American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1911-04-22
GROW SMALL GRAINS
Rain in May and June Gives Crop
Good Start.
FOR That Reason Earlier Varieties
Have Better Chance to Produce
Larger YieId@Two-Rowed
Barleys Better Adapted.

In the semi arid territory there Is
usually a rain fall of from four to
eight inches during the months of May
and June. writes Manley Champlin in
the Farmer and Breeder. This rain
gives the crop a good start, but ordi-
narily there Is very little rain in July
and early August. There is also more
or less danger of hail in the latter part
OF July. For this reason the earlier
varieties Of grains have better chance
to produce good crops. The late va
rieties spend their time and moisture
prodigally growing a tall heavy
straw and find themselves in a serious
position when the midsummer drought
comes. They are in much the same
position that the boy was in spending
a summer afternoon In the old swim
min hole" and found when he was
about to dress and start for home that
some mean boy had hidden his clothes.
He couldn't go much farther. Neither
can the late varieties of grain. They
get ready to produce a bumper CROP
then find themselves without moisture
and cannot fill, thus giving partial or
total failure. The earliest varieties,
therefor, are usually the best for dry
farming. though some seasons may be
exceptions. They do not produce very
much straw. They begin heading out
in the last week of June and are usu-
ally we'll filled before the drought gets
serious.
Besides earliness. some kinds Of
small grains possess drought resistant
qualities. They were developed in
regions Of light rainfall and sudden
changes Of temperature, and have be
come accustomed to that kind OF a
climate. Some OF them even relish
this kind of climate and will be smit-
ten with rusts and blights and yield
little or nothing if grown in humid
sections. The varieties that are be-
coming the commercial standards in
this territory were introduced origin
ally from eastern Russia by the
United States department Of agricul-
ture. The climate of eastern Russia
is similar to that OF our territory and
the fluctuations Of temperature are
even more extreme. This fact has
made them readily adaptable to our
conditions.
Some of the varieties that have
proved especially valuable and are
now widely distributed are given be-
low. The settler. when buying seed,
should take every %precaution to be
sure that it is pure and of the variety
which he thinks he is buying. There
was a large amount of mixed and
falsely named seed sold to new set
tiers in this region last spring.
Losses of this kind can be best
averted by buying of a neighbor or of
a responsible seed firm.
The two-rowed barleys seem to be
better adapted to this section than
the six-rowed, although n six-rowed
barley-the Odessa-has a good rec
ord at the South Dakota experiment
station, where 1t has been grown for
several years. 1t has short straw and
ripens early. Hitting and Hanna bar
leys are two-rowed varieties that have
good records and one Of the Hannas.
Hanna "a, has become widely distrib-
uted. The South Dakota experiment
station issued a bulletin last summer
giving results and methods used in
growing barley. which can be secured
by those desiring to go into the barley
problem.
The small yellow early oat known
usually as Sixty-Day has made good
records wherever 1t has been grown
and Is becoming well distributed. A
yield of so bushels or more per acre
is nothing uncommon for this variety
In western South Dakota and Nebras-
ka. It is ready to cut by the middle OF
July: thus lodging the drought that
usually begins shortly after the fourth
of July. On a homestead 100 miles
west of Pierre a yield of So bushels
per acre has been obtained. This yield
was produced on typical soil Of the
region-a heavy brown clay. This
variety was introduced from the
Kherson valley in Russia and has
been tested and increased at the Ne
braska and South Dakota stations I'M
til it is now widely distributed and
easily ~obtainable.
Another very desirable oat variety
for our purpose Is the Swedish Select
This is only medium early. but often
makes large yields. especially If tt
receives a good shower during the
heading period. The grain when we'll
filed is large, white. and plump and
often overweights.