The silver messenger., 1911-08-29
TO SECURE MOISTURE
Mulch Blanket Formed by Prop
er Use Of CuItivator.
Rough Cultivation lmpedes Run-Oh,
Prevents Mud Forming and Causes
Rain to Soak In-Effect Of
Summer TiIIing.

(By e. r. PARSONS. in the Dry Farm
ing Congress Bulletin.)
Soil and water take up more space
than soil alone, therefore when the
moisture dries out it leaves void.
This void Is represented by an in
finite number of fine crevices or cracks
which zig-zag in every direction.
After storm, when the sun comes
out, the surface OF the earth under
the magnifying glass begins to wrinkle
as it dries. Next day these wrinkles
begin to develop into well-defined
cracks or assures which go deeper
and deeper every day as the ground
dries out and contracts from the sur
face down. These crevices allowing
the free circulation Of air as far as
they go, cause very rapid evaporation.
AS we go deep into the subsoil away
below these cracks, the evaporation is
very slight.
During the drouth Of 1908 on a piece
Of summer fallowed land, the loss o.
moisture at three feet below the sur
face was not more than / per cent. a
month. This. of course, demonstrates
the advantage of holding your mois-
ture in the right place.
BY using the cultivator we form a
mulch Of earth in the granular condi-
tion which. being loose. settles as the
moisture goes out of it without form
ing cracks, and not only checks and
plugs up the crevices already formed,
but prevents the formation of fresh
ones.
II you ask the question, What con-
stitutes dry farming?" ninety-nine
men out Of a hundred will answer:
The conservation of moisture, but II
you happen to strike dry farmer Of
experience who understands his busi-
ness. he will tell you that the accumu-
lation of moisture is the first half Of
dry farming and the conservation Of
moisture the second half. Those who
farm on the conservation theory only
will argue that smooth cultivation Is
the best because 1t exposes less sur
face to the atmosphere and therefore
causes less evaporation. This theory
Is correct as far as 1t goes, but If we
use smooth cultivation In cloud
burst country we cannot accumulate
half as much moisture as we can with
rough cultivation, which impedes run
of. prevents mud forming and causes
the rain to soak In.
They are beginning to find these
things out at the experiment station
In late bulletin from the department
Of agriculture we are told that sum-
mer tilling Is not much of a success
except for winter crops, and they find
that spring crops usually do as we'll
planted In the ordinary way. The fact
is. summer tilling conserves moisture
but does not accumulate it. Continual
tilling creates too fine a mulch; mud
forms and holds the moisture instead
Of allowing 1t to penetrate. 1t is like
trying to get water into a -four sack
AS far as spring crops are concerned,
another factor intervenes, and that is
the natural packing of the soil. II
summer fallOwed land Is not planted
until the following spring, the plowing
Is then about year old and the
ground much too solid for planting.
F. d. Farrell. formerly In charge of
the Nephi (Utah) experiment station,
says that during heavy rain of two
inches and five-tenths. only flve-tenths
was caught in the summer titled land
and we can we'll understand it-but
In the summer fallow plowed ten
fnchoc doop oud cultivated r,,,rh ~,tth
the large-size corn cultivator blades
which leave a distinct furrow, we can
catch all this rain as 1t comes. 1t will
penetrate perhaps six or eight inches.
The summer fallow should be culti-
waited just enough to keep the weeds
out, no more. II there. Is any slope,
the cultivation should be always
across, not up and down with it. Mag
niflcent spring crops can be raised on
the summer fallow, provided 1t has
been treated as above for the ac-
emulation of moisture. but 1t must
be plowed again before planting, not
necessarily as deep as the first plow-
ing, for ground packs too hard in
twelve months to secure the best re-
suits
For spring crops we usually find fall
plowing left rough until the frost is
out of the ground the best and most
profitable treatment.
II the disc Is used for cultivating
the summer fallow, the land should be
disced as deep as possible and then
cross-disced without any tapping; by
this means the surface is followed
out In squares like a checker board
and will absorb any quantity of mois-
ture as 1t comes.
Growing Cabbage.
Danish Rallhead cahhap seed should