American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1911-03-18
70 RETAIN MOISTURE
Necessary to Conserve Sufficient
Water Supply.
Deficiency Of Rainfall During Past Sea-
. Should Teach Farmers Great
Value Of Disk Harrow for Pre-
pairing Soil for Dry Year.

An the active operations Of another
season end on the farm, tho former
should not consider all his duties done
until he has reviewed in his mind or
from his notes. tho lessons he had
placed before him the past rear. The
Indifferent and careless farmer may
think the problems presented are the
same every year and that he learned
them all years ago, writes II. b. Kest-
Ter OF Ohio In the Orange Judd
Farmer. This farmer never makes
any money, and Is always telling his
family and neighbors that there's
nothin' doin' In farmin'. anyhow"
The school-teacher observes that
the pupils who most readily grasp
and learn the underlying principles
are the one who can most fully mas
ter the subject and solve the different
problems when presented In different
form. But the ones who neglect to
master these few underlying princi-
pies find in each new problem the
same discouraging %diffculty. So 1t 10
with the farmer. Yet nature Is al
ways presenting to the studious farm
or. plain. practical lessons with the
answers at the end of the season. like
an arithmetic with the In the
back OF the book. But SO often the
farmer forgets both the lesson and
the answer, and. like the dullard
place In the book this yea that he be-
gan last year.
One lesson nature presents every
year and insists upon Its being
learned Is that since moisture Is nee
essary for the growth of plants, 1t Is
possible for the farmer. by right cul-
tural methods, to a sum Client
moisture supply for the ordinary sum
mer crop even without the summer
shower.
In many parts of the country the
past season. like the two preceding
years. there was a deficiency In rain
fall and many farmers place the re-
sponsibility for poor crops upon Provi-
dence. not noticing that the same
Providence dealt lavishly with the
neighbor across the way. The OBJ
serving nelghbor had learned years
ago that a soil filed with humus.
plowed deep. thoroughly and .%contin-
uously cultivated would retain mois-
ture through a long. dry season and
produce a crop.
The wheat crop Is made or married
before snow falls the autumn It is
sown. II the ground Is plowed when
too dry. the wheat sown In the lust
and a deficiency OF moisture follows,
the crop will In all probability be light.
! saw a 12-acre wheat field that had
been prepared In three different ways.
One-third was plowed early In the
summer and narrowed frequently.
One-third was plowed at the same
time. was not narrowed, but was
plowed again just before seeding. The
remaining third was not plowed until
seeding time. September 10. The
weather had been very dry, yet on
October the nrst part was green and
thick on the ground. The second. or
fallow-plowed part. was about one-half
as good In appearance. while the third
part showed scarcely Il tinge of green.
yVt tuc hSiu was hh pioWtu at OHe
time.
Many farmers have not yet learned
the great value of the disk harrow In
preparing ground for blowing In a dry
season. one of the many striking
object lessons In this line was seer
In h drought district of southern
Pennsylvania this fall. Many farm
ers did not pillow. and those who did.
too often turned the ground over In
hard clods. One seeing and reasoning
nan disked his thoroughly dry oat
stubble well both ways. He then left
II two weeks. when although no rain
fell. he could pillow II with ease and
disking put a dust mulch on top and
prevented the further evaporation OF
the moisture that continues to rise to
the surface. even In a dry time, though
more slowly, until the ground was
moist and mellow.
One OF the strongest reasons In IA
vor OF fall blowing Is hat 1t gives
greater control over the winter sup
ply of water. The farmer would bet.
ter spend the time. In spring. In har-
than blowing. Whether II be
a wet or dry season. he has the I'd
over the man who leaves his
until spring.