The Pioche record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1908-1925, 1911-11-11
SOIL is A BIG FACTOR
Two Ess tiaIs That Are Es-
sence of Dry Farming.
Land Must Be Plowed SO as to Get
Water TO Sink Into Ground, and
Cultivate to Prevent Any
Evaporation.

evaporation of any kind until We are
ready for the crop.
The soil is very big factor. We
want deep, friable soil into which
the water will sink readily. A heavy
soil does not take up water readily,
and does not give back water readily.
writes Frederick Linfield, in the Agri-
Is too readily aerated; the water flows
through too easily 1t does not con-
tain enough
At one place in the state where the
rainfall is less than Is inches we have
been carrying on work five years. In
one season of the five the rain exceed
ed Is inches and in one season 1t was
less than IL inches. Not one season
during the five years have we found
the water to penetrate prairie sod
more than two feet, where the grass
was eaten close by the cattle.
That, bare. hard ground, clean Of
vegetation. had not taken up enough
water to wet 1t more than two feet
down. Where the grass was growing
and the pasture taken care of, we
found that the water had gone down
deeper The evaporation from the
grass-covered soil in the early spring
Is not as great as from the bare soil.
In the case of cultivated ground,
plowed In the fall or early in the
spring. we have found the soil to be
wet down about six feet, and the sixth
foot of soil was wet enough to make
mud balls.
The next season the land was sum-
mer fallowed "a crop on 1t the first
year and summer followed the next
Year, and we found the soil wet down
seven feet, with the seventh foot wet
enough to make mud balls.
The next year it was wet down still
further. Cropping every alternate
year and summer following between.
we found that 1t was wet down nine.
ten and eleven feet and this on soil
that had never been wet down two
feet five years before.
The point l wish to make is this
that we can control the moisture. We
can get the water that falls to soak
into the ground and can keep it there
until the next spring comes and the
| crop is ready to use It, We have
stored full half If not more of the
rainfall of one season and tded 1t
over to use 1t the next season for the
growing crop.
We pillow six or seven inches. 1t is
best to go down deep. II there comes
a heavy shower we want 1t to sink
down into the ground and stay there.
We haven't found 1t necessary to sub
soil.
The usual practice in cultivation is
to follow the disk after turning over
with the pillow, the double disk, and
/ then we drag-harrow with a spike
tooth harrow. If we are able In the
spring, We use pack-e to pack the
soil down, then disk and drag-harrow
We don't want to disk too much be
cause it digs too deep and stirs the
ground and lets out the moisture.
A drag harrow used often enough
keeps the weeds down. On the col
lege farm we have used another too
which is little heavier than the
harrow
In the spring we sometimes use the
drag harrow on the wheat There is
little difference of opinion on that
point. If we have soil which is light
and is not clay we use the harrow
We disk on stubble land to keep the
moisture in the ground
Fall rye is quite a successful crop;
so are macaroni wheat and fall wheat
especially the turkey red variety;
hull-less barley, which does very vel
with us and is veE rapid grower
with good yio'd in dry farming; also
an early variety of oats.
Then. again, because We have thai
type Of soil and store the water away
down in the ground six. seven, eight
nine or ten feet, and not very much
comes to the surface. We want deeI
rooted plants Such crops as fal
wheat and corn are an advantage t
us. If we have to grow a late season
crop we want crop that will save thu
moisture. In our lower valleys we cal
grow corn and sugar beets fairly well
and also potatoes.
Now, what results has this kind o
farming given in country where tn,
rainfall averages twelve inches?
want to take up first what we hav,
done experimentally, where we hav,
tried to do this in the best way DOS
sible on a small farm.
On fall wheat our average for abou
four years. where the average rainfall
was less than 13 inches for the las
five years, cropping every alternate
year and summer following, has beel
S5 bushels per acre on field of abou
six and half acres.
Our average until 1910 was owe
} forty. That year was one of the dries
we have had since | have been here
, with hot winds. and our average wa
, 26 bushels of wheat to the acre.
Our macaroni wheat, spring cror
shows 10 or 20 bushels to the acre
oats will run about 40 to 80 bushels t
the acre. l have seen II as high as s
| in good season. Hull-less barley vii
run at rs to 80 bushels to the acre a
so pounds to the bushel, croppin
svery alternate year