Golden Valley chronicle. (Beach, Billings County, N.D.) 1905-1916, 1908-07-17
ONE LOCATED HERE
ON STEINER FARM
Something Iterest1ng r or
Billings County Farmer
In Particular.


twelve farms under the direct supervision
of the Agricultural College known as dem
onstration FARMS The object of these
farms is to show what the best of seed
grain, good cultivation. and rotation of
crops will do in their respective commun-
tiles.
Six of these farms we're established in
Ioc6 located at Bismarck, New Salem
aud Beach on the main line of the North
ern Pacific railway; andrat Ross, Granville
and Lakota on the Great Northern. These
farms were established by funds provided
by the railways themselves. The legisla-
ture of 1907 passed an act establishing six
more of these farms, which were located
at Bathgate, Larimore, Sanborn, Caring
ton and Flaxton in the spring of 1907 and
providing funds for maintaining the twelve
farms.
Eight of these farms are divided into five
fields of four acres each where three grain
crops are grown each year together with
one cultivated crop such as corn or pota-
toes. and one grass or clover crop. One
plot is we'll manured each year on each
farm. At Bathgate and Darlington there
are six plots of four acres each and at San
born and Flaxton the farms have four plots
of FIVE acres each. This provides some
variation in the rotations as it makes six
year rotation on the two former farms and
four year rotation on the latter ones.
A chemical analysis of the soil of each
plot is made each year under the direction
of Prof. Ladd. In this way the manner
each crop effects the chemical condition
of the soil will be noted and it will be
known whether the plant food is increas-
ing or diminishing and by how. much un-
der the different rotations practiced. The
work done for period of years should
yield some very interesting data.
Three times each year moisture de-
termination is made on each plot of the
different farms after seeding, before har-
vest and late in the fall. This will ac-
curatelY show the amount of water used
>by each crop and the time in the year in
which it was used. This is very essential,
especially in the drier portions of the state
as it is very important to use the drops
and methods of cultivation that will con-
serve soil moisture.
At five of the farms there is, rain
guage and maxium and minimum thermom-
eters, and such will be installed on the
balance of the FARMS With this apparatus
the time and the amount of each rain will
be accurately recorded Throughout the year.
This together with the record of the
amount of water used by each crop should
yield some very valuable data on the crops
and methods OF cultivation best adapted to
each section of the country where dem
onstration farm is situated.
In Billings county the demonstration
farm is located on the farm of David
Steiner, two miles east of Beach. 1t con-
sists of twenty acres divided into five fields
of four acres each. On this farm five
year rotation is followed. consisting of two
crops of wheat and one of oats for market.
able crops. also crop of clover for hay
and a crop of corn for fodder. The
following table shows how the land will be
rotated for period of five years:
PLOT I. o6 corn. o7 wheat, 'os wheat
and clover manured. 'oo clover, 10 OATS
PLOT 2. o6 wheat, 'o7 wheat and clov.
err manured. os clover. 'oo oats, 10 corn
PLOT 3. o6 wheat and clover-manured
'o7 clover seeded again, 'o8 oats, -'oe corn
10 wheat.
PLOT 4. o6 clover with oats, 'o7 oats
'os corn-manured, 'oo wheat, 10 whea