The Kenna record. (Kenna, Roosevelt County, N.M.) 190?-1924, 1912-05-31
CORN ON A DRY FARM
Keystone Of Success Is Con-
Servation of Rainfall.
Enough Of Crop Should Be Grown to
supply Work Horses With Rough.
age In Winter and Supple
ment Summer Pastures.

In all the dry farming areas the con-
bervation of the rainfall In the
soil where it becomes available to
growing crops is the keystone of sue
cessful agricultural operations, says
the Northwestern Agriculturist.
This Is generally done by the cul-
aviation of tho soil during the entire
growing season. II no crop is pro-
duced on the land this operation Is
called summer fallow or summer cul-
ture. Over most of the dry farming
area nearly II not as good grain
crops can be grown following a cul-
tivsted crop as on summer fallowed
land.
When the bare fallow system Is
used a whole year elapses without
any returns either on the investment
or for the labor performed. II a cul-
tVated crop can be grown with ,as
good crops following it should more
than pay its expense, which will con-
sist OF the cost of seed, planting and
harvesting; the cultivation would
have to be done anyway, so this
should not be counted against the
cost OF production of crop OF corn.
Corn is prominently this crop
nrst-because 1t produces an album
dance of cheap feed-second-it
shades the soil during the excessive
ly hot days Of July and August,
thereby preventing loss Of soil fer
tility, and third-a cornfield has a
cooling rather than a heating in
fiuence on the winds that blow across
1t.
On most farms in the dry farming
area enough live stock should be
kept to pay most of the running ex-
penses Of the farm. Hay and pas
turage are very short in such areas
and consequently too dear for cheap
live stock production. Enough corn
should be grown to supply. first, the
work horses with roughage during
the winter, If not the working sea-
son; second, to supplement the pas
lures of the summer and fall as a
Boililg crop or in the form of en-
silage and to form the bulk of their
winter Iltion; third, to supply the
sheep and hogs cheap fattening
food for finishing them off IN the
fall.
The first essential to corn culture on
the dry farms Is live stock, for
without such there is no way of
utilizing the corn crop, but II live
stock are kept, feed must be had;
the corn crop can be converted into
beef, pork, mutton, wool, butter and
eggs. commodities that can always
be converted into cash or Its equiva-
lent.
The second essential to corn Gull
ture is a conviction that 1t will pay
to grow live stock on the corn crop
produced and determination to
grow corn as their chief feed in spite
Of adverse circumstances. In order
to be successful in growing corn on
a dry farm the selection of the
proper variety is essential. In west
ern North Dakota and eastern Mon
tana, Squaw, Gehu, Mercer, King
Phillip and Triumph will probably
prove the best flint varieties, while
Golden Dent and Northwestern Dent
will probably prove the best dent
varieties. 1t should always terminate
strong and 95 per cent. or better
The time to seed is from the 10th
to the 18th Of May in a we'll pre-
pared seed bed which has been ma
nured and plowed the fall before and
which has been narrowed at inter-
walls from the time the soil had
thawed out in the spring until the
time of seeding. Thorough cultiva-
ton is very important, as 1t warns
the soil. decreases evaporation of