Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1911-06-01
FIT FOR IRRIGATION
Many Crop Failures Attributable
to Faulty Leveling.
Machinery Necessary for Proper
Preparation Of Land Is Simple and
lnexpensive-Sho Always
Be in Order.
CBy ]. H. sQUIREs. New Mexico Agri-
cultural Colleee)

CBy J. II. sQUIREs. New Mexico Agri-
cultural College)
More crop failures on irrigated
lands may be traced to faulty level
ing than to any other cause under
the control Of the farmer. Poorly
leveled lands are expensive to irri-
gate, both with regard to the amount
Of water and the amount of labor re-
CURED and in addition, the plants in
the different parts of the field are so
unequally watered that unsatisfactory
crops are the result The machinery
necessary for leveling on the small
farm is simple and inexpensive, and
should be kept in order that all
spare time of men and teams can be
used to the best advantage. On the
small farm all that is necessary is a
small scraper. a pillow, and a plank
drag.
In leveling. the first thing to do is
to decide just how the land can be put
into shape by moving the least
amount of dirt. A good way to begin
I is to set stakes to represent borders.
! hAA cCC INV tACJ AAcJ NC AO1AACA 49,
order to obtain the best results. If
is not necessary that an entire field
should be level, but only that the soil
within a border be so; and each bord-
er may drop lower OF rise higher than
the one adjoining, without any serious
inconvenience in either seeding or har-
vesting. Borders should not be spaced
too wide. Forty-five to sixty feet will
be a good width if the field is at all
sloping; and it is not best to make
them more than 100 feet apart. even
when the land is level.
Locate each border definitely and
mark it by throwing up a couple of
burrows, OF in any other way that is
convenient Then beginning the high
end of the field. work out the first
border, taking all excess dirt from
the high places and spreading it
where needed in the low places. In
sandy soils the borders should not be
more than 200 or 300 feet in length,
but on clay soils no limit need be
set for the length. For the location
Of the borders, especially if they are
long, it is almost necessary that a
level be used, These may be pur-
chased for about SIS to $40. Perma-
nent borders should be built at the
time of Ieveling These should be
Just high enough to control the
movement of water, and should be
wide enough to prevent any danger
of their being dragged down by ma
chinery or washed down by the run
A un
satisfactory way to build such Dor
ders is to drag up the dirt with a
scraper and deposit it along the lines
of the border; where it should be
smoothed into the desired shape.
If the borders are built with q
broad base and slowly sloping sides
crops can be grown along the sides
t and top without any difficulty The
base of such borders should not bt
less than eight to ten feet wide. Aftei
all borders and the checks or cross
/, borders are complete, 1t is best t.
! go over each section of the field anC
Z true up all slight inequalities tina
E may have been missed in the frs
Y leveling. Here again the level is o
A great value, as It points out these er
rors much more closely than the bes
trained eye. If there is free ant
abundant supply of water, and tn
field will not need it for some time,
is we'll to give it a trial irrigation
g making a note of all the points tina
r are either low or high, and correct
s ing these as soon as the soil is dry
T One thing that must be borne i
= mind is that where any large amour
n of earth is hauled into a low place
Q the level of the land VIII be destroye
s by this soil settling after the first fey
irrigations. unless allowance is mad
for this and a slight excess Of soil
I moved in. This is hard to estimate
! and for this reason it is well that tn
| field be not seeded to permaner
! crop, like alfalfa, the first year afte
Il any decided leveling. The small grain
III are perhaps the best crops to try o
III newly leveled fields. They do not o.
J cupy the soil for a great length {
time. and can stand an excess
- water in any place that happens
be low, perhaps, better than m
jority of the crops grown in this r
- gion. Then, too, the surface is lie
- in an excellent condition for correc
ing slight inequalities in level tn;
b.. may yet remain. When these co
i, rections are made, the soil should
u, ready to put in alfalfa or any oth'
crop that win be on the land f'
A. years with no fear of drowning Of
~ the lower levels. Great advantage
Il operation results from the use of we
Il. built boxes and gates for the tur
outs and other control of water.
re subsequent bulletin will treat
ia these more fully.