El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-07-09


orations. 1t is used when they pillow
their corn in covering 1t with a three
inch mulch as described by Prof. King,
and again after rains when there is no
irrigation water to be had.
The Wind Movement
The average wind movement in the
Mesilla valley is 6.7 miles an hour
which fortunately is at its greatest not
when the temperature is highest. but
in March, April and May.
Average wind movement per hour:
January, 5.S miles; February. -;
March, S.SI April 81; May, SO; June,
10; July, GA; August, 81; September.
IS; October, 81; November,5-5; De-
cember, Sc; mean annual, CT.
H. NJ Cottrell suggests the following
four divisions as necessary to secure
profitable crops in Colorado, where the
rainfall is limited:
l. Storage of rainfall.
,. Retaining moisture in the soil.
g. Reducing the effects of the wnd
+. Drouth resisting crops from seed
grown under dry land conditions.
To store the rainfall, it is necessary
to have the soil in a granular and
porous condition and preferably broken
to about foot in depth. Raw prairie
land should be pIOwed so as to lay the
furrow slice flat and then narrowed
TO induce prompt rotting of the sod.
T
observation on the plains, does not rec
ommend subsoiling, because the soil
does not remain loose long enough to
be of benefit. and advises farmers to
try subSOiling on a SmaT scale first
Deep rooted plants like alfalfa, bronze
grass and sweet clover, may be used
a. cheap method of loOsening hard
soils Care in not spreading manure
too thickly and narrowing it in when
used as top dressing for grain, grass
or alfalfa will enable one to secure
the benefits of manuring without its
drawbacks where moisture is deficient.
Retaining Moisture.
Moisture is retained by maintaining
an earth mulch to cut off the move
ment inward Of the water held in the
soil. Since the evaporation from stub
BILE fields is very rapid, disk harrow
should be run over the field upon the
removal of the grain crop TO check
loss 1t is difficult TO raise profit
able crop when the rainfall is much
below u inches for the year and five
| inches during the growing season with
out following one season. Even when
no crop is being raised on the land
it must not be forgotten that har-
rowing occa SiOnally is essential TO re-
tain an efficient mulch Instead OF
farming so acres of quarter section
each year. a Logan county, Colorado.
Z
wears. The first season the land is
! kept cultivated. though no crop is
/ grown; winter wheat is sOwn in the
fall and the land is disked upon re-
movaI of the crop and later plowed and
narrowed The next year corn is plant
ed ana kept well cultivated to give an
effect similar to that of summer fall
/ low The year following wheat is again
sown and the fourth year IS one OF
summer fallOW
II is also recommended by Mr.. Coter-
ell that land be well disked before
blowing, in order that when the sur
| face is turned under the pulverized
! soil will form a better connection with
the dry soil below. To show the effect
of subsurface packing $50 acres of land
were pIowed for wheat 80 of which
were well narrowed and the other so
were fitted by packing. The narrowed
/ ground produced Is bushels per acre,
the packed 40 bushels. 1t is not nee
/ essary 10 use the packer If the soil is
! moist enough TO settle freely. Weight
/ ing a disk harrow and setting the disks
straight makes a fair packer. likewise
! a corrugated roller. but one with sharp
wheels is preferable.
4 Rough Surface.
! The more uneven the land, the less
will be the motion of the wind near
/ Is surface, for which reason the smooth
4
corrugated one and the subsurface
packer. Running the burrows at right
/ angles to the direction of the strongest
winds will also reduce the effects Of
! the wind. 1t is suggested by Prof
! Longyear. Of Colorado. that the follow
J ing varieties of twOyearold Seeding
trees planted eight feet apart each way
would make an ideal windbreak; two
, outer rows of Russian olive. third and
! fourth rows of black or honey locust,
the fifth and sixth rows of ash, the
seventh and eighth of American elm or
| Golden Russian willow. and the two
| inner rows of cottonwood or Carolina
! poplar.
Using seed grown in the neighbor-
/; hood or elsewhere under dry farming
conditions is held to be most impor-
I tant Seed brought from q INSTANCE
| and grown under unlike conditions may
do we'll in favorable years, but wien
/ moisture is scant it may not bring the
! results given by acclimated seed. Wheat,
! barley and speltz are crops that mature
! early before the spring moisture is
/ gone or the hot windS begin. Sorghum,
/ milo maize and kaffir corn are certain
crops on account OF their drOuth resist
! ing qualities One-half the amount of
seed sOwn in humid regions is a safe
! quantity 10 SOW under arid conditions.
|. How to Sow.
Mr.. COterell recommends the follow
] ing pounds of seed per acre. varying
the amounts with size Of seed and con-
! ditiOn of the soil:
| Wheat, 1910: barley $3.50: speItz. As:
| flax. 20: miIlet. 10: sorghum, drilled for
J forage. %: kaffir corn. drilled for for
age $3.50: milo and maize for grain,
| SIS: corn, single seeds, 1918 in apart:
dwarf Essex rape, 3-5; bronze grass 20:
! alfalfa for hay, 1920; alfalfa cultivated
/ O1n
( Broadcasting wastes seed and pro-
duces weak plants. also covers some
! too deep. others too shallow When
J drilling. it is well to see that all seeds
are distributed evenly in order not to
/ cause punching and exhaustion of mois-
J ture