Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1896-08-06
IMPROVED SOIL CULTURE.
Delegation Of James River
Valley Farmers Visit tho
Experimental Farm.
Conservation Of Moisture and
ThorouRh Cultivation Fully
Demonstrated.

Luxuriant Grains Show Super.
iority OF This Method Of
Cultivation.
To make two blades OCCUPY the place
Of one represents in brief the improved
soil culture method which the Stutsmsn
county delegation OF farmers inspected
with much interest and pleasure at Lis
bon yesterday. The simplicity Of the
plan, the results accomplished and the
possibilities presented impressed deeply
each member Of the party. The manner
and cost of operation vas Individually
Investigated, the soil turned up to show
the show the moisture present and the
growing crops seen and samples carried
away to to others what intelligent
labor can produce whether or not nature
be bounteous of her store of moisture.
At the Soldiers home Col. McIlvslne
has in variety Of crops which need to
be seen to appreciate this system Of cul-
tivstion which consists Of packing the
soil and frequent shallow civilizations.
Cultivation is begun as soon as the grain
is up sufficiently to see the rows and fol-
lows at least once each week thereafter
and 40 soon after rains % the ground can
be worked, to conserve all moisture. TIE
ground 10 cultivated 11s 70 2 inches
deep aiming to keep the surface soft,
mellow and covered with q blanket of
dust 90 that evaporation OF moisture
will be retarded and prevented. The
cultivstor used for this purpose is of very
light draft and any team will easily cul-
tivate twenty-five acres in day Of ten
hours. The cost of cultivatlon-six
times-for the entire season, it has been
estimated, will not exceed 50 cents an
acre.
Tho barley field was first visited.
There the grain stood thick, sturdy and
even % though planted close together
under the old method. The heads were
long and filed to the extreme tipiwith
large, plump kernels. From Is to 80
kernels-double the number in good
barley-wsrs found in heads picked ct
random. The yield Of the field wss
variously estimated bya Barnescounty
party from IS TO 70 bushels per acre.
Col. McIlvaine SAID the 6eld could not
be bought for lees than SO bushels an
aore. The manner Of seeding under
the improved soil culture method 10
tho reason for the divergence Of
estimates. The grain 10 drilled IN rows
16 inches apart-a single drill Of grain -
sowsd by IN ordinary gram dzlll-then l6
inches OF bare soil, another drill Of grain
and l6 inches more Of unseeded soil and
% on. Two rows in esoh sweep Of the
drill, for tho convenience Of the team in
oultivatiug, are placed IS inches apart.
This seems . waste OF soil but in the
barley and oats fields particularly the
rows were hardly discernsble except
when looking down them. In the whest,
with less foliage, the rows could be
traced more easily but were not notice
able. The grain 10 cultivated with
riding spring-tooth oultivatoi, three
teeth to each row. The machine 10 half
. rod vide and cultivates four 16 inch
spaces and two Is inch spaces ct time.
Two 18 inch rows occur between each
tWo IS inch rows.
The barley ground vas planted to
potatoes last year and allowed to grow
up to weeds % high as mans head.
Their destruction and the preparation
Of the coil caused considerable trouble.
The ground was dragged, rolled, disced
plowed and the weeds turned under six
or seven inches Of soil. The packer
followed The plow, then came the drag and
then the drill. But half bushel OF seed
Der acre was sown about the 10th or 25th
of May. The grain vas cultivated five
or SIX times, the last when the grain wat
half headed out. It is now turning
yellow. But nine.tenths OF an inch ol
rain has fallen in the last Six weeks, Col
McIlvaine said.
Beside the barley was field Of yellow
dent corn, sixty-seven days old and
standing much higher than mans
hesd. This was cultivated seven tlmes
The leaves were broad, deep rich greer
and as luxuriant as could be. Next t
this was field Of eight row yellow ain
corn that looked equally vigorous ane
flourlshing. A few inches below th,
surisce.the earth was sufficiently moist t
be pressed into ball while on tn
ground under the ordinary cultur
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