Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1912-07-18
MORE MOISTURE.
I i,,,oes s'',s''ls ,s,s,r
NEEDED TO BRING CROP
THROUGH.

More showers fell at Jamestown
Thursday morning and night.
Heavy rains are reported in various
parts of North Dakota and accord
ing to agricultural experts, grain
men and others interested in the
crop outlook, two weeks of warm
weather are all that is needed to
insure splendid crop returns in the
northwest. They say hot weather
for about ten days would add al
most as many million dollars to
the crop values of the grain grow
ing belt of Minnesota, the Dakotas
and other grain producing terri
tories.
"Hot weather from now on would
be of immense value" said an ex-
pert of the agricultural college.
"Spring wheat needs heat, SO does
corn, and 1t would also be useful for
oats. Rust and other grain de-
stroyers have not appeared to any
appreciable extent, and there is now
sufficient moisture in all districts.
One of the heaviest rain storms
of the season visited Fargo last
evening and made the streets run
floods for half an hour or more.
The storm was accompanied by an
electrical display in the heavens of
unusual vehemence, and the thun-
der was incessant, but so far as
could be learned no damage from
any of the elements was done.
At Dickinson a heavy rain and
hail storm occurred Thursday cut
ting down all crops in it's path. The
strip seems to be thirty miles long
and about five miles wide ending in
territory fifteen miles southeast
of Dickinson.
Hail taIt for ten or fifteen min
utes IND was accompanied by con-
siderable wind. From one to two
inches of hail covered the ground
and most of the trees were stripped
of foliage. Grass was cut down at
the Dickinson experiment station.
All crops were cut down, fruit was
knocked of the trees, many win
dows broken, and persons caught
out in it received many serious
bruises.
Farmers who had insurance on
crops are just getting into the city
to report the losses, which are total
in many cases. Only small per
cent of the crops are insured. The
precipitation measured an inch and
a half.
Soil Moisture Conditions.
Supt. w. R. Porter of the N. D.
A. c., says: During the month OF
May the past seven seasons moisture
determinations have been made In
scattered throughout the state. Soil
samples have been taken to adepth
of three feet with soil tube, on
every plot on the entire series OF
demonstration farms. These soil
samples are put into air tight jars
and these jars are sent into the lab
oratory where the exact percentage
Of water in each soil sample Is de-
termined and the average for each
farm Is worked out from this. Last
October when these moisture deter
limitations were made there was
more water in the soil than there
had been in any year since the en-
tire series of demonstration farms
started. The average moisture con-
tent Of 1O3 fields on "a farms In "a
different counties in the state was
22.97 per cent of water in the upper
three feet Of soil in May, 1912
This is the highest average moisture
: content that the soils on the demon.
stration farms have eyer had since
this work. commenced in the spring
Of 1906.
In the spring Of 1906 there was
11.64 per cent of water in the up
per three feet of soil. In 1907
II
1885 per cent; in 1908, 20.so pei
cent; in 1910, 1851 per cent; IN
1911, 1859 per cent, and this sea-
son 22.97 per cent, or more thar
five per cent more, water in the sol
than there was in the spring Of 1911
and over six per cent more than
there wa sin the spring. Of 1910
There was over two per cent more
water in the soil than in the spring
Of 1908. The only other spring tina,
had real wet soil since the demon
stration farms were started.
In the upper three feet Of sol
on, the average there IL approximate
II $50 tons! more water per acre
500 y