The sun., 1896-08-16
a NEW TRINKLE IN FARMING.
Success or tho CRmpbeii SYstem OF Soil
Culture In the Sub-arid BELT.

| BISMARCK, N. D., Aug. l5.-For ten years
experiments have been going on in farming In
| tho vast sub.arid belt of tho Dakotas. To-day
| the problem sooms to have been soll ed. In
spccttons during the past week OF n half SCORE
| Of experimental farms have made leading
farmers Of this State enthusiastic advocates of
| what is known as tao Campbell system OF soil
culture. They have unanimously recom-
| mendod 1t to the farmers OF their counties, and
havo resolved in public TO adopt 1t themselves.
This system was FIRST tried In South Dakota
last year and tho season before by farmer
named Campbell. 1t consists OF so packing
the subsoils by means OF disked harrows that
moisture shall not escape downward, and In 20
cultlvatinE the surface that II shall not es-
cape upward. There Ia formed q hard subsoil
with dust blanket on the surface the latter
about two inches deep, and the result is to
give tho growing crop all the moisture Tint
falls. Last autumn arrangements were made
by tho Northern Pacific road To test tho sys-
tenn on half dozen farms along its line, and
by the 500 road to try II on flve. Tho Mil
waukec road also has had one farm In opera
tion. ard tho State OF North Dakota another.
All have been wonderfully successful. so much
so. indeed, that q company has been formed
to improve on this system . million or moro
aores in the subj arid bolt
Tho Dakotas arc divided north and south
into three diverse areas. merging insensiblY
Into ono another-on the east the humid belt
OF tho Red Riyor Gnd tho territory south OF IT.
and to the west the slopes OF the Missouri and
The distinctly arid regions. where artesian wells
are the only moan. BY which crops can be
made to grow In the central belt, who, . soil
Is Is as fertile Gas as amy on the globe the annual
greatest iS in JunSe. AY DurihN S ,hs months ] When
wheat is most liable to ruin from hot winds and
drought, there arc Slm9st no rains and tho
are often accompanied by winds that lay fiat
the grain and so make inpossihle economical
these lands, and through them run many rail-
roads, which dcperd for trafhc on the crops
conditions must be oonbated- by draw
Ing on the stores OF subterranean waters by
artesian wells or by methods of tillago that
Experimental farms on the Campbell system
have bcen In operation this season near James
Dawson, Glenulien, and. elsewhere, and the re-
suits indicate the fina! triumph Of man over
nature in this difficult belt.
BY the new system frequent cultivation
Is needed, and this is so in regard to not only
corn and root crops. but also wheat and all
walton Is impossible. Farmers have doubted
tho practicability Of cultivatlng small grains
entailed, but 4 has been shown at the farms
run this year that tho cost OF cultivation. run.
ming over the farms siI times, does not exceed
90 cents an acre, and the increased yield far
outweiGhs that: Tho cost OF packing the sub
soils and making ready for the frat crop Is
about the same II was the general opinion
that little OF the results OF tho system OF cul-
ture could he secn this season owing TO the un-
usual rainfall of tho carly spring; but on the
contrary the good effects OF tho now method
haye been brought out by comparison with
ordinary cultivation as we'll as n dry year
could have shown them. SO wet was tho
srring that the roots of grain did not go deep.
and when the later dry weather came it with
cred tho wheat and ruined thousands of acres
cultivated In ths usual way. On the Camp
bel farms close by tho new plan led to greater
roots. and while there WAS room between the
rows OF wheat. there was no whitening. and tho
yield has been twice as great as in adjoining
fields BY tho new plan the grain docs not
grow so high, thereby avoiding the danger
from heavy winds, but Il stools far better and
the stalks ARE more thrifty than any seen in this
region bniors. At the state Soldiers Home.
where the Commonwealth is trying the new
system. the wheat yields fully twenty.
seven bushels to the acre, the barley about
sixty. and tie oats. potatoes, corn, and vege-
tables are nil not far from double good crop.
On these farms all sorts Of crops suitable to
northern climate have been tested and found
successful. Among tho unusual articles raised
this season have been watermclons, peanuts.
coffee. tea, ground chorr'es and number or
articles supposed to DO found only In u moro
southerly country. All grew well.