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Show si (;;i;si ions i-ok I;i;;inm.I!S in i n;i,D ( KOI' IKIMt; VI ION In ial.iuji of tho onluiaiy fi.M crops is an nitil'icial means of nieet-? nieet-? the IH.-ils of the e'cwili jilanl.. The met hod of application vaii.-.-. as to the particular ciuj ii i iat c.l and the type of soil also has mm-h lo do with the proper mi l hod of irrigation. irriga-tion. Under ordinary noil conditions Kiaii an dnlfalfa are irrigated generally gen-erally by means of i pl eading water over the field from temporary ditches ditch-es constructed after the nop has been planted. This pi act ice is called call-ed Hooding and is accomplished hy permitting the water to flow in a wide hhool over the ground surface. These temporary ditches are so located lo-cated that th (-space between them can be completely covered by the flow from the upper ditch, while the lower ditch serves as a means of catching the waste for further applications. ap-plications. The heavier soils, when completely complete-ly saturated, usually bake, or there is formed u hard surface crust, caused caus-ed by the sun's heat and evapoia-tion. evapoia-tion. The crusting of the surface is detrimental to the developement of the plant as caused hy ex'-ludin;; the air from the soil, and when plants are sprouting this crust does not permit the younjj shoot to penetrate pene-trate thru this hard layer. In various var-ious localities it is necessary to irrigate ir-rigate the ground either before or immediately after planting, to supply sup-ply sufficient moisture for germination. germina-tion. If a crust is thus formed, it is neccessary to use a roller or l.'jfht harrow to break it up, in: order Ui K'-t a sufficient number of young plants starting to grow. To obviate this condition, the ground surface-is surface-is furrowed out by means of a special spe-cial cultivator, thus making it possible pos-sible to irrigate the ground by means of small paralle striams from one to three feet apart. The dircction of these furrows is so placed plac-ed that they have a gentle slope which does not permit the flowing water to erode the Foil and at the same time allows the soil to absorb the water. j One of the serious objections to the flooding method is the possible injury to the crops by means of scalding. It has been found that ' water applied in flooding will, in j many places, form small pools which, if exposed to the direct sun- ! shine will attain sufficient tempera-1 ture to injure the tender seedlings. i Crops, such as beets, potatoes, beans, corn and such others as are j grown in rows, are all irrigated by means of the furrow method. It, is sometimes found practical to ir- rigate every row, and afte rcultiva-! tion to apply a second irrigation in the alternate rows. This practice j t usually prevails where the soil is j more or less heavy and retains the moisture after irrigation. Orchards are irrigated by means of the furrow fur-row method, where the furrows are placed from 3 to 8 feet from the row of trees, usually more thar. one furrow fur-row being used to convey the water. R. L. Parshall. Irrigation Engineer. |