. Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture. Agriculture; Agriculture. 28 BULLETIN 917, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. greatest amount of horse labor in ditch cleaning is done with a V-drag, which has a long side that scrapes one side of the ditch while the other side smooths the bottom. This sort of drag saves much labor that would otherwise have to be done by hand with a shovel. (Fig. 19.) Grain crops require another item of horse labor. After the grain is planted it is common to make cross ditches through the field so that irrigation water can get to the crop. These are made at varyi
. Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture. Agriculture; Agriculture. 28 BULLETIN 917, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. greatest amount of horse labor in ditch cleaning is done with a V-drag, which has a long side that scrapes one side of the ditch while the other side smooths the bottom. This sort of drag saves much labor that would otherwise have to be done by hand with a shovel. (Fig. 19.) Grain crops require another item of horse labor. After the grain is planted it is common to make cross ditches through the field so that irrigation water can get to the crop. These are made at varying intervals throughout the field, depending upon the slope of the land and the type of the soil. They must, not be too .far apart or too long for the even irrigation of the crop. In flood irrigation, if the field is too long too much water will penetrate the ground near the outlet from the lateral. These laterals in grain fields are made with a plow or common corn lister and are usually smoothed and banked with a V-drag. When harvest time comes they often interfere with. Fig. 19.—The V-ditcner. This implement is used for making new laterals or cleaning and hanking old ones. It uses horses to do labor that is often done by men with shovels. the operation of the binder and are usually partially filled by plowing in the banks. This can often be done by using one horse and making but one round to each ditch. This practice does not break down or destroy the grain along the ditch bank, as would be done if more horses were used. This operation is best done after the last irrigation of the grain and before the ditch banks harden. In irrigating beans, beets, and potatoes the water can be run a greater distance, as it is in a furrow and has more head. There is, therefore, often less necessity for temporary ditches through the field. Water can be. run on crops by the furrow-irrigation method two to four times as far as by flood irrigation. (Figs. 20 and 21.) Since alfalfa is a flood-ir
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