The Dickinson press., 1908-06-20
MUST IMPROVE METHODS
Note of Warning Sounded to North Dakota Farmers. Speakers a
Successful Institute Urge Adoption Of Dairying. Valuable Help
to Farmers in This State Drawn from Addresses of Specialists

VIZ "Oos PSAA0SI SVAVAIAOAS W WVIh
upon. Their soil contains nitrogen,
phosphoric acid and potash by nature,
while in New England the farmers
have to buy these properties.
The present methods of crop rails.
ing are lowering the natural supply
Of these commodities. Every Gro,
takes out so much nitrogen, ~phosphor.
ic acid and potash from the soil, and
unless the amounts are replaced, the
time will come when the farmers of
North Dakota will have to buy these
necessities. The system of grain rails.
ing must be changed. The value of
these three ingredients taken from the
ground by the crops shipped away
each year from this state totals 43
millions of dollars If the farmers had
to buy them.
In Great Britain they raise 80 or
more bushels of wheat to an acre; in
Holland and Belgium over 80 bushels,
and in North Dakota, where they have
the best soils in the world, they raise
only 12h bushels. The speaker said
he did not wish to cast reflection on
the farmers, but it was possible to
improve their methods. When the
farmers plant wheat after a crop OF
millet, they get bigger yields, but they
do not increase the fertility. When
they summer fallow the ground, they
get more bushels to an acre, but do
not add anything to the value of the
soil. If they grow timothy and bury
tons Of the sod in the SOIL, better
crops result, but the fertility is re.
duced, for the sod rots the soil as
quickly as wheat does.
The question, then, is what can be
done to overcome this decrease of fer.
tility which is reducing natures gifts
to. North Dakota farmers, nitrogen,
phosphoric acid and potash?" There
are three ways Of remedying the evil
The first and greatest is by increas'
ing the live stock on the farms to
make fertilizer for enriching the lands.
A ton of fertilizer will go further and
do more good in North Dakota than
two tons will in any other part of the
country. But in some parts of North
Dakota the farmers burn this kind OF
fertilizer!
Another method is the growing OF
clover in rotation. The day Is com
ing when clover will be grown all
over North Dakota and will be as val
liable crop as the wheat crop. The diff
f1culties can be overcome, and by cut
ting the clover as feed for live stock,
and leaving the roots in the soil. the
supply of the three ingredients Of the
soil already mentioned is increased
and the roots: will hold the moisture
in the ground. The growing of al,
falfa will have the same results.
The final method is the planting o.
the Canadian field pea, which with 200
swine to harvest 1t, will put the
ground in the best of condition and
increase the yield many bushels pei
acre.
Conservation Of Water.
The chairman then introduced Prof
Lindfeld, who was to have spoken
on alfalfa growing. He prefaced his
remarks with a dissertation on the
preserving of moisture in Montana
The noon recess cut short his re
marks and the alfalfa talk was post
poned until later in the afternoon.
The question of water is one Of the
greatest problems confronting thu
farmers. The fertility of the sol
wants to be retained and not reduced
but water is one of the prime necessi
ties. The average rainfall in Nortl
Dakota as compared with that II
Montana is about the same, slight!
less, perhaps, in some sections. Thi'
year has been an exception and al
ready this month there have fallel
IL inches of water in Montana. Tn
average June rainfall is about 6 inch
es. The wet season is unusual, ant
the season is. ordinarily either norma
or dry. A dry season does not neces
sarily mean that the farmers work i
a failure. In one of the experiment
stations in Montana where the rain
fall one year was 6 inches and 9 tn
following year, a crop Of 20 bushel
an acre was raised by summer fallow
ing.
What must be done is to save al
the rain. At the experiment station
just mentioned, the same seasons, a
experiment was tried to learn tn
amount of water in the soil. A plo
of ground was plowed in April or May
Abortion was cropped and a part sun
mer titled and seeded with fall whea
and rye. In the spring measurement
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