The Keota news., 1911-12-15
Practice Dry Farming When
There Is Plenty Rain.
Of Humid Methods In Semi.
Arid Conditions Means Repeated
Crop Failures LssssnIno Prof.
tts TO Farmers.


", writes J. H. Worst Of the North
lace's Farmer. The time to conserve
moisture Is when there Is moisture to
conserve. A farmer remarked to mo
the other day: Il have got the mois-
ture on my farm down to . depth OF
more than three feet already" That
farmers idea is exactly right. He is
conserving moisture now for next
years crop, while his neighbors are A.
lowing the moisture that has recently
fallen In abundance to go its usual
way. according to the laws OF chance.
Next spring his reighbors will plant
their wheat and other small grain and
depend upon the clouds to furnish
moisture as the grain may need 1t.
This famer will get just as much rain
from the clouds as they. and Will. IN
addition. have large quantity OF wa
ter stored up in the subsoil to nour1sh
the crop should a dry spell occur dur
ing the growing season. And that dry
spell Is very apt to come. l will ven
ture that this particular farmer will
have big crop next year. whether his
u0A6uUOSO w VI AOSs ~ NASJ NV
big crop. he will get bigger crop.
It has been fully demonstrated that
. considerable portion of the rainfall
Of any one year can be conserved and
carried over in the soil for the benei1t
of the next years crop. Where the
average rainfall IL eighteen inches. 1t
should be an easy matter to carry four
or dve inches of autumn rain water
over the winter for next seasons crop.
Four inches Of water represents ap-
proximately $50 tons Of moisture per
acre-a sufncient quantity to nourish
the growing crop during weeks OF pro-
tracted drought
As long as We apply humid methods
to semi-arid conditions. We may expect
repeated crop failures. or partial fail
ures that win materially lessen the
profits which farmers should realize
from their business.
It requires approximately seven dol
lars per acre to grow q crop. This In
cludes interest on Investment, cost OF
seed, wear and tear Of farm ms
chinery, labor. etc. By adding one ad-
ditional dollars worth of labor to each
the average profits would be doubled.
In other words. ~ much proft should
be realized from the one additional
dollars worth Of labor AZ Is now real
ICED from the seven dollars worth OF
unavoidable labor and investment.
Consequently. II farmers would devote
one-third OF their land to the growing
Of corn and alfalfa. neither OF which
interferes with the time and labor en-
ployed in farming wheat, and put ono
third more labor, thus made available.
on only two-thirds ~ many acres OF
wheat. they would grow more wheat
than where they spread their energies
over the one-third larger area The
corn and alfalfa fed to live stock would
insure them . large additional income.
and one that is not often adversely in
fuenced by climatic conditions, while
the fertility deposited upon the farm
resulting from feeding the corn ana
alfalfa to live stock would vastly i'm
prove the productiveness OF the soil.
Corn and alfalfa usually can be At
tended to when the wheat needs no
care, thus distributing the labor more
eQuitably throughout the season.
Another thing. shock-threshing II
generally bad business, for the reason
that all cannot thresh at once when
the grain 10 ready for the machine:
consequently. all who cannot thresh
early stand . good chance OF having
their grain injured in the shock and
also are hindered from plowing until