The Clovis news. [volume] (Clovis, N.M.) 1907-1929, 1912-01-11
SOIL MOISTURE
Reservoir Must Be Prepared to
Receive the Rain.
Water Carried Into subson Must Be
Brought Back to Surface Where
Seed ls terminating and
Young boots Growing.

Seed ls terminating and
Young boots Growing
SO far as cultivation Is concerned
there r three principal steps in the
conservation of soil moisture.
T. The soil must be loosened 20 q
considerable depth in order to prepare
g reservoir TO receive the rein and
carry the water downward Into the
soil. This may be accomplished BY
deep blowing. by listing or by disking
u%nplowed lands.
q. The water which SIS carried down
into the subsoil must be brought back
again into the surface soil where the
seed is terminating and tho young
roots are growing. and to accomplish
this a good connection must be made
between the furrow-slice and the sub
soil. and this IS the purpose in the use
Of the subsurface packer Immediately
after blowing
3 Finally, in order that the water
which Is drawn up again towards the
surface may not reach the air and be
wasted by evaporation, the upper two
or three inches Of the soil must be
kept mellow in the form OF o soil
mulch, and-this Is accomplished IN the
growing Of crops, by frequent Guilt
walton, which is not so practicable
with wheat and other small grains as
with corn and other intertilled crops.
The most important step in soil.
moisture conservation is to get the
water into the soil. When this has
been accomplished, the keeping II
there and returning 1t gradually to the
growing crop is a relatively simple
matter. Many farmers have yet failed
to learn this most important fact Of
dry farming, that the storing Of the
moisture ia the soil is the first and
great principle Of soil moisture conser-
walton. The hrming and pulverizing
Of the soil to prepare the seed bed,
and the surface cultivation Of tho soil
TO maintain the mulch, are each with
out avail unless there has been stored
In the deeper soil a sufficient amount
Of moisture to support the growing
crop in time Of drought.
Now the moisture should be stored
at ali times during the season, but
especially during the interval between
harvest and planting. This requires
early blowing so that the soil may be
In condition to catch the rain and alb
sorb it.
In order that there may be to
receive and store a heavy rain, deep
blowing is desirable. If plowing can.
not be done early, the cultivation Of
the unplowed land with a disk harrow
lli keep the -se1 in good blowing con.
dltion longer and favoTs me a6s6FBf
ton of rain.
A good rule. but Il cannot always be
followed, is to plow when the soil is in
such condition that it will drop from
the moldboard in a mellow. friable
condition.
Deep blowing should be done with
purpose and intelligence.
LOOsening the soil by deep blowing
favors the absorption Of moisture. but
II rains do not come in time such land
will suffer from drought more quickly
than though it had been plowed shall
low.
The loose sob sizes out and capil.
larity Is broker, preventing the fur
row-slice from receiving moisture from
the subsoil rapidly enough to sustain
the growing crop. The depth and fire.
quency Of blowing should vary accord
ing to the nature Of the soil. A light
or sandy soil requires less depth Of
blowing and less frequent plowing
than a heavy. or compact, clayey OF
"gumbo" soil.
AS a general proposition, blowing
should be shallow when It precedes
planting only a short time.
Plow deep in the fall, and plow deer
for summer fallow.
A long interval between blowing and
seeding allows the soil to settle sufl.
GENTLY, while freezing and thawing
mellows the raw, hard subsoil which
has been brought to the surface.
The relative depths q blowing mag
be stated as follows