The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-10-30
Method of Operation.

The farm is DlOWe0 very deep during the
summer months and left TO stand until
time To harrow in the fall. Theoretically
the plowed soil left to itself will absorb
an immense amount of moisture from the
atmosphere. Then il is narrowed before
the fall rains and seeded. The grain is
winter wheat and IS harvested the fol-
This bowever. is but the initial step
toward the ultimate and complete forma
ton Of the dry farm. The first summer
after the first CroD the farm is re-plowed
as deep rs possible and left TO stand
throughout the following winter. no at
tempt being made to grow second crop
upon il at this time.
The following summer IL is plOWed for
a third time. left 10 stand until fall, then
narrowed and seeded and the following
August the second crop is harvested. In
brief this means a crop every other
year. the powed land standing unused the
Intervening winter TO permit greater
absorption of moisture.
Farm Is Divided.
To permit crop every year the Lehi
farm is to be divided into 1.SOO-acre sec
tionS and crops alternated on them. one
farm resting and absorbing moisture for
next years crop while the other is seeded
with a crop and harvested
The methods Mr.. Tobin and his asso-
ciates have employed for blowing seed
ing and harvesting the crop on their i'm
mense farm are probably the most mod
ern now in vogue in the United States
4 mammoth 35-horsepower traction en-
CINE pulling fifteen big disk plows with
twenty-four-irch disks plOws the farm.
The big engine covers two and half
acres every hour and IS equipped with a
headlight for night work so that in a
twenty-four- dav approximately fifty
acres can be plowed.
A patent seeding machine Is used that
covers the big farm in remarkably short
time and I'm harvesting the crop big steam
propelled headers the largest in use. arc
pressed into service Mr. Tobin and the
men associated with him have purchased
their own threshlng outfit and the grain
will be threshed on the ground.
Sandy Loan Soil.
The valley in which the big farm lies
Is some twenty miles long and twelve
miles wide. The top soil is a sandy
loan and the subsoil black and rich. In
places IL is covered with white sage. and q
considerable portion is covered with q
heavy growth of black sage.
The white sage can be easily turned in
blowing with the steam disk plows and al
no additional cost. The portion of the
farm covered with the heavy black sage
however, must be cleared before il can b'
plOwed. This costs $50 per acre. ar
expense that is added to the cost Of th'
first years crop only.
Cost of the Crop.
4 In discussing the cost of the first crol
on the big dry farm. Mr. Tobin said yes
\ terday: "It will cost us s. acre &
plOw Our tract 20 cents per acre 10 har
row it, 30 cents an acre for seed 80 cent
an acre for cutting the white sage an
$50 for clearing away the black sage
This gives us a total expense OF 80 a.
acre for our first crop, and we expect /
to run twenty bushels TO the acre. Fig
uring wheat at an average of 60 cents
bushel and the maximum expense of rails
ing il at IS per acre, we should get Sl2 a
acre for our crop leaving us profit of ;
or Sc an acre the first year. On the sec
ond crop our expense will drop TO about !
an acre and the wheat should go at leas
thirty bushels to the acre, giving us 81
an acre, or profit Of S14 to the acre"
Mr. Tobn and his associates are Ell
thusiastic over the prospects for bi
crops on their dry farm. as several crop
have been successfully raised on a smalle
dry farm a short distance from the Lei
tract. The experiment that is being Al
tempted at the latter place is bein
watched with great interest by the bi
western wheat growers and by the gov
ernment's agriculture agents.