The Dolores star. [volume] (Dolores, Montezuma County, Colo.) 1901-current, 1912-03-01
Friday. March I. 1919.


Ths First Rails In Dry Farming
With hardly M exception the recon-
mendati0n 10 dry farmers h 10 pillow
deep, Ordinarily this means 10 pillow
N deep n possible, which 10 generally
from, seven To ten inches. This lint
commandment for dry farming Ia prob
ably the one most often broken - We
have sen here In Colorado every sea.
son for the last thirty years. II 10 not
always possible to pillow deep. The soil
may be hard. The farmer more Offer,
does not have sufficient power 10 pull
his pillow. A comnion condition on our
western fArins II small horses, few Of
them, and lack Of that care which gets
the most out Of horse. Sometimes
the right kind Of piows are not 1t hand
Or are not kept In the best condition.
The fist reason we should pillow deep
10 TO make large enough reservoir to
absorb and hold moisture. Our soils
have been pounded down for centuries
BY the patter Of rains aud the feet OF
heavy animals. They are to compact
aud perhaps have never been wstted to
= depth Of more than = few inches.
When In tilth some Of these soils will
absorb over forty percent Of their
weight Of water. II they contain from
eight to twesty percent Of moisture
they an In coudition 10 support grow
ing crops. Last summer we saw .
crOp of oats which did not wilt for
sosls days When the soil contained ~
little ~ three percent Of moisture.
How ths storage capacity Of . soil
may BE- increased by deep blowing may
be illustrated by few figures. SILL
Weighing one ton To the cubic yard
weights approximately 1913 tons 70 the
asrs taken one foot deep. II such soil
Will ahsosb aud hold twenty peresnt Of
moisture aud b plqlesd ok inches dssp
itlwill take up lel.o tons Of moisture 10
IL acss. A rainiall Of Ia Inches will
supply This ansoUat Of moisture and an
Up the SIX inch reservoir. II the
ground b plowed only three Inches
deep and the sub-soil 10 hard u would
not BE- abis u store . rainfall Of more
than seven.tenths Of IN Inch aud
should more water fall ct QUE time Il
Will 10 Lost and may wash the soil
away With II.
II plowed NINE inches deep aRd put
Ia gsod condition, such . soil reservoir
would absorb aud hold over two inches
0f rainfall 1t one titi,e. A soil already
containing considerable water would be
with lees rain aud deep blowing fillsd ny
IN that Il srinds w aud pulvsr,sss the
snli. The soils which are plowed deep
coms more rapidly into good ,ilth.
Fining the particles releases sud makes
this plant f.s,d available. II gives bet
Ter chance for the activity Of chemical
agents aud bacteria.
The larger part II soluble plant f.sod
lsecosnes available In the surface soil.
Plant ruots pass through u easily snd
send nut their feeders to make uss III
the fossts ready for then. II four
Inches II the surface soil Ia kept stirrsd
fos mulch the differences betwe plow-
Ing seven and eight inches deep equal.
twenty-five percent IN the area u tbs
surface soil upon which the RIOTS feed.
Where the soils are light aud winds
drtfs them, shallow blowing may result
In ail the top sotl, down IL the sole Of
the fursow. b~inK blown away. Deep
plo~isx on the con'ary, throws ny
heavier asd roughes burrows aud tsnds
10 anchor the roll In place. Pis~,ax
deep, therefore, both prevents washing
aud drifting. --D~nver Field and Earn.