Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1908-07-17

been broken up. More rain had been
absorbed by the soil to be given out
through Transportation in the growing
crops, and therefore there was more
moisture in the air. A third reason
may be found possibly in the charac-
ter of the precipitation. When rain
comes in downpours rather than
gently and moderately, much more of
it runs away and is lost. To some
extent that may have been a charac-
teristic of the rainfall during the ten
year period following 1885. OF the
truth of that surmise / have no data
at hand to draw from. Seasons as
dry as those of 1893 and 1894 may
come again. In 1889 the rainfall at |
Bismarck during the growing per-
iod was only 7.73 inches, in 1898 it
was only s.97 inches and in 1904 it
| was only 9.1S inches.
While dry seasons may and will
come again, they will never produce
results SO dire as they did in former
years. One Of the principal reasons
for this hope is tie increase of mois-
ture in the atmosphere through tran
spiration from the green crops that
cover the earth. This influence will
| increase, for even now in some parts
of Dakota not more than from ) to
l per cent of the prairie has yet been
broken. The second principal reason
is that the modification that is pos
sible in tillage will conserve mois-
ture much better than it was con-
served in former years. Sending
down the pillow increases the area in
| the soil for drinking in moisture,
and an occasional subsoiling will fur
Their aid such capacity. Growing Gull
tivated crops not only enables . the
soil to hold the moisture that falls
:, during the season, but it aids in stor-
!: next year.
1t would be interesting to know on
, how few inches rainfall a fair crop
of wheat even could be grown in Da-
kota, on land prepared for such a
: condition. If it shall turn out that
: winter wheat can be grown success
fully in far western North Dakota,
: and I believe that it can be thus
grown, a good crop would probably
be possible on inches of rainfall.
Will Whitening Winds Come Again
Doubtless they will come, but new
er again will they come with the
intensity of former years. The with
: ering winds that drove many farm
ers out of South Dakota came from
the southwest. They travelled over
=. vast areas of parched grass, hence
they became more dry and parching
: as they moved on. Even in grain
growing sections nearly all the area
: was covered with dry grass. BY the
time the air had reached the grain
fields of South Dakota it was like the
Q air of a heated furnace. The grain
! crops could not stand up against it
e Now the winds that come from The
same part must pass over lands
! large areas of which are growing
% crops under, irrigation, and othAr
l. areas are, growing them without ir
l. rigation. These crops are constant.
) moistening the air that is passing
l. through Transportation, and they ar
> thus far cooling it. These winds
u therefore, even when they do come
/ are never again likely to be so death
r dealing to vegetation as they were il
Il the days Of the evil times when the!
l. forced men to abandon their homes
3 Will Frost Trouble as in the Past
Is Unhesitatingly I answer, No. Som
? seasons frosts may do harm, but tn,
u frequency of these will grow less
The breaking, up of the land and tn
a draining Of sloughs have temperin
8 influence On climate. It has been tn
history of all countries which hav
E been afflicted with frosts during tn
III growing period, that as soon as cul
- tivation becomes general, the frost
III come less late in the spring and les
Is early in autumn. The period with
+ out frost in Dakota will come to
lie fully one month more on the averag
lie than when Dakota soils were frs
CT titled.
Us Wisdom i'm Mixed Farming.
le The wisdom of mixed farming ma
le be argued from many standpoints.
80 will be referred to here from onl
is Zone, that is, the standpoint of ii
~ being a. safeguard against dry SCI
'o sons. . Afarmer in the one case ha
81 only wheat grown in the ordinar
at way. In the other case he has whea
81 grown after corn, he has large are
: of corn, and he has a large field c
1e alfalfa, with proportionate amour
as of livestock. In one of those DIR