American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1911-01-14
BIG CROPS POSSIBLE
Conservation Of Moisture Is
Placed Ahead of irrigation.
Dry Farming 10 Most important Issue,
Says Prof. shaw--Rotation, Fall
lowing and Scientific cuitiva-
ton Productive.

lem that confronts the people of the
West today" recently declared Prof.
Thomas Shaw, who was in Central
Oregon recently investigating condi-
lions relating to that particular
branch of agriculture. Professor Shaw
has been at the head of the depart
ment Of animal h%usbandry at the Uni
versity of Minnesota since 1893, and
Is the author OF numerous books on
various phases of scientific farming.
in comparison with dry farming
the mining industry, important as it
Is, dwtndles into insigniicance," Prof.
Shaw continued. 1.-The problem of ir-
rigation is great, yet when irrigation
has done the best it can do, not more
than 2 per cent OF the arid land in the
West can be affected. All of the re-
naming portion, excluding forest
areas, must be made to produce crops
with dry farming methods.
"Conservationists should devote
some of their time and energy to the
conservation of moisture in the soil.
The value of the rain that falls during
April, May, June and July on the
lands of the semi-arid West, if prop
erly conserved, is more han that of
all the other material interests COM
bined."
Professor Shaw said that his expe-
rience had shown that good crops of
all kinds of grain and some vegetables
can be obtained on summer-fallowed
land, properly prepared, in seasons of
unusual drought, and that very large
yields may be grown in a season when
the rainfall is more than normal. On
account of the more open character
of bench lands, such areas have pro-
duced more heavily than the lands be
side the streams, he said. He referr-
ed to the record of the bench lands in
Montana, to illustrate this point:
ut is hazardous" he continued, in
pointing out the methods of dry farm
Ing that will not succeed, ito grow a
crop of grain in these bench lands,
when they have been plowed in the
spring INT the crop sown the same
season. If the season should prove
moist a good crop may result, but If
1t should prove dry it will %assuredly
fail, and the failure may be complete"
He said that the experiment had
taught him that lands devoted to a
cultivated crop could be followed with
a cereal crop with fair return to the
grower. The process of cultivation
under this method, he pointed out, was
not far different from that employed
when ~cultivating the summer fallow.
/ The difference came in the subtrac.
ton of moisture from the soil when
growing the cultivated crop. The
question whether enough moisture
would remain to ssure a fair crop
has been brought up, but Professor
Shaw said that at the experiment. sta
tons he had grown spring wheat OF
the durum variety after corn, while
beside them were wheat plats started
after the bare fallow. In every in
stance the wheat was stronger and
more promising after the corn than
after the bare fallow. He said that
the explanation of this apparent
phenomenon was difficult, but account
ed for 1t in the fact that the cultiva-
ton of the corn probably stirred the
soil more deeply than the harrow used
in the summer fallow, thus liberating
more soil fertility.
THE crops that may be grown on
dry farming lands may be divided into
three classes-cereals, cultivated
crops and alfalfa" he said. Among
the cereals winter wheat is beyond all
comparison the most important, for
the reason that It is the surest crop
that may be grown and that It is OF
the highest money value because of
the large yields obtained. Some areas
have grown go bushels to the acre.
The average yield is not less than %
bushels. Durum wheat is, mex to win
ter wheat, the best money crop that
can be grown. 1t will not bring so
high a price in the market, but it will
more than offset the lack in this re-
spect by the increased yield.
THE third crop in money value is
fax. This is better adapted to spring
breaking than n other crop. Speltz.
barley and oats have also been sue
cessful as spring crops. Both speltz
and white hulless barley mature early,
and this means that they are less IL
able to be injured han some other
crops by the dry weather that usually
accompanies the maturing of grain.
The oat crop calls for more moisture
than any of these.
The cultivated crops that may be
grown are corn, potatoes, beans and
field roots. OF these, corn for fodder
Is by far the most valuable n i'm
portant. This will be the great cult
waited crop OF the dry country up to
an elevation of 1000 feet
The great reliance for forage will
be alfalfa. The farmer in the dry
country must depend more pom al
falfa for hay than any other crop. II
can be grown on nearly all the bench
land country susceptible of cultivation.
From one to n and a half tons an
acro NAV no prpwn Zach voar md in