The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1910-02-04
CROPS ON DRY LAND
Some Of Those Best Adapted to
the Semi-Arid Regions.
Winter Wheat Has Advantage in Pop.
auiarity and May Successfully Be
Grown on New Breaking, Pro-
vidine Soil is Treated.

Some crops are very much better
adapted to dry farming areas than
others. Among the grain crops, those
that have the very highest adapta.
ton are winter wheat, drum wheat.
winter rye, speltz and bald barley.
Those of adaptation less high include
fife and blue stem wheat, mailing
barley and oats. Among the coarse
folders of highest adaptation are
corn. kaffir corn and sorghum. Among
the grasses and clovers of highest
adaptation are, alfalfa Russian bronze.
end western rye grass. Among the
tubers and roots those of most prom.
Use are potatoes and probably ruta-
?,eSas.
in nearly all the dry farming area
winter wheat is the leading money
crop In that respect it has long
lead. 1t may be successfully grown
on new breaking providing the break
ing is done early and the soil is we'll
compressed as soon as plowed and is
kept properly pulverized subse
iuently until the wheat is sown. That
crop, however, is not likely to yield
SO well as one that is sown later in
the rotation. The best crops of win
ter wheat Will be grown on summer
fallow land or after corn, the seed be.
ing put in before the corn is cut What
has been said about winter wheat will
apply about equally To winter rye.
rtt,i
on land OF the previous seasons break
ing or after corn potatoes or field
roots. 1t must be sown early or it is
likely to suffer from the dry weather.
what has been said about durIm
wheat will apply about equally to
speltz and spring rye The strong
point about the white hulless barley
is, that 1t natures very early when
sown early, and is less liable to injury
from dry weather in consequence
Winter wheat seldom yields less than
20 bushels per acre and in instances
not few fields will yield twice as
much. Some yields of co bushels per
acre are on record not only in 1909
but in some previous years. Winter
and also spring rye frequently yields
% bushels and in some instances con-
siderably more; speltz will yield 80 to
40 bushels under good conditions OF
culture and hulless barley 25 to 80
bushels. This barley weighs about 60
pounds per bushel.
Fife and blue stem wheat are later
maturing than winter wheat hence
they are likely to be injured more by
dry weather than winter wheat. 1t
is of much Importance therefore that
they shall be grown on summer-fal-
lowed land or after cultivated crop.
These do not ripen much later, If any,
than durum wheat, hut in some way
the latter can endure hard conditions
better than either of the former.
Twenty bushels Of either should be re-
garded as a good crop, while the maca-
roni Will go considerably higher in
many instances. Barley is grown I'M
der the same conditions as spring
wheat. Mating. barley should give
2b to 30 bushels per acre, on an aver
age. and of high quality, because of
the brightness Of the grain Oats
sown in the same way will give a
very large yield in unusually moist
seasons, but they do not ordinarily
go more than 80 bushels to the acre.
+ All the mountain states have much
land that can only be farmed on the
dry farming plan. The same is true
OF portion of each of the states that
border on these. In those areas the
farmers should never be caught nap
ping. A portion Of the land should be
carefully fallowed every year and corn
should be grown on another portion.
This done, the dry land farmer will
never be without some crop.