a homemade drag or leveler serves the fairly well the main lateral Is usual ly built to the highest comer of the field and the smaller literals laterals late rals extend out from it spaced 75 to feet apart the spacing depending on the slope of the ground and the coarseness of the soli the size of the lat brals Is governed by the head which may bo had but on steep slopes and on eoll that erodes readily small heads are best the proper location tor field literals laterals late rals Is usually evident to the irrigator Irrl gator without the use of sur instruments although in fields where the fall Is blight it Is often nee essary to have a topographical survey made and the literals laterals late rals located by an engineer field literals laterals late rals are always BO located that they cover the highest parts of the field and their distance apart in alfalfa varies from ten to twenty rods the head required tor flooding from field literals laterals late rals varies from two to three cubic feet a second and Is divided between two or three later als canvas or coarse manure dama are used to check the water in the lat brals and to force it put over tha banks and down the slopes of tha fields in less than three hours tha upper foot of the soil Is usually thoroughly moistened to apply one wa terling in this way costs from fifteen to thirty cents an acre in irrigating a canvas dam Is first inserted in each ditch or set of ditches 75 to feet below the head the water la then turned into each channel and flows aa far as the canvas dam by which it la checked and as a consequence rises and flows over the low places of the lower bank or through openings made with a shovel when these small tracts have been watered the cavvaa dam Is raised dragged down the lateral 75 to feet and again inserted in the channel to serve the next tract manure dams sometimes take the place of the movable canvas dama borne time before a field Is to be arri gated and after the ditching is dona coarse manure Is placed in email heaps within each ditch channel at suitable intervals and each heap la covered with earth on ita upper face to a depth of one to two inches when this check baa served its purpose it ts broken and the water flows down until stopped by the next check in some instances permanent wooden check boxes are inserted in each lateral while in others the canvas dam Is used the thorough irrigation ol 01 tour acres Is considered a good twelve hours work for one man by the use of inches two men can irrigate seven to ten acres in twenty tour hours at a cost of 45 to 65 cents tha acre in summarizing the advantage of the flooding method it may be said that in first cost it Is one of the cheapest it Is adapted to the delivery 0 small volumes of water in streams it la particularly well adapt ed to forage and cereal plants of all 1 kinds the top soil la not removed from the high places to fill up thal low places and firm soil although on esteep and irregular hillsides hill sides can ba successfully watered the chief disadvantage Is the fatiguing labor r aelred to handle the water |