Weekly journal-miner., 1911-04-26

stances 50 per cent less moisture than where you have a crop in land that is not very fertile. Now, this is a very important fact.
 There is another thing l am advo- eating in dry farming. l am telling you these things because I want some of you to try what I suggest. It is a well known fact to those familiar with the semi-arid states that the soil is deficient in humus, or organic matter. and there is no doubt in my mind, although l am recommending the raising of maxi mum crop every year, that you can, right here, raise a crop every year. That is, not the same crop every year, but you can rotate. And what am recommending is something that they have learned in the East and West, almost too late, l might say. In the beginning put in winter rye or some legume, say sweet clover, and blow it under green, so as to make your soil more retentive of moisture; make it so it will be easier to work.
 In the East they have been rec Ommending for some years past blow ing under crops so the soil will pro duce better results. In Oregon and Washington, years ago, they had bunch grass that grew two feet high. with roots as big as my head, and they used to grow crops every year.
 Why?
 Because when this was turned un- der it formed humus, or organic mat ter. making the soil more retentive of moisture.
 Constant cropping has used this humus and when the rains come the land would not hold the moisture.
 Your soils here, on account of stock running over them so long, do not contain a very great deal of humus.
 I am perfectly certain in my own mind that, if you will recognize and follow what I am asserting. so that your soil, when you have plOwed un- der crops, will hold moisture, you will be able to raise with the amount of moisture you have here. a crop every year. I do not see why you cannot raise the same crops that I have in Cheyenne, Wyoming. I have raised there successfully winter wheat, win ter rye, several varieties of spring wneats, different varieties of oats. different varieties of barley. emmer (cOmmOnly called speltz), Canadian field peas, corn. milo maize, millet of different kinds, potatoes, half sugar beets for stock purposes. alfalfa and brOme grass (Bromus Inermis). You must seriously consider that it does not pay to get seeds raised in a lower altitude. You must recognize this fact, that in sowing seeds, whether you are irrigators or dry ! farmers. you should get seeds raised under like conditions in which you are going to use them, or those raised under worse conditions.
 Another thing you have an advant- age over me in Wyoming. and that is, as l understand it, you do not get very much wind. Since I nave been here since last Sunday. the only wind that amounted to anything was the wind we had at Kirkland. Wind is one of the means whereby we lose our moisture, and I am sorry to say that Cheyenne is pretty notor- iOus for having big winds
 The wind is a very important fac tor in the loss of moisture. I think if you had the same winds we nave in Wyoming you would have praetie- ally desert, as unless your moisture was well taken care of it would rap idly evaporate
 Another thing I want to tell you in connection with dry farming. A great many people have an idea that it is absolutely necessary that rain fall upon crop while it is growing. If you have moisture stored up in your soil, enough of it to keep your crop growing, it does not really matter whether it rains upon it or not. I have proven this myself and Dr. Widtsoe has also. It is simply a question of having avail able moisture. Now there are prob ably some people here in the audi to this adjacent country. I have made it a point to inquire of every body as to what has been done ad jaeent to Prescott, so far as dry farming is concerned, and I find that there are quite a number of people who have made quite a success with out any particular method, which was very encouraging, because it showed that if people could raise crops by what l should call poor farming bow much more sure are we to be sue cessful when we apply proper meth od.
 I understand there are a great many farm products shipped into Prescott. Now, I would like to ask the question as to why it is those things could not be raised here9
 There is nothing to prevent the farmer right around here from rais- ing hogs.
 There is nothing to prevent the farmer right around here from fat tening cattle.
 l am talking now from dry farm ing methods, and there is nothing to prevent the farmer from fatteniug skeep.
 You can raise the necessary feed for fattening stock with riglt here. adjacent to Prescott.