Arizona sentinel and Yuma weekly examiner., 1913-11-27
PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS TO R
 RIGAToRS

FIJI. IA. hAOA1 WAO AAc1o NAoA 5~ of the large demonstration farm on the North Platte Project in Nebraska furnishes the following helpful hints to irrigators which may prove valu- able to farmers on all projects.
 It is a common fallacy among farm CTS that grains should we'll shade the ground before the first irrigation is attempted in order to prevent baking the soil. Prof. Knorr's experiments have shown that whenever the soil shows it is getting dry the crop should be irrigated regardless of it's stage of growth. Whenever the soil will not adhere together in a lump when pressed in the hand, irrigation should be applied.
 The growth of corn should not be forced by early irrigation. Corn should be planted in moist ground, which can be accomplished by irrigat- ing before planting. Thus planted it will generally carry thru without fur ther irrigation until it tassels and silks. After that one or two irriga- tions is usually sufficient to mature the crop in good shape.
 Barley should never be allowed to get dry because it is a crop which shows the effect of drouth more quickly and, because it has less pow CT to recover than any of the small grains, it should be carefully watch ed for indications of lack of mois- ture.
 While wheat and oats will stand more drouth than barley, both should be watered when needed. Oats will recover more from drouth than any other crop. Care should be exercised to prevent leaving water on the same ground for any considerable length of time. Experiments show that after water has run in furrow one and half hours 1t will soak down to sub soil. Running water for six hours in the same furrow usually does no more good than a run of one and a half hours but increases the subsoil mois- ture, augmenting the seepage supply and the damages resulting therefrom.
 Potatoes grow best in soil which is kept moist. An interesting expert ment with early Ohio potatoes was as follows: One plot of gorund was watered 3 times during the season at such intervals that the land need cd water rather badly each time be- fore irrigation was applied. The sec ond plot was kept continually in moist condition. On Plot No. 1 the yield was 40 bushels per acre mar ketable potatoes and 80 per cent. of the crop was marketable. Plot No. gave 175 bushels per acre and II per cent. were culls.
 For sugar beets excessive irriga- tion is certain to produce larger tops and small beets. Careful and regU- lar Irrigation produced two tons per oNAC HWY Wdc SIOnA OA OfC1- irrigated land.
 In alfalfa growing Prof. Knorr ex- perimented on different plots with 8, 4, 5, and irrigations. The last two plots yielded two-tenths tons less alfalfa per acre than the others. A comparison of yields cut and 4 times showed that the latter yielded four and nine-tenths tons per acre while 3 cuttings produced and six tenth tons. He concludes that three cuttings not only give more tonnage but also a better quality of hay.
 He finds that it is not advisable to crop alfalfa beyond 4 year period as the roots become so heavy they will rot on the ground, making the cultivation more difficult and causing a loss in fertility to the soil. In turn ing under alfalfa he recommends shal- low blowing