The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1912-06-28
FRUIT ON A DRY FARM
Method Given to Make II Abso-
lutely Orouth Proof.
Before Planting Single Tree Two
Years Moisture 10 Secured by
Flowing Year Ahead and Keep
Ing Ground Cultivated.
(By E. r. PARSONSl

statement that trees and crops could
Do raised anywhere on suitable soil
between the Rocky mountains and Mis-
souri, river, without irrigation. Every
body laughed, some went as far as to
say that such exaggerated statements
only nurt the state. few took the
nlnt others besides myself had ar
rived at this truth, and there are now
shade trees and family orchards all
over the state, few and far between
IL Is true, but quite enough for proof
and now after twenty years every
word OF this statement is accepted as
fact.
NOW | make another statement.
which even the Colorado writer's and
professors are afraid Of. and which
the eastern papers altogether decline
to print or believe, yet which Is capa-
Bile of proof and viii be generally &C.
cepted in another twenty years, and
tnat Is that any man can plant dry
orchard according to the following
method and make 1t absolutely drouth
proof.
good now than twenty years hence and
submit 1t not for the enlightenment
OF Mr.. w. c. Curtis, MI Wallace and
others who affect to see little or no
good In dry farming, but for the bene-
Ut OF the few who can grasp truth
In advance of the popular belief and
turn 1t to their own advantage.
Before planting a single tree we 20
to work and secure two years mots-
ture for that tree by blowing a year
ahead OF time, keeping the ground cul-
uVated and digging the holes in the
fall to catch snow and moisture all
winter Now is the time to get to
work. Pillow the ground as deep as
you can and arrange your lands so as
TO bring your dead burrows where the
row OF trees is to be; by doing this
the surface is dished toward the tree
and II there is any run off it drains
towards their roots These dead fur
rows are also of great advantage as
snow catchers.
Now piece OF land prepared in
this manner will accumulate during
an ordinary season from three to four
feet OF moist earth from the surface
down, and In the holes after a wet
winter even five or six feet
Now to dry all this moisture out in
cultivated area without cropping
would take two years or more without |
a drop of rain, SO that when young |
tree is planted two or three feet deep |
In all this moisture it Is as | contend |
absolutely drouth proof for in the
past thirty years the longest droutb |
has been only few months duration
drying out no more than the top six
or eight inches, which is of no value
whatever to the tree anyway.
Then we go to work and impound
every year ten times as much mois-
ture as the tree needs, as follows:
A young apple tree just planted
uses up a few hundred pounds of
moisture every year, but we give
these trees an area OF 40 feet square.
plums and cherries, 20, small fruits
10. Now If you figure out the pre-
c1pitation on an area of so feet square.
l,600 square feet, you will find that it
amounts to about so tons per annum
Now an apple tree from is to 20 years
Of age will use up only from 80 to 40
tons per annum. and can live, IL
necessary. on half OF that, so that it is
easy to understand that while the tree
Is growing up the orchard is gaining
an enormous amount of moisture for
future use and even when the tree is
full grown you will have several tons
to the good each year, which you hold
by cultivation in your subsoil, and
even II your trees should need more
moisture yet when they get, say 80
Or 40 years old, they can be thinned
out to so feet apart, which would give
each tree about 240 tons per annum,
so that there is no need whatever 10
take any chances. You make the
moisture question in the orchard as
exact science as building a bridge or
a battleship. In fact. If l knew man
would follow these instructions i'm
plicitly, | would pay him a thousand
dollars for every tree lost by drouth.
We keep every weed out OF the or
chard and cultivate from ten to twelve
times during the season with a home
made cultivator about ten feet wide.
which cultivates about twenty acres
a day.
Every year from the start the sur
plus moisture sinks deeper and deem
er into the subsoil.
| have followed IL down foot by foot
year by year, Kntil now it reaches a
depth of nearly twenty feet The an
Pile trees that are forty feet apart
stand in cube OF moist earth 40 feet
square by twenty feet deep. contain
ng between 200 and 300 tons OF wa.
.er; we make our estimates by taking
samples all through the aforesaid
cube, weighing them, then drying
hem out thoroughly. then weighing
again. This gives us the exact amount
Of moisture in each sample and by