The Estancia news. [volume] (Estancia, Torrance County, N.M.) 1904-1912, 1910-09-23
Dru Farming

periences IN dry farming" il
southern California, moved t
Cananea, Mexico, in hopes o
finding a climate more suitable
to the methods. Failing to fin,
the climate, he undertook differ
ent methods. The story as tolt
is as follows:
He knew that only certain
crops would grow in a few
months. but he selected some
of these for his experiment, those
that he believed would grow
most easily and net the most
money. He procured summer
wheat, he got some frijole seed
Mexican beans. always market
able at a good price, and he
secured sorgham, milo maize and
afew other crops that will mature
quickly. Then sat down that
winter and let his land alone. He
plowed it and when it rained,
after the ground had begun to
dry, he narrowed it. but was not
doing it to hold the moisture. He
was getting as much moisture in
to it as possible merely to pulve-
rize the earth; that was all. He
paid little attention to the land
except to keep the surface in
such a condition that it would re-
ceive any rain that fell,so that
the big clods would be pulverized.
Then in the spring, when the
winter rains had ceased, if there
had been any-if not he did it
any wayne plowed his ground
and left it open to dry. He let it
get as dry as a floor, the dryer
the better. In the past he had
planted his seed at this time if
he had any moisture at all, some
times there was just enough rot
the seed and spoil them. But with
his new experiment he wanted to
get all the moisture out of the
ground; he had a scheme of his
own. AS the hot sun beat down
upon the land it got dryer and
dryer, and Branagh smiled as he
worked as a day laborer at what
ever he could get to do make a
living for his family. Then along
about the middle of June Branagh
went out. plowed burrows in chat
dry ground and planted his seed.
The natives wagged their heads
and said softly loco" which
translated out of pigeon Spanish
means crazy" But Branagh
had an inspiration.
By the first of July Branagh had
planted his frijoles, his kaffir corn
his milo maize, his summer wheat
and his sorghum in that dry soil.
When the July rains set in the
freshly plowed ground--which he
had narrowed and smoothed after
the planting, drank up the rain
like a sponge. Then Branagh
went over it with a harrow again
to break up the top and keep the
moisture from escaping. He want
ed to hold all he could get now In
a few days his fields were green.
The seed had been perfectly pre-
served in the hot, dry ground;
they were hot when the rains fell
and it took only a few hours for
them to sprout and come up Rain
followed rain and Branagh follow
ed each summer downpour with
his harrow as soon as the ground
had dried-and the plants began
to spring up under the warm sum-
mer sun and grow like the proven
bial bay tree,
In short, the rains continued
and at the. first of September
Brnnagh harvested the biggest
dry farm" crop he had ever
rlado. He found a ready market
for his friioles; his wheat made
bread for the family for the
winter with some tospare. and the
forage crops he stored in his
barn were sufficient to keep the
COWS and horses through the
winter and more. This was six
years ago.