The Bad River news. [volume] (Philip, Stanley County, S.D.) 19??-1912, 1911-10-19
twelve INCHES Of MOISTURE
A. L. Potters Letter on Theme
of Vital Interest to Our
Readers Conserving
the Rainfall

thing, place or theory whatever,
but to discuss the best methods of
conserving our limited rainfall. |
expect to consider the discourage
ing as we'll as the encouraging
conditions as they present them
selves to me. | have introduced
this subject of "A dry imprevious
strata of soil some feet below the
surface of the ground for the rea-
son | find it taught by good author
ity and the peOpl e have a right to
have placed before them for their
consideration.
| have no intention of setting
my owD judgment up against this
high h authority. This state of things
may obtain and be of consequence
in the almost water level plains of
eastern Colorado, western Kansas
and Nebras ka, but in my opinion
it can be of very little consequence
to the farmers of Stanley county.
Suppose this imprevious strata
to be say three feet below the sur
face. Should there be more than
enough rainfall to saturate this
three feet of soil with all it's capil-
larry force could hold there would
be an accumulation of free water
on the surface of this imprevious
dry strata. Freed from capillary
action it would respond to the pull
of gravity and sink to "a lower
level where it would soak through
this dry strata if such existed at
such places and finally reach the
bottom water. However this may
be this principle of the formation
of dry surface imprevious to
water in the soil is of very great
importance to our farmers. 1t is
one that must be reckoned with
if success is to be obtained in the
conservation of rainfall. A pitiful
but very forceful illustration of a
neglect of this principle was given
in last months rain. The long con-
tinued drOuth of the summer had
so thoroughly dried the unprotect-
ed ground that this dry imprev-
ious strata had formed just below
the blowing. The action Of this
dry strata may have been intensi-
fed somewhat by the formation
of plow sole, Some of my younger
readers may not know what is
meant by plow sole. If you draw
the blade of your knife over the
surface of moist clay it will leave
smooth glossy surface showing
the clay is ruddled at the surface.
That is what the plow does as it
cuts through the moist clay. 1t
leaves more or less puddled sur
face at the bottom of the furrow.
This is plow sole. Water does not
SO easily pass through such sur
face. Whatever part the drouth
or the plow sole had on it's forma-
ton the imprevious soil was i'm
mediately under the pIowed sur
face soil. Let us see what hap
pened in our September rain.
About two inches of rain fell. Ac-
cording to estimates given last
week one inch of rain will satur-
ate the capillarity Of four inches
of soil. The average depth far
mers plow is about five inches.
Thus one and one fourth inches
would satisfy the capillarity of
this five inches. There would re-
main three fourths of an inch more
to dispose of. This as it fell would
sink down to the dry strata and
being able to 60 no further would
accumulate gradually rising in the
interstices of the soil grains till it
reached the surface, then of neces-
sity it would run off and in doing
so would carry along consider
able quantity of the light half
floating soil. Thus you lose not
only the water that should be con-