Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1911-05-18
The Cultivation Of Small Grains

This season is considerably earlier
than usual and practically all farm
ers are through with planting their
spring grains. Now what should be
the next work most valuable before
summer following begins? Let US
suggest the cultivation of the small
grains.
The value of cultivation of hoed
crops has so long been recognized
that no one knows when the advan-
tage was first discovered. and the
seeming impossibility of the culti-
vaticn of small grains has led to the
erroneous conclusion that such
grains would either be killed out
right or be severely injured if they
should feel the effects of a roller and
harrow or that such cultivation
would be entirely non-remunerative.
But this is not the case, and while
small grains is not so remunerative
as that of larger crops yet it pays
and pays big.
There are some very fundamental
reasons why this is so. Considering
first the conditions of fall sown grain
we find the ground well prepared by
a seasons summer fallow or a good
disking to fine and loosen the top
for seeding. All this is perfectly cor
rect but the effect of the winters
rain and melting snow is to pack the
soil closer and closer until the spring
breakup when the alternating freez-
ing and thawing heaves it up expos
ing many roots and crowns of the
grain. Then the final spring rains
come which runs the mellow soil to-
gether to dry into a hard crust with
the first sun. This packing of the
soil beneath the surface is the prop
err thing, but the surface crust and
the heaving are two evils which re-
quire attention.
Experiments l'f5e shown that
wheat when badly heaved is greatly
benefited by rolling the ground when
drv enough to permit. The follow
ing quotation is from the Press Bull
letin No. 80 of the Nebraska Exper-
iment Station: Rolling winter wheat
in the spring has not failed in any
of the four years to give an increas-
ed yield, the average increase being
81 bushels per acre. The rolling was
given early IN the spring soon after
the frost was out, and about the
time growth started Narrowing after
rolling was not so good as rolling
alone, probably due to loosening up
the plants after the rolling had pres
sed them firmly into the soil.
Early spring rolling of winter
grain. pressing the earth as it does
firmly about the plant roots, produc-
es good results. When frost comes
out in the spring it is very apt tc
leave the soil filled with small cracks
or checks, especially around the
plants. If these checks are examtn'
ed closely it will be seen that a large
number of roots are thus exposed
and if the weather continues dry
these are killed or at least injured
We have taken up plants in the
spring where half the roots were in
jured in this manner.
If the soil is not wet at the time
If rolling-and it should never b'
rolled when wet-rolling aids in nj
small degree to form surface
mulch. 1t does this rather than com
pact the surface"
This surface crust of the soil il
very detrimental in a country where
the annual rainfall does not exceed
90 inches and the summer rains are
very light. 1t forms a close capil
larry connection with the surface ant
the result is a rapid loss of water
The breaking up of this crust form
a surface mulch which will retain
suficient amount of moisture t.
greatly influence the yield Of grain
This fact was forceably brought on
by experiments at our own expert
mental station in the season of 1910
During the early part Of that sea
son we gave our fall grains two GOO
5 harrowings and as a result harvest
ed 5 to z bushels more per acre thai
did our neighbors who did no cult
waiting. The adjoining fields Of tn
same kind of land but without cul
tivation yielded 30 to S5 ,bushel
q while ours which was cultivate