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Show NEED OF MORE WATER Many Conditions Play Important Part in Amount Required. Rotation la Pound to Be Beneficial as Well as In Some Cases Absolutely Absolute-ly Necessary to Produce Irrigated Crop. !ly II A 1.11 1 I' I'AUHM l.f.. Colorado1 Ami. nit ural i'uIIi k'.i Not only methods of Irrigation subsoil sub-soil conditions and climatic conditions affect the duty of water, but the kind of crop, the preparation of the fields for Irrigation, as well as many other conditions, play nn Important part In the correct amount of water that should he used to mature a certain kind of crop. Ideal conditions are never possible, so we must make the existing conditions condi-tions approximate, as well as we can. that which Is best for the conservation of nio!sture. Kach year In our Irrigation history we are finding the need of more water to cover the ureas prepared for cultivation culti-vation In our western country. We are. In a way, successfully meeting this Issue, but we still see before us many things desirable In wnys of methods and improved conditions that will greatly Increase the area now being Irrigated with a certain water supply. The community that specializes In a paitlcular kind of crop that requires Irrigation at particular times, necessarily neces-sarily cunnot obtain the highest duty of water, because at the Intervals when the crop Is not In need of water this Irrigation head could be Applied to other fields where profits could bn substantially Increased. A diversification diversifi-cation of crops Is recommended w here the farm Is Irrigated by ditches that flow continuously. Where water Is scarce and many fanes are to be irrigated by a certain Water supply, we find It exceedingly wasteful to attempt the Irrigation of the whole area at the same time. Rotation Ro-tation in the use of water Is found to bo beneficial as well us in some cases absolutely necessary to produce a crop. l!y the rotation in the use of water a larger Irrigation head is as- ured and the losses from evaporation and percolation are materially decreased, de-creased, leaving more water available for the beueflciul use of the plants. Where small heads are used in Irrigation Irri-gation we find the area we can cover smaller as compared with the larger head, and we further find that In our attempt to cover the urea with the smaller head of wuler we are obliged to have the water set at a particular place long enough to cover the area in question that we find a great amount of tho water has percolated far below the root tone of the growing grow-ing plants aud Is absolutely lost. We can cover a larger head of water and tho losses In the latter case are considerably con-siderably smaller than In the former. The preparation of the fields for Irrigation will Increase the duty of water In that It makes It possible to thoroughly Irrigate the field in a much shorter time, and again our losses due to percolation and evaporation are lessened. les-sened. Perhaps the greatest factor affecting affect-ing the duty of water Is that of cultivation. culti-vation. If the water absorbed by the soil can only be retained and made 1 available of the growth of the plant, ' the problem of the duty of water has 1 been practically selved. Crops that 1 will permit a thorough cultivation ' after n thorough application of water ' will show a decided Increase In the ' yield. It has been determined that 1 the evaporation from an uncultivated ' field In a single month Is four times 1 that of a similar field having a three- Inch dry mulch. 1 |
