The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1906-12-20
DRY FARMING SUCCESSFUL.
Greater and Better Crops Raised on
Less Ground.

Less OTOun0.
That the Campbell system of dry
land farming is simple, practical and
successful is the statement made by ID.
Glen beavers, of the Burlington Route
Homeseekers' Information Bureau at
Omaha, Neb. The Campbell system has
been given thorough trial in western
Nebraska, where conditions are pecu-
liarly favorable, and there has been a
consequent steady rise in land values.
Mr.. Beaver says:
"There is nothing mysterious or I'M
reasonable about the Campbell system
of soil culture; it is simply plain, ordi
nary sense as developed by scientific |
methods applied to the tilling of the
soil. Although not as much land can be
farmed under the Campbell system as
under the old, it is true that forty |
acres intensely farmed will produce
almost twice as much as will similar
area under the old methods.
Generally speaking, the western
part of Nebraska is largely adapted to
the Campbell system. While it is true
considerable land in that section is
valuable only for grazing purposes, it
is mixed with it a large area of valu-
able farming land.
Opposed to the old idea of raising
stock only and doing nothing which
could not be done on horseback,
is the new idea of thorough cultivation.
1t has remained for the new settlers to
demonstrate what the country is most
valuable for. 1t is impossible to raise
the best crops any place unless the
ground is seeded and cared for in
proper manner In the past the method Of
tilling the soil was such that no reason
able person would expect successful
crop. For instance, until recently it
has been the common practice of the
farmers, when harvesting wheat, oats
and other small grains, to let the
stubble lay as the binder passed over it
until time to pillow for fall wheat.
I'm such cases the result is that if
we have any dry weather at all the land
cakes, and when plowed in the fall
breaks up in large chunks, permitting
the air to penetrate to the bottom of
the plowed ground and thoroughly dry
it out unless followed with rain; but the
proper thing to do in such cases is to
follow the binder with disc harrow
and thereby mulch the ground about
two inches deep. After each rain this
mulched ground should be narrowed.
This of course requires more work, but
the result is that when the ground is
plowed in the fall it will break up nice
and mellow, whether there has been
much rain or not, since the binder
harvesting a former crop passed over
it. Another result is that the ground
is in such good condition to receive the
seed for the next crop that scarcely
more than one-half of the seed sown
under the old method need be sown I'M
der the Campbell system of soil culture,
since the ground being mellow and
moist every grain has an opportunity
to sprout and produce itself.
II know of several locations where
winter wheat, raised under the Camp
bell system Of soil culture, has produc-
ed from thirty to fifty bushels per acre
where the same kind of land in the
same neighborhood, farmed under the
old method, produced from eighteen to
| twenty-eight bushels per acre.
THE rise III the western Nebraska
land has been simply wonderful, ard in
my opinion will continue. Land that a
short time ago could have been bought
for 81 to 81 an acre is now selling
rapidly ut 81 to S1J. Not long since
almost any unimproved land in western
Nebraska was drag on the market
but today land that is at all desirable
is quickly picked up.
western Nebraska farmers who
formerly depend almost wholly on grair
/ now keep dairy herds, use hand cream
!: separators and sell cream along will
\ at har nrp1uctS