The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1908-03-03

Iigation methods, yet wiierc the tx
rense OF putting water on the land,
maintenance Of drains and bitches, to-
g.tner with the cost OF irrigation u.
s..lf, is considered, ths net income
from the dry farm" viii compaf-
very %favorab1ys with the irrigated
farm. This is especially true even o
the ordinary sized farm, say of 160
acres, and much more SO when the
acreage is increased.
Truck Garden Proposition.
Irrigated farming is primarily a
small proposition and pays best where
handled in small farms, where as dr.,
farming is the yer and upder the
latter system large bodies Of land can
be farmed successfully. The bonanza
wheat farms Of California AM! eastern
Washington and Oregon support the
statement. Then with modern imple-
ments, steam and gasoline plows and
combined harvesters the work can be
systematized and the proportionate
initial expense cut down to the mimi
mum with consequent larger net in
come when the cost Of the original in
yestment is taken into consideration.
Stock Farming Necessary Adjunct
The handling of live stock to eat up
forage crops that grow SO successfully
on the dry farm, is almost an absolute
necessity. No style of farming re-
spends more quickly to the applica-
ton of barn yard n than does
the dry farm.
Live stock supplies the fertilizer
and thus assists the efforts of the
farmer at moisture conservation and
in turn the dry farm located, as it
, generally is, in the grazing districts
where more or less free range is to be
had, furnishes the needed forage for
carrying live stock through the win
ter. The two lines Of industry work
we'll together. While on this point it
might be well to say that on no style
of farm can a cheaper balanced ration
be produced for furnishing live stock
for market than on the so-called dry
farm.
Varieties Of Crops Grown.
Almost all the crops grown under
the ditch can be grown above the
ditch. The yield will be lighter in
nearly al instances yet in many var
ieties the quality is so much improved
that it stands as an Offset against the
lessened yield. This is especially
true of Kubauka durum wheat and
potatoes, as before stated, but the
most remarkable difference is to be
noted In legumes when left for seed.
Dry land seeds, especially alfalfa and
clover, are in a class all by them
selves and are destined to form the
source Of the seed supply of the ma
ton on account Of their higher germ
mating qualities and the cheapness of
their production. All root crops do
exceedingly we'll above the ditch in
this country and when properly titled
| equal in size those grown under the
ditch, while far excelling the latter in
flavor.
Flax is pal excellence the dry farm
crop, yielding as high as 16 bushels
per acre on spring blowing. Fall and
spring rye and all varieties Of barley
do well and are especially adopted to
the semi-arid region as they require
very little moisture. All varieties OF
wheat, especially the winter wheat, do
we'll. .a@,
The yield from the alfalfa meadows
this year at BroadYiew was very salts
factory although 1t was not q good
hay year. April and May were cold
and not good growing months, still
the first cutting gave one and one half
tons to the acre and the second cult
ing made better than o ton. We tried
some experiments last season on a
wild meadow. Taking a piece of land
that had been fed into the ground for
the past fifteen years, we put twelve
loads Of manure to the acre and disk
ed 1t thoroughly in March and harrow
ed 1t in April and May with the result
that 1t produced fully three fourths OF
a ton of nice blue stem hay to the acre
the first season. Next year we plan to
disk again in March and harrow later
and we confidently expect 1t will pro-
duce a ton to the acre.
Land Hide Bound.
Most wild LANDS in this section of
Montana are improved by thorough
disking, as the tendency Of the soil is
to form a solid layer on the surface
that is impervious to water and air
and by %loosening 1t up with the disk
and harrow, this crust is broken and
water and air are fully admitted to
the roots Of the plant. The theory Is
advocated that nearly all plants, es-
pecially the legumes. have parasitic
growths on their roots that require