Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-08-02
cultivation have to be modified accord

cultivation have to be modified accord
ingly, but the main point Is for every
farmer to find out the natural laws gov
erning the territory in which he lives and
to work in harmony with them. The
great trouble, however. Is that so many
farmers have their own ideas and the
cries and insist upon working them out,
edge Of others. Many insist upon farm
ing on horseback or In sulky; others
farm by the moon: some OF the farms
are too large and the owners put on
hundred acres the LABOR and attention
that they should put on twenty-five. In
my travels about this country l hnd
many farmers who are trying to farm 800
acres with the labor and equipment that
would be required for fifty"
How much land should dry farmer
have?" I asked.
Not an acre less than a half section,
which is 800 acres. and that is sufficient
for one man with all the help he can get
in the present state Of the labor market.
in this section and careful, thorough. in
telligent tillage or this country Will not
prosper
ultimately the wealth Of this section
Of the country will come from cows and
hogs-butter and poultry. The man who
sells butter fat off farm takes nothing
from it, but adds to it all the time: and
the most profitable use that can be made
of corn, alfalfa and other products Of this
zone is to consume them where they
grow and ship them to market In the
shape of pork.
THE land in western Nebraska 10 now
in the hands of large holders. who are
offering 1t for sale all the way from $40
to $45 an acre. Good enough land can
be bought from ten to twenty dollars an
acre on easy terms: but every purchaser
should buy not less than $40 acres, keep
ing one-half for pasture and putting the
rest under the pillow. He will make his
best money by sending cream to the
creameries and feeding his SKINNED milk
mixed with corn and alfalfa, to his pigs
The demand for butter fat is unlimited
and 1t never sells less than 70 cents
pound, while there is an equal demand
lar market organized for either In this
section of the state, but both are shipped
to Omaha and Denver and as far as
Seattle, which cities will absorb all the
chickens and eggs ;. we can raise. .o TINS
adapted for poultry. We are not trou-
bled with the diseases and the vermin
that are found elsewhere"
A Veteran Farmers Experience.
Mr.. H. b. Card of Manville, Wyo.. has
been living In this locality thirty-one
years, and has been dry-farming for ff-
teen years: and when l asked MIN ABOUT
his experience he said:
''Dry-farming out here is very much
like ordinary farming back in the states
where they summer fallow-that Is,
plant every other year. but cultivate
every year. We harrow three or four
times a year and pillow as deep as We
can, keeping the soil pulverized and COW
erin1 the surface with a dust blanket
to conserve the rainfall. which will aver
age fifteen or sixteen inches annually
and usually comes In April, May ana
Tuna Union need II most.
This rain, instead OF running on as
It would from a roof. Is absorbed by
the soil and held in an underground
reservoir created by deep blowing, and
held by a stratum Of hard earth. which
hasn't been disturbed by the plow and
is water-tight. During the growing
period the roots OF the plants reach down
to this moisture and suck 1t up. and
there ia always enough there for turkey
red wheat. oats. barley, rye. alfalfa
bronze grass. potatoes and other root
vegetables we have tried fruit, but 1t
isn't profitable, nor corn. nor beans. nor
melons. but no section OF the country
that / know, wet or dry rainfall or ir-
rigation, can beat our potatoes or our
OATS
"A successful dry farmer must have
double the area required for ordinary
farming.
Il. Because there is a great deal of
waste land in this arid region that can
not be cultivated at all.
80. He can't crop but one-half OF the
good land at any time.
IS. A wise farmer will raise cattle and
horses in connection with cultivating the
mo man can succeed in farming In
this mart NJ the country on less than