The Ronan pioneer., 1917-11-16
LEVELINC MOST
IMPORTANT WORK
FIELDS SHOULD BE PREPARED
SO WATER WILL FLOW
OVER GROUND EASILY.
Plow and Scraper Valuable in Re-
moving High Places in New Fields
Home-N Made Machine Will Help
Put the Ground in Perfect Condi-
tiOn-HoW to Make Levelcr.

Proper preparation CT the field, so
as to make the seed bed as nearly
level as possible between the bitches,
is an important factor in successful
irrigation. In order that all of the
field may be covered and yet lot
require an excess Of water it is es
sential that there be no high places,
where the water cannot flow freely.
1t is seldom in Montana that new
land is smooth enough for satisfac
tory irrigation. 1t therefore be-
comes necessary to remove the high
places and fill up the hollows in the
field. In time the water itself will
assist in making the field level,
through washing, but it is often nee
essary in the beginning to use
plow and scraper for this leveling
process.
An ordinary plow is used to loosen
up the surfaces of the high places
and then the earth is removed to the
lower places by means of a scraper.
The most satisfactory scraper is the
Buck scraper' or "Fresno." These
are superior to the ordinary slip
scraper or wheel ,scraper because
they can be SO adjusted that the load
of soil will be spread over a consid
erable area instead of in heap. 1t
saves time and money.
Road Scrapers Useful.
Road scrapers are sometimes used
for the same purpose with excellent
results. Some of the scrapers have
tenders, which may be attached to
the end of the blade. These tenders
hold the earth directly in front of
the blade, so that it may be moved
along and deposited in a layer of any
desired thickness by raising the
blade.
A finished job of grading or level
ing is seldom, if ever, produced by
means of the scrapers or graders In
most places they do only the prelm-
plowed and pulverized it is we'll to
complete the leveling process by
means of a homemade level.
While there are many types of
such Jewelers., most Montana irriga-
tors seem to favor one made as fol-
lows:
Making Wooden Jewelers..
Uuse two side planks of 2 inches by
s inches or 2 inches by 10 inches,
about IL to % feet long. These are
set on edge about by 8 feet apart.
Three cross planks, to s feet long,
Of the same width as the side planks
are fastened to them as follows. The
front cross plank is set with slant
of inches for 8-inch planks or 5
inches for 10-inch planks. The mid
die cross plank is set on edge at the
middle, while the third cross plank
is set at the rear with the same slant
and in the same direction as the first
front cross plank. The whole is firm
ly braced. A strong chain is attached
to the front end of the machine.
When the leve7er is dragged over
the land, the front cross plank
knocks off the smaller high places
and slides over the larger ones; the
middle plank, which has verticle
position, catches the remaining high
earth and pushes it forward until the
leveler comes to a low place. The
sides and ends of the machine now
hold the center board high enough
to permit the earth which is being
carried in front of the center board.
to drop down and fill the low places.
The leveler acts upon the rough
surface of the field as the plane acts
on an uneven board. The leveling
process is often completed by going
over the land once but in many
cases it is necessary to go over the
field the second time. The second
leveling can be done more efficiently
if the drag Or level is run diagonally
or at right angles to the first level
ing.
While leveling takes much time
and lots of work, it's Importance
should not be overlooked Proper
leveling will save money and time
and permit of a more uniform appll-
cation of the water and at harvest |
time larger yields will show the val
ue Of the work.