The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1912-01-02
SOIL IS A BIG FACTOR
Two Ess -tiaIs That Are Es.
sence Of Dry Farming.
Land Must Be Plowed So as to Gel
Water to Sink Into Ground, and
Cultivate to Prevent Any
Evaporation.

These two practices are the essence
of dry farming: We must pillow so as
to get the water to sink into the
ground, and cultivate SO as to prevent
evaporation Of any kind until We are
ready for the crop.
The soil Is a very big factor. We
want deep, friable soil into which
the water will sink readily. A heavy
soil does not take up water readily
and does not give back water readily
writes Frederick Linfield, In the Agri-
cultural Epitomist. A very light soil
is too readily aerated; the water flows
through too easily. 1t does not con-
tain enough.
At one place in the state where the
rainfall Is less than 10 inches we have
been carrying on work five years. In
one season of the five the rain exceed
ed Is inches and in one season 1t was
less than II inches. Not one season
during the five years have we found
the water to penetrate prairie sod
more than two feet. where the grass
was eaten close by the cattle.
That, bare, hard ground. clean of
vegetation, had not taken up enough
water to wet 1t more than two feet
and the pasture taken care of, we
found that the water had gone down
deeper. The evaporation from the
grass-covered soil in the early spring
is not as great as from the bare soil.
In the case of cultivated ground.
plowed In the fall or early in the
spring, We have found the soil to be
wet down about six feet. and the sixth
foot of soil was wet enough to make
mud balls.
mer fallowed "a crop on it the first
year and summer fallowed the next
year, and we found the soil wet down
seven feet, with the seventh foot wet
enough to make mud balls
The next year 1t was wet down still
further. Cropping every alternate
year and summer following between.
We found that it was wet down nine,
ten and eleven feet, and this on soil
that had never been wet down two
feet five years before.
The point I wish to make is this:
that we can control the moisture. We
can get the water that falls to soak
into the ground and can keep it there
until the next spring comes and the
crop Is ready to use 1t. We have
stored full half II not more of the
rainfall of one season and tided it
over to use 1t the next season for the
growing crop.
We plow six or seven inches. 1t Is
best to go down deep. If there comes
heavy shower we want 1t to sink
down into the ground and stay there.
We haven't found 1t necessary to sub
SOIL
The usual practice In cultivation Is
to follow the disk after turning over
with the pillow, the double disk, and
then we drag-harrow with a spike
tooth harrow. II we are able in the
spring. We use a packer to pack the
soil down. then disk and drag-harrow.
We don't want to disk too much be-
cause 1t digs too deep and stirs the
ground and let's out the moisture.
A drag harrow used often enough
keeps the weeds down. On the COL
iege farm we have used another tool
which is little heavier than the
harrow.
In the spring we sometimes use the
drag-harrow on the wheat. There Is
little difference of opinion on that
point. II we have soil which Is light
and Is not clay we use the harrow.
We disk on stubble land to keep the
moisture In the ground.
Fall rye Is quite successful crop:
30 are macaroni wheat and fall wheat,
especially the turkey red variety;
hull-less barley. which does very we'll
with US and II very rapid grower,
with\a good yie'd In dry farming; also
AN early variety of oats.
Then. again, because We have that
type Of soil and store the water away
down in the ground six, seven. eight,
nine or ten feet, and not very much
-OAAbCS W tAO oui AA\Cp WO want UCCP
rooted plants. Such crops as fall
wheat and corn are an advantage to
us. II we have to grow late season
crop we want crop that will save the
moisture. In our lower valleys we can
grow corn and sugar beets fairly well.
and also potatoes.
Now, what results has this kind Of
farming given In q country where the
rainfall averages twelve inches?
want 10 take up first what we have
done experimentally, where We have
tried to do this In the best way pos
sible on a small farm.
On fall wheat our average for about
four years, where the average rainfall
was less than 13 inches for the last
five years, cropping every alternate
year and summer following, has been
IS bushels per acre on field of about
six and half acres.
Our average until 1910 was over
forty. That year was one OF the driest
we have had since have been here
with hot winds. and our average wal
26 bushels Of wheat to the acre.
Our macarOni wheat. spring crop