The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1912-05-23
Does Not Agree With the County
Treasurer's Views on Farming
Throws Light on "Better Farming"
Methods.
Editor INDEPENDENT:

Editor INDEPENDENT:
Reading the letter Of l.. P. Wealth
erwax in your last issue, the idea
struck me that while Mr.. Weather.
was made good county treasurer,
ne is a grade off when it comes to
the subject or better farming
say this realizing that Mr.. Wealth
erwaX is a practical farmer and
success as SUCH. But this is not the
| roint. Ideas such as Mr.. Weather
wax gave expression to, in the artt'
Gle referred to above, can but have
the effect of throwing cold water OH
a movement th,+ can but result in
good.
While the tilltng Of the soil Is The
Oldest and most respectable and most
necessary occupation of man, yet up
to a. very brief period, it has been the
most neglected and this applies most
particularly to our own country. We
are just getting into the A. B. G. OF
scientific farming and scientific farm'
ing is simply common sense Applied.
| Mr.. Weatherwax says: Last year
the experts were instructing us to con
serve the moisture when the ground
vas as dry as powder and nothing to
conserve. About six weeks ago the
teachers were telling us that we
should 20 right onto our stubble
ground with our discs to keep the Wa
ter from escaping, when the farmers
we're praying for their land to dry So
their horses and machines would not
stall In the mud.
Now in the first place, we are NV
ing here in what IS properly termed
the semf-arid region. Our preclpl
,atior will average II inches annual
". It is an axiom among meteorolo'
gists that nothing prevails SO mi
formly as the law of averages IN rS1h'
fall We may and do have one 81
two or three dry years IN what my
friend Frank Slatky would say IN con
crssion, but you can take any years
Of any cycle of ears and the aver
age will be the same. SO the thlne
that is above and beyond everything
else here is to conserve the, moisture
We now know that with our spter
did clay subsoil, this can be done as
easily as you can put water IN jug
and put the cork in. it. You cannot
do this on land plowed 9 IL to III
ches deep. You must have a reser
voir 6 or 7 inches and 9 inches II
better. I make this clafm that If tht
farr,nrs Of Ward county had farme(
properly and conserved the mo1sturF
Of 1907, 1908 and 1909, there wo11l'
have been no shortage of crops il
!, 1910 and 1911. .- ,.... g.
I Nine inches of rainfall ii utilized il
l. enough to produce a twenty-five Sus
!. hel crop of wheat on our land. .
q We misuse and abuse land. TAX
/, for instance the old Thygeso1 farm
y now owned by John Ehr and located
: three miles west of Minot OIL tn
. road to Burlington. Twenty-Five
q years ago 7 bought $4,000 bushels o
= oats off this farm for government u.s.
at Fort Berthold. This farm wa
y cropped some years before that |
has been cropped practically ever
! wear since. I have no recollection Q
ever seeing a shovelful of manure pu
). back on the land, nor was 1t e..
q plowed 41-2 inches deep. have no
: seen a respectable paying crop on thl
: land in fifteen years and yet the IAN
d Is the best.
y Now, it would Of course be hard t
conserve moisture on this land wit
! baked subsoil so hard you coul
d hardly phase it with the back Of a. a.
q axe. John Ehr, am glad to say, |
: doing business on this land this spring
! He plowed it seven inches deep, BIZ
ii took steam power and lots Of it t
accomplish this.
One of the very best things any ta1
4 ner can do between crops is to dis
! his stubble. 1t does many things;
!. fines the top so that when the land
y plowed, the furrow slice is presse
Z down closer to the subsoil, so tina
y the principle OF capillarity can get /
!. its work and bring up the moistur
d for use during tho growing season;
\ helps sprout the weed seeds, It drive
? the stubbles down into the soil an
they begin to rot quicker and abov
Y Itd ft