The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1910-09-29

observations recorded Will prove OF
a great deal OF interest and value to
the North Dakota farmer
What can be done to keep the land
from drifting is a question which |
have raised with the Canadians to
the north Of US, with the people of
our state. and with those in the
states south Of us to the Mexican
line. The Canadians said, PLANT
shelter belts Of trees" and they took
me into gardens 5x10 rods cut off
with dense box elder hedges 10 inch
es or more high, where scarcely
breath of air moved. I saw the ef-
fectiveness of them, but sat it down
as too tedious and too expensive ex-
cept for gardening. have recently
returned from q 40-mile automobile
ride as q guest and student of COM
petent and experienced farmers thru
one Of the drifting regions Of the
state. They have just had a violent
series Of wind storms and what soil
will blow and what won't blow are
pretty we'll set of. Old land, that is,
land hich has been cropped regular
ly with small grain for years, with
no manuring, had blown badly. Such
land cropped to potatoes the past
season was drifting the worst Of any
to be seen. Next to it in drifting was
lana which had been cropped to small
grain for years without change and
which had been fallowed. Similar
land which had been fAll-plowed had
also blown badly. Consequently
cropped land had drifted in many
cases even when spring plowed. Ma
nured land did not drift so badly even
when it had been regularly cropped
to small grain for years, but it blew
considerably enough in most cases to
ruin the crop. Corn land did not drift
much except where other badly drift
ing soil blew across it. Drifting seems
to be contagious, and when blowing
dirt passes over a piece OF land the
soil thus trespassed upon joins in the
mad rush before the gale. Grass
land, timothy dnd clover, which had
been plowed up and cropped, had not
drifte to any appreciate extent even
in the second season after the grass
had been plowed up, and bronze grass
sod was not touched by the winds
even on the 1ightest soils the first
season following the breaking of the
sod. I shall be surprised If bronze
grass will not be found immune the
third year after the sod is turned over
Farmers are afraid to SOW bronze
grass, though, as they have had sad
experience in getting quack grass with
their bronze grass seed. Our pure
seed law should remedy this condition
but farmers will have to be certain
Of it, as they cannot afford to get that
pest into their land.
On the demonstration farms we
have adopted the practice of sowing
to pounds of timothy seed with
each grain crop. These timothy roots
do ont get extensive, particularly on
land fall .plowed, but they prove quite
a help. It is an expensive process
since the amount Of seed costs only
from Is to Is cents per acre. Land
which has winter rye growing on it
cannot drift on account Of the cron
holding It and hence immune to blow
ing. Tagging stock then after this
inventory Of inspection what do we
have to ward OF drifting? LIST, grass
roots; End, spring blowing; 4th corn
land with it's stalks. 5th, manuring;
9Th, sowing timothy with the grain an
nually.
That list reads like a mixed system
of cropping is required and the keep
ing of live stock a necessity, does it
not? I say SO much the better for
| the country, Tor such a system OF
cropping is the only permanent one
for any part of this country. A num-
Der of cropping plans can be built up
from that list Of the wind-resisting
items. For example, the following
should de reasonably we'll at least:
Wheat; clover and timothy; wheat ;
wheat on spring blowing; corn (ma
nured)
Another plan would be: Wheat;
clover and timothy; wheat; barley
on spring blowing; winter rye; corn
| (manured.)
Constant watching and quick appli.
cation of straw manure whenever
signs of drifting appear will go fa1
toward warding of this trouble. In
causes the trouble destroying bronze
the sandy sections where d,
grass sod ia not diff1cult like II ia m