The Springfield herald., 1897-02-19


meath moist. Mulching around the
roots of trees does the same thing.
This is done by checking evaporation.
Almost every farmer knows that his
corn is enabled to stand the dry wealth
er longer If frequently cultivated or
hoed. The blanket of dust, or loose dry
earth keeps the moisture from coming
to the surface where the winds can
suck 1T up. The Campbell method re
Quires the cultivation to be done with
some fine-toothed cultivator, or harrow
set to run not more than two inches
deep, and to be repeated once in from
five to seven days throughout the
growing season. Should the season be
hot or dry, the stirring of this dust
mulch must be pushed more vigorous
ly. This cultivation Is not n very eN
pensve operation, as one man with Il
team is able to cultivate from 20 to 30
acres of wheat, oats, corn or any
other crop per day. Two-row and
three-rOw cultivators are used in corn.
and cultivators IL feet wide in small
grain. The entire cost per acre for la
Dor in excess of the cost of the old
method, including the subsurface
packing, amounted, on the Soldiers
Home farm at Lisbon, North Dakota.
in 1896, to 81 cents per acre, a large
part of which was offset by saving of
seed in the fields of small grain. All
the work was, in this case, paid for in
each and exact accounts kept. The
yield was estimated TO be double THAI
by the old method on all crops.
l said that surface packing is the
one new thing which Mr.. Campbell has
given to agriculture. There is another
thing inherent in his system which is.
perhaps, new to American agriculture,
although old to the agricultursts of
Europe. / refer to the interculture of
wheat, oats. barley, and all "small
grain" during the growing season. The
dust mulch is just as essential to these
crops as to corn or potatoes. There
fore, the Campbell method requires all
such crops to be sown in drills far
enough apart to permit of constant cul-
tivation. The best results have been
obtained by placing the drills from is
to % inches apart. Cu1tivators are
used which enable husbandmen TO stir
the surface between these rows with
the utmost facility. AS only about one
quarter of the usual quantity of seed
is required, this saving goes far to
make up for the expense of cultiva-
tion. The stalks "stool OUT under the
influence of the moisture in the soil in
cident to the system of tillage, so that
at harvest time the ground is so GOV
cred by the grain as to completely OBJ
liteislte all traces of the rows, so far as
can be observed from little distance.
The heads are so full as to make the
yield larger than can be expected in
broadcast seeding under any condi-
tionS. There seems to be good reason
to think that farmers in all climates
could profitably adopt this part of the
Campbell method.
Some astounding figures are given AS
to the results of this method. 1t has
never failed to bring n crop when fair
ly tried. No field titled according to its
rules has ever suffered from drought
In 1898, near Aberdeen. S. D.. this
method of tillage brought a yield of
LAG bushels of potatoes per acre, while
other fields Were n total failure; in
1896, in Harlan county, Neb., yield
of 200 bushels of potatoes per acre in
the fields of Batty < Son, while in
others about 90 bushels was the rule,
and at Glen Ullen. N. D., in 1896, C.
Lidstrom got 100 bushels per acre on
sub-surface packed ground, and only
So bushels per acre on unpacked soil.
although all We're given the same sur
face cultivation. @. II. Pratt, n bank
er of Hastings, Neb., makes the state
ment that partial adoption of this
method has increased the average
yield of corn five bushels per acre in
his county.
In none of these fields is there ever
any difficulty in detecting greater
degree of moisture than in fields oper-
ated by ordinary methods. Last July
the writer visited the North Dakota
fields and found by digging that in the
Campbell fields, from the surface down
as far as the spade would reach, the
ground was wet enough for the max
ing of mud balls. while in other fields.
as soon as the spade went below the
effects of recent shower. the soil was
dry as dust. In 1894 and 1895 Mr..
Campbell had plats in South Dakota.
Both were extremely dry seasons. The
ground was. in other fields. parched
and dry to an unknown depth. But in
the autumn of 1894 his fields, after
maturing the crops, showed six feet.
and the next autumn ten feet of moist
earth.
That elusive 900 tons or so of water
per acre had been trapped and held by
the new tillage. In 1894 test tubes of
dirt were taken from n Campbell field
at Hastings. Neb., and from adjoining
fields. and sent to the department of
agriculture at Washington for analy-
Sis In that July only 1-16 of an inch of
rainfall occurred on these fields. The
average per centage of moisture in the
upper twelve inches of soil during this
month was. in the Campbell fields,
about IS per cent, in the other fields
about per cent. The observations
were taken at 6 o'clock every evening
and furnished a most striking proof of
the efficacy of this method of coffserv-
ing moisture. Eighteen per cent. of
moisture is enough to insure rapid and
fiourishing growth: s per cent. is, to all
appearances, absolutely dry.
In 1896 about dozen model sfarmS
We're operated by the Northern Pacific
and the 500 Line railway in North Da-
kota. The results We're such rs to i'm
pei these roads to prepare for more
farms next year. and the Northern Pa
cific has made an offer of premiums
for the best fields titled by this method
| by farmers of sixteen counties in
North Dakota. Some of the great grain
companies of Minnesota ana some land
companies are actively cooperating in
the work of education. The r. & NJ.
railway in Nebraska will next year
operate its model farms in Nebraska
and Kansas. The Chicago. Milwaukee
| < st. Paul is doing n great deal to