The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-07-24
DRY FARM ADVICE
SAVES THE CROPS
AgricuIturiStS Who Followed
State Authorities Were
Successful.
OTHERS LESS FORTUNATE
L. A. MERRILL TELLS WHY SOME
FAILED.


from time to time during the present
summer in regard 10 the shortage Of
crops this year on the Utah dry farms
were corrected yesterday by Lewis A.
Merrill Of the Utah Agricultural col
lege.
The reports" said Mr.. Merrill,
that the Utah crops this year would
be short on account OF the drouth are
not true. This year. IL Is true. has
been the driest since 1874. II the next
year is as dry as this one there would
be a great danger OF the crops being
short. But because this year is dry
that does not necessarily mean that
next year will be dry. In fact. from
all the data we have It will be just
the contrary. 1874 was dry, but 1875
was wet. there being a rainfall in this
city Of $3.50 inches. In 1880 II was
again a little dry. the rainfall being
only 1924 inches n, 1881, however,
the rainfall was 16.SS inches.
Again. in 1895 we had dry spell,
| the rainfall amounting to only 1l.s5
| inches In 1895 the rainfall was
1S.42. In 1902 the rainfall was ia
inches and I'm 1898 IL was las inches.
In 1909. from January 1 TO July 1. the
/ EdlTIAll was Al.9o lUtntS. his NtHA
/ the rainfall for the same period
amounted TO 4.S7. so that one can see
that although this year has been dry.
the chances are, according to records,
that next year viii be decidedly wet.
IF the farmers would take the ad-
vice sent out by the Utah Agricul-
tural college and store their moisture
there would be none OF them COM
/ planning about destroyed crops. The
I =. afraa~
our methods are all getting good
crops. The advice we sent out was
that the ground should be fallowed,
/ that is, no crops grown on il for one
year. and all vegetation kept down
On dry farms they need two years
precipitation for one gears crop. It
is for this reason that a dry farmer
needs twice as much ground as he
/ intends 10 farm This was the reason
Senator Smoot got the 32O-acre home
stead act through. as a piece Of land
OF $50 acres means that a man vir-
tually only has 80 acres to farm
Government Advice Error.
The advice which we have sent
out is that the ground should be fall
/ lowed one summer: that the ground
/ should be kept clean in order that the
| moisture will be absorbed. that the
| seed be planted thin. that the seed
| should be planted with a drill, in
stead OF sown broadcast. in order that
Il may be planted four inches deep
IL necessary; and that accllmated
seed be used.
If the farmers would follow thsee
| directions they would all be having
4 good crops.
| The dry farmers who have fol-
| lowed our directions this year are all
getting good crops. and those who
| followed the directions sent out By
| the United States department Of agri-
/ culture have all failed. Secretary
| Wilson told Governor Spry and the
| farmers OF Utah that there was no
need Of following the ground and that
"a crop could be raised each year.
/ These statements were made after
| experts had been sent out by his Of
/ flee 20 look over Utah dry farming.
As n result Of these instructions the
farmers VINO took that advice have
| failed.
Reports sent TO this Office by men
we have had In the field this year
| investigating the dry farm conditions
give the following yields: James Hall.
| Wellsville. Cache county. sixty acres
| fallowed ground, raised from thirty
five TO fifty bushels Of wheat TO the
acre. A ncighbOr just across the
street. who followed the directions
sent out by the United states DEPART
ment OF agriculture. and did not fall
low his ground. has absolutely no
crop. IOnk Brothers Of Petersburg.
| Cache county. have farm of 40
acres. Eighty acres or this was
cropped last year and sixty were fall
| lowed. On the eighty-acre piece the
grain has been burned up. and on the
sixty-acre piece they are harvesting
forty-five bushels to the acre. An
drew Peterson OF Newton has an
eighty-acre farm. half OF which he
fallOwed and half OF which ne
cropped last year. On the faIlowed
piece he is getting a good crop. and
on the cropped piece the grain has
! been burned up. Griffin Brothers OF
| Newton are getting between forty-five
and fifty bushels Of wheat to the acre
from fall0wed ground. G. W Rich
ards OF Box Elder county. on $50
acres OF fallowed ground is getting
between forty-five and fifty bushels
20 the acre. Albert Holgreen OF Bear
/ River City has zoo acres and IS reap-
ing thirty-fiye bushels Of wheat "a
the acre. In Davis county the results
are excellent. J. H Bindlay of lay
ton Is reaping thirty-five bushels 70
/ the acre. James Wood OF Clearfield
is getting fifty bushels TO the acre
from fallowed ground. and so on
throughout the entire state.
This year is the test year for dry
farming I'm Utah. and the success at
| tanned goes to show that on farms
where the latest methods have been
carried out are getting good results
and where the older methods have
been followed they are getting al
most nothing"
SPECIAL EXERCISES To RE