The Raymer enterprise., 1911-04-20
CORN ON DRY FARM
Conservation of Rainfall Is Key
to Success.
Enough Live Stock Should Be Kept to
Pay Most Of Farm Expenses In
Semi.Arld Reglons-Hay and
Pasturaee Short.

In all dry farming areas the conser.
vation Of the rainfall In the soil where
1t becomes available to growing crops
is the keystone Of successful agricul-
ture, writes w. r. Porter in the Farm,
Stock and Home.
This is generally done by the cult
walton Of the soil during the entire
growing season. II no crop is pro.
duced on the land this operation Is
called summer fallow. or summer cul.
ture. Over most Of the dry farming
area nearly II not as good grain
crops can be grown following a cult
waited crop as after the summer fal.
lowed land.
When the bare fallow system Is
used whole year elapses without any
returns either on the investment or
for the labor performed. II cult
waited crop can be grown with as good
crops following 1t should more than
pay Its expense, which will consist Of
seed, planting and harvesting: the cul.
tivation would have to be done any.
way. so this would not be counted
against the cost Of production Of a
crop Of corn. Corn is pre-eminently
this crop. first. because It produces
an abundance Of cheap feed; second.
1t shades the soil during the exces.
sively hot days Of July and August,
thereby preventing loss Of soil fertil.
ity. and third. a corn field has cool.
ing rather than heating influence on
the winds that blow across 1t. This
may have very beneficial effect on
surrounding crops when the tempera.
ture Is near the 100 degree mark.
On most farms In the dry farming
area enough live stock should be kept
to pay most Of the running expenses OF
the farm. Hay and pasturage are very
short in such areas and consequently
too dear for cheap live stock produc.
ton. Enough corn should be grown
to supply. first, the work horses with
roughage during the winter II not the
working season; second. to supple
ment the pastures OF the summer and
fall as soiling crop or in the form
Of ensilage and to from the bulk OF
their winter ration; third. to supply
the sheep and hogs cheap fattening
food for finishing them of In the fall.
The first essential to corn culture
on the dry farms is live stock, for
without such there Is no way OF util.
izing the corn crop, but II live stock
are kept feed must be had, the corn
crop can be converted into beef, pork,
mutton. wool. butter and eggs, com.
modlties that can always be convert.
ed into cash or Its equivalent. The
by.product Of live stock (manure)
should 60 back onto the land to re.
plenish the diminishing supply of hu-
mus and fertilizing elements 80 essen.
tial to large yields.
The second essential to corn culture
Is conviction that It Will pay to grow
live stock on the corn crop produced
and determination to grow corn as
their chief feed In spite OF adverse
circumstances. In order to be success.
full In growing corn on dry farm the
selection OF the proper variety is es.
sential. In western North Dakota
and eastern Montana Squaw, Gehu,
Mercer, King Phillip and Triumph
will probably prove the best flint va
rieties. while Golden dent and North.
western dent will probably prove the
best dent varieties. Good seed is very
important. 1t should always germinate
strong and 95 per cent. or better.
The time to seed is from the tenth
to the fifteenth Of May In u well pre-.
pared seed bed which has been
manured and plowed the fall before
and which has been narrowed at inter.
walls from the time the soil had thawed
out In the spring until the time OF
seeding. Thorough cultivation is very
important as 1t warns the soil, de.
creases evaporation Of soil water. and
forces the corn ahead very rapidly. On
the dry farms the corn should be cul.
tivated after every rain as soon as
possible in order to bottle all water
possible In the soil As soon as the
corn is cut the land should be disked
lightly but 1t should not be plowed.
Should any heavy soaking rains come
after this In the fall the land should
again be narrowed. In the spring
wheat should be sown as early as DOS.
sible but very rarely should the corn
land be plowed before seeding wheat