El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-05-29
FARMING
FREEMAN PLAN
BOON TO FARMERS
Inaugurates New System of
Irrigation Under Carls-
bad Project.

VI irrigated -duQS IS being brought TO
a successful conclusion under the
Carlsbad project The Freeman" plan
eonseryes water. reduces labor bills
one halL does not retard or interrupt
growth, eliminates waste o. land viii
L -l Ledeh OUT fertile soil and viii irrigate
-ouF acres OF land with half the la
Dor and IN the same time that il now
takes TO water one
The Old Way.
Lee F. Freeman seven years ago
came from central Texas to the Pecos
valley in search of health for his chill
cren- freeman first took up land un-
DER the BarstOw project south of Carls-
PAD FOR two years Freeman followed
traditional methods of irrigation His
ulIches We're small, and his checks"
or portions of land TO be irrigated
from the bitches We're the usual tiny
plots, running about four to the acre
They were 80 feet wide. and 10
yards long, and water was turned into
them by making a break in the ditch
Dank- ~ ater was turned out by fill
ing up the same hole If there hap
pened 10 be big head, the break in
the ditch bank was rapidly cut away,
and Freeman frequently all but ex-
hausted his strength in filling up the
cut RMS IS the system that has al
ways been used, but too much water
on land is sometimes as great a curse
as none at all, and Freeman often
flooded his lands.
The New Way.
After two years Freeman set his wits
at Work, and has now evolved a system
OF irrigation that viii undoubtedly be
In general use on every project in the
west within five years.
The Ilrst work was to install gates
at the head Of his checks The idea
OF gates In the ditch bank was not
particularly new, for they had been in
use in alfalfa fields for some time,
out freeman d1dn. stop with them He
could now handle his water without
wearing nip boots, or working him
self to exhaustion under blazing sun.
but the size OF his checks bothered
and ne found that he was using twice
as much water as he needed By the
time the water had spread to the lower
end of the check, the upper end. near
est to the ditch was almost begged.
The distribution Of the moisture was
uneven and wastefUl.
freeman studied. He found that BY
turning. a larger head than usual on
his checks the water would rush over
the ground in a wave until the lower
end of the check was reached, when
the gate on the upper end Of the check
would be closed The higher part of
the check would not be water logged
IN the short time that the water was
crowdlng over it. and the lower end
would receive its needed moisture in a
brief time.
Larger bitches.
Freeman had TO change the size OF
his bitches, in order TO conduct this
greater head Of water TO his land, but
the idea was right Then he saw that
ms checks We're too small, that he
could handle more water on more land
in shorter time than before. and ne \
increased the size Of his checks. until,
on his farm three miles south Of town
ne mas made them an acre In extent,
four times larger than the usual checks
on a farm under the Carlsbad project. I
Comparative Cost.
Ihere can be no question Of the as
founding success Of this system. and
Freeman gives figures IN support Of
his method He recently purchased q {
90 acre tract known as the Bruce Z
Jones land 1t used to take six days
and nights to irrigare IL, Mexican irri- !
gators employed being paid about $50 I
for the work A week ago. with a new
set Of bitches. this 40 acres was wa /
tered by Freeman and boy in IS I
hours The bitches were untried. and !
occasionally one would break. When I
they set. one man VIII be able to ir- 4
rlgate the tract in a day. and he viii I
not have to wade about in his boots, !
or use heavy irriEating hoe to close /
the cuts in the bank. The farmer who /
uses the freeman" plan viii not even /
have to wet the soles Of his shoes. The /
ditch banks are high and wide enough /
TO walk on, and the only necessary I
labor is that required to open and close
the gates.
Much Time saved.
Reduced to figures, the system shows
a wide divergence from the plan Of
irrigation now in general use. Free
man first Of all asked the government
to widen the lateral which leads to his
land His bitches are planned to carry
from 20 TO 80 feet of water and are
from SIX to seven feet wide at the
bottom His checks are so feet wide 4
and 22O yards long, both dimensions
double those in general use. giving an
area four times the accepted size. or
about an acre in extent His openings
from the ditch are three feet across.
He 1rrlgates two checks at a time, and
has check gates at every fourth gate
on the ditch. By this arrangement
with a 20 foot head he irrigates four !
hecks to the hour, covering the land |
to a depth of four inches.
Alfalfa Wisdom.
Less water at a time, with more fire.
Iuenr application. is the rule on the
freeman farm Tt takes about a week I
20 irrlgaJe 80 acre tract. under the
Did system An alfalfa field thus
treated makes an uneven growth. and
The cutting is strung out over a longer
lime than it should consume Conse-
luently the next application Of water
IS delayed Alfalfa is simply water I
and SUNSHINE, and 80 days is too long
Tor IL to wait for water" said Mr.. I
reemau- II find that I can irTigate
! thick growth Of hay in but little
OnEer time than it takes to water the
Itubble. and never let my fields go
over three weeks without irrigation.
The alfalfa is never stunted by lack
IF moisture in the growing season. I
.ry to irrigate three times during every
WO cuttings. With a winter irrigation, |
find that this uses up my allowance
II three feet, which I think IS about I
he right amount of water to put on
IN alfalfa field during the year"
Economy Of Water.
The Freeman plan is of particular {
dvantaEe on Jewel fields. The biz
leads crowd over the check in a quar-
er of the time consumed by the I
mailer head Of water formerly used.
nd take but little more tine to spread
.ver the ground covered with a growth !
# hay. Last week 7 irrigated 81 acres
f alfalfa eight inches high in -
ours, and had but very little diff
ulty with the water. I shut IL back
nd forth through the gates Just as
attIemen handle stock in a stockyard."
aid Freeman, and one man can do
all
-Four inches at a time is all that
NY field should be given" he con- 2
inued further. ct believe that six or
light inches of water at one applica-
ion to be a positive detriment. Tt is
more than the soil can absorb. and it
oaks down to the lower level carry
ne valuable plant foods with it."
Pays for Itself.
One Of advantage of the scheme de-