Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1911-07-13
Clifford Willis, Former Aqrono-
mist at Experiment Station,
Gives Good Advice.

Clifford Willis, who was the agrono-
mist at the state college experimental sta
ton at Bookings, but is now editor of
the Northwest Farnstead, publishes In
his paper an article that should claim the
careful attention OF every farmer. MIR.
Willis says:
Remember. the most important factor
IN farming in the northwest is how to
conserve soil water. There is hardly a
season In which some crop is not reduced
from a fourth to a half of Its yield be-
cause there was not enough water to ma
tIre I.
The soil may nave been I'm good condi-
ton. plenty of plant food present. in fact,
all other conditions may have been ia
vorahic to the crop, but yet with an in
sufficient supply of water all of this eX-
p2Nse counts for little. and In many in
stances nothing. The question before the
farmer is. to what extent can he control
the soil water" The supply OF water is
not due to lack of rainfall in many parts
of the northwest, but to its unequal dis
tribution.
Held in Three Ways.
The water which has its direct now
perpeEd.cularly downward during and ait
er rains Is called gravitatlonal water. 1t
moves through the shrinkage cracks and
spaces left by decaying roots. Plants do
not use It, aud it is detrimental to most
cultivated crops when within Is inches of
the surface. However. 1t is the supply for
wells and springs, and also the source
from which capillary water is drawn.
Capillary water does not flow by grav-
ity. 1t is the direct source OF moisture
Tor plants and may be drawn upward or
downward. depending whether the soil Is
dried at the surface or below. In dry
times the capillary action may be strong
enough to raise the water five or six feet
~. Vr .,.a ~ la y, w Az, ~ .,, ,a,, .x,A IN ,l,vu(
ral condition the soil is in. If the soil is
In poor condition. that is. coarse and clod-
ly, and the soil PARTICLES not close enough
together, then the water cannot rise TIC
Take the place Of that carried off by
evaporation or used up by the plants. On
the other hand. IL the soil is in good con.
dition. that is. the particles close to-
gethcr, .llcn the water paSses freely To
the surface.
i wonder if we have ever stopped to
notice The track of IL horse on the le.owed
ground. Notice that the surface SOL OF
the track Is moist. This is because the
soil particles have been pushed close to.
gether. and there is capillary action be
tween hem. and the moist surface shows
that the water is passing off in the air
This should teach us a lesson. We should
ask what must we do to stop this water
from passing off into the air. so tina II
will pass off through the tissues OF the
plants.
The answer is very simple. Break the
ompact soil by tillaee ard thus break the
capillary connection and stop the water
In it's upward course. In doing this VIZ
form a soil mulch. believe 1t is the most
important means OF preventing the loss
OF water. Why? Because it breaks tho
capillary pores. and we have q layer o,
loose soil between the ar and the moist
| soil below so that the moisture can not
| rise through 1t.
After heavy rains this mulch becomes
compact. Capillary relation is restored
and the capillary pores are connected
directly with the atmosphere. and evapor-
alton takes place more rapidly. There
fore, it Is very important to stir the sol,
after each rain.
Microscopic water is tho little n,m OF
water around each soil particle.
Water Necessary.
Plants must have water. and the guam
tity entering into them wares. An eaI
Of corn weighing one pound requires twt
barrels of water TO produce 1t.
A horse can easily eat IN a single fee,
OF oats what has required two and one.
half tons to produce.
A hungry man can eat the product OF
half a ton OF water In Il single meal.
1t requires.21 tons of water to produce
one bushels OF oats.
1t requires "a tons of water to produce
one bushel of wheat.
From the above Data we can see tina,
the amount Of water necessary for a Gro,
Is enormous. and the question is upS Il
us now, what can we do to restrain The
water?
Saving Soil Water.
The annual rainfall in many parts OF
the northwest is sufficient for the re.