The Thibodaux sentinel. (Thibodaux, La.) 1905-1912, 1910-10-08
WORK ONDRY FARM
-5 Of Any Busia55s De-
Ponds Greatly on Margin
OF Profits.
Careful Study of Situation Anon
Farmers in Eemi-Arid Sections
Shows That Those Who Pillow
Deeply Reap Abundantly.

tBy t. r. PARSONS. Practical Farme
Parker, Colo)
The success OF any business depend
On the margin OF profit, the dlUerene
between expenditure and returns Th
same principle obtains in dry farm
ing as in everything else.
Many are losing regularly ever
year from SIX to ten dollars an acr
on their blowing alone. A careful
study Of the situation. taking fact
and figures from hundred or NOR
different farmers in every dry stat
in the Union, shows that those VIII
pillow ten or twelve inches reap, as
rule almost double the crop that il
reaped by those who pillow only si1
or seven inches. The extra cost i:
one more horse, or about one dol
lar per acre, the extra returns are
sometimes as much as ten or more
dollars per acre.
Good blowing is economical in
every sense of the word and nc
amount of supplementary work will
take its place. A crop planted in
deep ground will stand more drought
and mature with half the cultivation re-
CURED by crop on shallow ground.
Rolling or packing the ground is an
operation that can often be profit
ably avoided The rule to follow is
to pillow in the fall for spring grain
crops and in the spring for fall crops.
This obviates packing, for the ground
has ample time to become settled.
For corn and cane the soil should not
be packed, except in the seed row.
Even for that purpose the split wheel
Is much better than the solid wheel
as it leaves a loose space in the cen
ter Of the seed row for the shoots to
some through. In cultivating these
crops deep cultivation is the more
economical since the soil stays loose
for a longer period and does not
balse as easily as when the mulch is
shallow; cutting the surface roots at
the beginning of the season does not
hurt the corn but favors deep root
ing. Packing the surface stimu-
Totes the growth of a crop at the
start, encourages top growth, at the
eAptilSe Vi lue IOOL, anu Oh the uTy
farm overgrowth at the start is very
poor preparation for a drought at the
finish. For these reasons rolling and
packing have been almost entirely
abandoned in the agricultural COM
munities of the old world and Mr..
dry regions of Hungary
There are, however, somer loose
sandy soils which are the better for
packing, when planted Immediately |
after blowing
| agree with Professor Jardine that |
it is dangerous to pack clay loans, |
for fear of crusting and the expert |
Mexico and f-exas amply confirm this |
belief
The most vital point in the dry farm
operations is the economy of moist
ure. Moisture means crops and good
crops mean profit. Little attention
is paid to this by some formers. They
will plow whole field before harrow
ing. This allows thousands of tons
of moisture to escape into the atmo-
sphere and leaves the land dry and
full of clods for the raising of an in
different crop. In planting corn on
the level it makes no difference what
ever. whether the rows run east and |
west or north and south The sun
strikes the corn from above on level
land, not from the sides, but on a
side-hill it makes all the difference
in the world. as far as moisture is
concerned. If the rows run I'D
and down the hill. the cultivator
leaves burrows for the water to run
off, on the other hand, where the
rows run across the slope, rough cul-
tivation will often hold an inch of
rain if it comes in 20 minutes
A northern slope holds moisture
slightly longer than a southern ex- I
posure but this is somewhat compen- !
stated for by the fact that the south ,
ern slopes usually catch more snow :
In winter.
Much moisture is lost by not break +
Ing mp the surface of field as soon
as crop is off. patch Of 40 acres
may evaporate as much as 200 tons
Of water into thin air in one single
warm day This is like throwing
away gold.
On the question of following. no y
1ard and fast rule should be follow Y
i'd the farmer should decide as to b
whether to plant a crop or not ac-
'ording to the actual amount of moist o
Ire in the ground. To discover how !.
much moisture the soil contains is a
'ery simple matter of weighing. dry
ng and weighing again.
Except in orchard work it is moor !.
economy to save more than three feet :
If moist soil containing as much as !,
t will ordinarily carry with DIR, =
ubsoil underneath. This amount Of :
moisture with careful handling will -
aise crop in fairly dry year. :.
In order to thoroughly understand
he moisture question the farmer
hould investigate it with ground
uger, at least with pick and
howell He will learn more in a few
months by so doing than he would u
q years by following theories evolved
nder different conditions on other V;
nv or humid farms. especially such
experiments conducted in state like W
alifornia, where for six or more Il;
lonths it never rains at all and vet
urins the wet season | have seen II pi
our for three weeks "a. stretch IS