The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-04-18
THE SALT LAKE HERALD: SUNDAY April 1s 1909

TO sDrout before the farmer can get
upon the land I'm spring. and makes use
of both fall and spring moisture that
would otherwise be wasted by evapOra-
ton. Less seed should be sown than on
+ irrigated farps-a little more than
half a bushel OF wheat per acre in dis
tricts where irrigated farms would re
quiTe perhaps a bushel and a half. Not
wheat alone. but oats, barley, rye and
] especially corn nave all been grown
with success and profit. Lucern on lands
/ that receive twelve inches of rainfall.
and peas. sugar beets, potatoes, peaches,
and even grapes have been successfully
cultivated in certain places without ir-
rigation. 1t is important to secure seed
that has been reproduced on the dry
farm for several years. Within certain
limits. crops can be adapted to new and
different environments. Aquatic plants
in time have so adapted themselves as
I to become dry-land plants. Plants that
/ for centuries have been grown in con-
ditiOns Of abundance Of moisture have
gradually become adapted to drier eli
mates. This provision Of nature sup
plies the means whereby we are able to
transport and adapt crops to new and
heretofore untried conditions. Strains
I
grown for years under semi-arid con-
ditions will presently be in great de
mand. LAS a result Of this demand, we
may reasonably expect pedigreed dry
farm crops to appear and they will fill
an important want"
Method in General
A New Mexico bulletin by J. J. Yer
non. gives the following concise sum-
ma o. "a al, 20
Dry farming" practices include the
/ following:
Ca Deep plowing before the rainy
season sets in, in order to provide in
the soil capacious water storage res
ervoir and an ample space for root de-
velopment. (b) Light, deep, even seed
/ ing or planting in a well prepared moist
/ soil. Co Frequent. thorough. level cul-
l tivatiOn before as well as after sowing
or planting. Cd The use of seed bred
/ and selected for the conditions prevail
] ing. (e) The use Of machinery Of large
capacity. % The adoption Of methods
{ for the concentration of crops.
Fall Seeding of Cereals.
( Fall seeding Of cereals is preferable
/ TO spring seeding wherever the condi-
/ ton will permit for the following rea-
/ sons: (a) The work is distributed over
/ a longer period. OBJ The root system
Of the crop becomes we'll developed so
I that spring growth is more rapid. (c)
I The growth above the surface Of the
ground, though sometimes small. serves
q valuable purpose by modifying the
! windsweep at a time when its effects
! are most marked. thus preventing. in a
! measure at least. the blowing of the
/ soil from around the roots of the plants,
and. a the same time, holding the
snowfall upon the ground until it melts
1 I'D The crop covers the ground earlier
/ in the spring, thus reducing the loss Of
moisture through surface evaporation
/ lei The crop usually ripens earlier. a
feature that is important for two rea-
sons: First, the work OF preparing the
| ground for the next crop can be begun
earlier and second. the crop may escape
frost more frequently in sections hav-
ing short seasons.
Retaining the Snow.
1t is important to retain the snow
upon the land, especially in sections
where it forms a large part Of the total
precipitation. The snowfall may be
retained in several ways: First. BY
leaving the ground rough when the
blowing is done late in the fall: second.
by throwing up borders across the field
dl At5ll diiSltH Win Ile UreNd1t1nE
winds as winter approaches: and. third
by planting hedge rows or shrubberv
across the field at short intervals. The
last-named method is preferable wher-
ever possible.
Usually less seed should be planted
per acre under dry farming conditions
than is used in humid sections. The
less the precipitation, the smaller should
be the amount Of seed planted.
The yields in dry farming belts NAV
be and sometimes are very large. but
it is not best to expect as large yield
in dry farming belts as are secured in
humid sections, unless the cultural
methods are very much superior.
The bulletin mentions the sage
brushes as desirable forms Of shrub
berry for windbreaks, 10 reduce the
/ drying effects of the wind.
The former article on arid farming
stated that few OF the bronze grasses
are of value as hay. The Wyoming ex-
| pertinent station bulletin No. 46, how
ever, names several western forms of
undoubted value. and the best Of these
are shown in the accompanying illus
tration.