Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1906-05-24


expert on irrigation occupies the
position of superintendent. His
g name is Mcpherson. He OCCASION
ally submits to an interview by
the News. His talks are always
practical and interesting. Here is
his last:
Last year good crops of grain
were raised when sown as late as
the last of May and good stands of
grasses can be obtained if the seed
is sown any time before July 1.
Last year Alfalfa and clover sown
about the first of June yielded one
ton per acre and shows fine stand
this year. l speak of this to show
that it is often best to make haste
slowly. In other words, it is wise
to take your time and get your
ground right. Many people do not
realize that even when they have a
good grade that the water will not
run over the humps, bumps and hol-
lows which, to the inexperienced,
seem so insignificant. A field may
look to be perfectly smooth and lev
ell and yet it may be impossible to
evenly irrigate it. In this instance
appearances are very deceptive. A
field that looks lop-sided may irri-
gate perfectly. A few hours or days
spent with a tongue scraper will
answer the purpose in a majority of
cases and save many times its cost
and the expense of operating it.
Land once prepared properly will
irrigate effectively for all time, and
it should be the aim of every farmer
to get his ground as nearly right as
possible at the start. The ground
must be graded for water distribu-
ton sooner or later, the earlier the
better. If it is not graded with a
team in the beginning it will have
to be graded with shovel later, or
uneven crops will surely result.
Sin the grading of the land at
the beginning lies the whole secret
of success in irrigated farming.
Without good grading no farmer can
hope to succeed. BY grading
mean the sloping and leveling of
the land for the distribution of
water. 1t is absolutely necessary,
in order to secure good results, that
the water should run with an even
flow over every portion of the field.
f0n MI !,
and create gullies, which will give
the farmer no end of trouble. If
it runs too slow it will be hard to
carry over the ground and will
portions are sufficiently moistened.
The thing to watch out for on this
tract is to prevent the water from
running too fast. Nearly every
farm has good slope and unless
the fields are properly corrugated
to control the flow, the water is
liable to get away from the irriga.
tor without performing its proper
functions. 1t should be remember.
ed that the water in its course ovel
field should be permitted to thor
oughly soak into the land. p"
''How is the average farmer whC
is not accustomed to irrigation going
to know when he has the right slop,
or grade? Must he hire an engi
neer to ascertain it for him?''
mot necessarially. There arr
many simple devices by which ;
farmer can determine what is tn,
right flow. l will try to describ'
one of the simplest, in which
carpenters spirit level may be used
Take piece of AKA, two or tire,
feet long, and sharpen it at one en'
like a stake. Then nail anothe
piece of 2x4 two feet long acros
the top, near the blunt end, forming
a cross. Stick the sharp end of tn
cross in the ground and place tn
level on top of the crosspiece. b
sighting over the level and turning
the cross around in all direction
you can easily determine the leve
of the land. Some use what ar
known as peep sights, whic
can be obtained at hardware stores
The proper fall for water in thi
section is one inch to the rod. Tw
or even three times this fall Wi
answer, provided the water is prop
erly handled
What do you mean by 'properl
handled 20
water turned in each corrugatio
should be governed by the fall {
the land and the distance whic
the water is allowed to run befor
it is checked up and redistributed