Lincoln County times. (Jerome, Idaho) 1911-1919, 1912-08-01
SOIL MOISTURE is REQUIRED
Where Cover Crops Are Grown to
Maintain Fertility at High Stand
ard Much Water is Needed.

Tillage gives such measures Of aera-
ton Of the soil as to develop plant
food Chemical action liberates plant
food by dissolving the inorganic ele-
ments. and forming solutions contain
Ing plant food, writes E. F. Stephens
In the. Denver Field and Farm. The
more complete the aeration the strong
er the solution OF plant foo contained
in he soil moisture. We all know
that the larger the amount of plant
o o available the less soil moisture
is required to produce a pound Of dry
matter. In other words. a tree can
grow and bear fruit in a we'll aerated
soil with less soil moisture than is re-
CURED e produce the same results
With the tree feeding On a soil less ef-
fectively cultivated.
Aeration therefore sets free in.
creased quantities of plant food INC
enables the tree to get along with less
water. A pint of very rich soup is
more nourishing han a quart of thin
cruel. The average planter will pen
haps irrigate his orchard three or -four
times in a Season. Each irrigation is
preceded by running a c~orrutator or
some other method Of opening fur
rogE This requires a team once over.
after RSa bays sssR employed 70
spread the wafer. Within ~fortyeight
hours some efic1ent implement must
be run to get the soil under cyltiyG
ton or the land will crust, bake, crack
open and soon be in worse condition
than before. T~
To get the soil back into as good a
State Of tiilage as before the watering:
! We find ourselves compelled to cover It
tw66f three timss. usually once with
the Planet Junior and then each way
with some Implement like the Acme
pulverizer or the Tower c~uitivator.
Three and possibly four team opera
tons will be needed with each irriga-
ton to recover the loose, lively. mel
low soil condition in which We had the
soil before watering, therefore three
periods Of irrigation will mean cover
ing the field nine times with a cam.
In our experience add these nine cul-
tivations to seven to nine regular cul-
tivations Il we have sixteen to
eighteen civilizations, which following
a winter and spring rainfall such as
w "a A0d th4o ctdeOA Will III bull-
able soil go a long way towards con-
serving moisture for the summer.
There seems to be no question that
a tree that Is efficiently and thorough
ly cultivated finds more favorable con-
ditions for vigorous growth and early
fruitfulness than the orchard that is
sometimes too wet. sometimes too dry,
and handled in the manner ofttimes
noted. This applies especially to
young orchards. This method is not
applicable in the same degree with the
older or bearing orchards since an or
chard aged sixteen to twenty years
needs probably seven or eight times a
much soil moisture as does the one
up TO the age Of five yearse. To main
tain soil fertility requires cover crops.
To grow a crop Of clover, vetch or
alfalfa In the orchard and thus keep
its fertility at the highest standard
needed for productiveness will doubt
less require several inches of water.
1t is hardly practicable to maintain
the same high state of tillage in the
old orchard that can be given in the
young one and water must either be
stored in the sub-soil or applied at
suitable times by sufficient irrigation
to maintain an ample supple of mois-
ture in the aged bearing orchard.