The state herald., 1912-04-12
Conserve the Moisture.

There has been much talk about sci
entific dry farming in this county in
years gone by but there has been very
little practice of the same. Most farm
ers have talked all winter in favor of
so farming as to conserve the moisture
in the soil during the next crop season
but when spring came, the spirit of the
good old plenty of rain country where
they were raised seemed to take possess
sion of them and they said to them
selves, "Well this is surely gong to be
one of the years of plenty of moisture
and l must hustle and put in every acre
of crop possible and farm in the good
old way of my fathers IN Iowa or Illi-
nois."
The result has been that in years
when there was moisture to be con
served the farmer thought he was too
busy to conserve it and only when the
moisture was gone and there was none
to conserve were the farmers awakened
to the great need of conserving it. The
moisture must be in the grouud before
It can be conserved and the farmer, who
waits till the moisture is gone before
he gets busy with his conservation
farming methods, may be doing lots Of
scientific dry farming talk but he is not
harvesting any crop of grain as re.
suit Of il.
Had the farmers Of this county fol
lowed the scientific dry farming meth
ods during the good crop years preced-
ing the year 1910, the farm land of the
county might have been put into condi,
tion to have withstood the drouth Of
1910 and 1911 in manner that would
have given the farmers fair crops dur
ing these years or NJ least much better
crops than were raised in these years.
The conditions are frst-class this
spring for putting into practice the con
servation Of moisture in the soil. The
unusual moisture of the winter and
spring has wet the ground 10 good
depth and II correct dry farming meth.
DDS are Practice by the farmer. this
moisture and much Of the moisture fal.
ling during the crop growing season
can be held for the use Of the growing
crop ard for the fall wheat crop TO be
put in next fall. But II farmers, a.
has too often been the case in years
past. allow themselves To be deceived
by the present fine conditions fora crop
year and take no steps whatever 70
conserve the moisture now in the soil.
II is possible that they may find them.
selves short on moisture for the grow
ing Of the spring crop to say nothing a
bout the moisture needed for the start.
ing OF the wheat crop to he put In next
fall.
There are two methods of farming
for eastern Colorado. One is to iumt
In and farm the whole earth and take
your chances on the crop season and
the other is to cultivate lcss acres and
so farm Il ms TO insure fair crop Of
grain every year. Heretofore most Of
our farmers have been following the
former method. II has IL attractions
Of course for man il naturally consld.
drable Of n gambler and the farmer II
no exception 10 this rule. The excite.
mcnt attendant upon taking ehanccn on |
= big crop or no crop ia much greater
than that Of n dead sure thing In the
way Of crop results and this may ac
,ount In part for the fact that the for.
ncr method has been morc generally
by our farmers. However NJ.
.er the experience Of the past two years
I would naturally be expected that our
'armora would be In mood 10 desire u
lead sure thing In the crop line In ref.
renee to the excitement Of gaml ling
With nature,