Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-10-24

done wonders where the cultivation
has been such a. to enable the roots
Of tho corn to reach this under water
Where tho soil has been thin, resting
on rock or clay, frequent cultivation
has undoubtedly been Injurious, be-
cause there was no water below TO
reach. Frequent cultivation favored
the root growth just under the art
mulch, using up the moisture, growing
q promising stalk, which could not De
brought to maturity because there was
not enough water available. Where
the farmer has allowed q crust TO TORN
lust under the mulch of loose dirt, anu
has not plowed deep enough ms corn
has suffered much as that on the INN
soil underlain with rock or haro cray
The roots could not get down 70 .ns
water Farmers who nave aoopee"
what are known as dry-farmins meth
DDS in this partially drouthy year nave
succeeded finely.
Again, this dry season mas oiise
home the lesson which we nave peen
trying to teach for twenty years D.
overstock your pasture Grass iol
two, and one to eat it. mas iohs zee"
a maxim among the best hVe s.ooA
growers of the country. Ihey uhoe'
stand perfectly that what IS not en.en
will keep and will be neeaeo pelo.e
the next spring. Hence they
avoided overstocking. They have ~
gone out and bought additiona' NV
stock because there seemed 10 NC 'o
pasture going to waste. he'e w"
have not overstocked, there mas not
been much complaint Of short pas
lures. None the less. the drouth mas
hacQ1lSe, unucT
the circumstances, they could not pe
cultivated In such way as ~ @"
evaporation of moisture.
This wear of partial drouth mas IA
vode the production Of an unusually
large wheat and oats crop. FARMERS
and agricultural papers nave oeen
complaining for two or three Sea's
that oats could not be grown IN the
corn belt. We hear no such talk nov.
The simple fact was that the molslure
and the heat In previous years "eie
too great to favor the perfect develop
ment Of the oats crop. the trouDle
has not been in the oats. but IN INC
season; and the same Is true OF wheat
whether winter or spring. There mas
been no rust or blight this season.
because the conditions have not IA
vored 1t.
The greatest lesson Of the year is
that it has impressed upon farmers
the value Of the corn crop, not as a
grain crop, but as forage crop. we
have not seen so much corn cut up IN
any single year since 1901. In iacl'
we do not believe we have seen so
much corn cut up in any single year
since 1894, when practically the whole
corn crop was harvested Farmers are
hot
been wasting 40 per cent Of the corn
crop by not harvesting it.
We have never before seen so many
new silos. All over the country. silos
have been built. Many farmers who
happened to have silage left over from
last year fed 1T out to supplement the
short pastures: and some of these are
now constructing summer silos. Those
who have been using silage have found
that it is good not merely for cows,
but for other kinds Of live stock, and
can even be fed TO horses to a limited
extent, and carefully. Progressive
farmers are considering how they can
cut down their acreage Of pasture and
m eadow and increase their acreage OF
corn, thus increasing the amount OF
livestock that can be profltably kept
on a quarter section farm.
So, after ALL 1t is not such bad
thing to have a drouth once in q while.
say from eight to ten inches less than
the normal amount Of rainfall, pro-
vided it does not continue till corn is
silking out. A year OF drouth may be
better for us all around than an ideal
season. II seasons such as the last
should continue for a succession OF
years. it would change materially the
whole business of agriculture In the
corn belt. because 1t would give us, as
long as these drouth seasons lasted.
different climate. necessiating differ
ent methods of farming.