Yellowstone monitor. [volume] (Glendive, Mont.) 1905-1928, 1909-02-11

Well pIoWed sod, turned clear owe
without breaking, and then forcee
down fiat with heavy roller. We dt
not believe that such growth coulc
be produced on old ground, even will
dust coat, without additional moisture.
The turned sod acted as a sub-mulcI
and evaporation was prevented.
There is one thing that bothered me
and will bother every arid land farm
er, and will cause crop failures and
that is the bunch grass roots or by
some known as buffalo grass. The
grass is easily killed, but the roots
will never decay. They will lie in the
ground tangled mass. A disc harrow
will roll over them as over a stone.
To keep a dust coat on or properly
cultivate such ground is impossible.
1t takes several years with harrow
and disc to knock them to pieces.
We have ground that has been in
continuous cultivation for twenty-one
years, and now after crossing two or
three times with harrow, can take a
handful Of those roots like coarse hair
from n
But in twenty years a person can
learn something even at farm
ing. am now too old to profit
from what I have learned and have
more ground broke than I can use;
but if we had to do it over again, We
would ploW sod six inches deep and
turn clear over, making only one dead
furrow in center Of field, then crowd
sod down to solid ground with heavy
roller and let remain down forever
and do no blowing after.
We would be rid Of the troublesome
clods and have a sub-mu1ch that would
prevent evaporation.
AS the last few years have been
very good for crops, the same old for
tunetellers are busy predicting dire
ealamitles for the dry farmer il the
sweet bye-and- bye. But you dry farm
ers, do not allow yourselves to be
worried BY the predictions Of the
Kant du it, crowd. They have been
ousy ever since the first white man
crossed the Mississippi river. There
will befailures farming in this country.
There are failures everywhere aband-
med farms in Montana and Kans.:s
md abandoned farms in Vermont and
Massachusetts,.
But there are two rules to follow
q this country, no matter what the
;oil conditions. Never sow broadcast;
always drill and drill deep
And do not overseed. Forty pounds
# grain IS always enough to the acre,
md perhaps in some cases too much.
-Chas. H. Lansing, Custer Co., Mont. |
We have not received q letter very
'ecently which we were more pleased
o get than the above. Experience IS.
What counts, but experience in the
rid and seni-arid country IS neces-
arily very local il It's conclusions.
We should like to know how many who
ave farmed from ten to twenty years
h Montana without irrigation agree
With Mr. Lansing il al he says.
We are pleased indeed to have the
eavy roller mentioned in connection
zith this deep breaking. We have rec
this before, strongly, but
bjections have been made to our con-
lusions. We still believe firmly il
he heavy roller on breaking in an at
Il dry country, Just as firmly as We
till believe that Mr.. Hughes article
going to be Of value to that coun
ry. Our readers will agree with Us
hat i has already done much good il
ringing out the above letter. What
&. Hughes says does not apply
0 al that country neither does what
Il. Lansing says, BY any means.
Cactus, too, does not always mean
he same thing. but i comes pretty