The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1911-04-25
UNCERTAINTY OF DRY FARMS
Can Be Eliminated to Extent Of
Making Method as Sure ~ That
Of other Farming.

Can the element Of uncertainty in
dry land farming be eliminated?
Some say no, some say yes. l am Of
the number who say yes. l believe 1t
can be eliminated, and to the extent
of making dry land farming as sure
as any other line of farming, writes
Prof. Thos. Shaw In the Dakota Farm
err How shall 1t be done? l had
rather say first. perhaps, how It
should not be done before saying how
it may be done.
1t should not be done by depending
on spring plowed land to produce a
crop. In a season of an average
amount of moisture the result will be
favorable from spring plowed land.
but in a very dry year the outcome
from such cropping may be almost a
total failure. In much of Dakota and
also In much of Montana last season,
such was the outcome from sowing
grain on spring plowed land. In many
instances the crop never terminated
at all In many other instances 1t
terminated and then so dried up that
it did not come to fruitiOn. Such
farming. will not eliminate the ele-
ment of uncertainty. How. then. is 1t
to be eliminated? BY the method sub
mitted below.
The element of uncertainty may be
removed, first, by properly summer
following the land and by growing a
crop of grain on the summer-fallow.
1t may also be eliminated by growing
a cultivated crop and following the
cultivated crop with crop of grain.
Where this system Is faithfully car
ried out, 1t will enable the farmer to
grow three crops in four years and
with considerable certainty. He will
follow, for instance, the summer-fal-
low with grain. The grain will be
followed with corn and the corn in
turn with grain, thus furnishing three
safe crops in four years.
The summer-fallowing will be done
in outline as follows The ground will
be plowed when 1t has the largest
amount Of moisture in it. that is in
April, May or June. 1t will be plowed
deeply and firmed by planking or roll
ing or discing the day that 1t is plow-
ed, to prevent the escape of moisture
1t is then narrowed to prevent the
further escape of moisture. The har-
row follows every considerable rain
until winter wheat Is sown in the au-
tumn, and II winter wheat Is not
sown. one or two borrowings are Civ
en- later. The winter or the spring
crop sOwn on such land will not be a
failure, even in dry season.
Likewise, suppose land is plowed in
the fall for fodder corn. In the spring
the land is stirred quite early with
disc or harrow to keep in the moisture
and In due time 1t is planted to fod-
der corn. The corn is properly har-
rowed and then cultivated and it is
followed with a grain crop sown in
due season. That grain crop will give
considerable of yield even though
the season should prove dry. Here
then are two methods by which the
element of uncertainty may be re-
moved when handling the lands in dry
areas.
The one element Of hazard is to get
the farmers to adopt those methods.
They are SO welded as a rule to the
methods of farming practiced In the
east, that they do not like to change
them But there is only one way
open. If the bench lands are to be
depended on to produce a crop. they
must be farmed on those lines that
Will conduce to such a result