Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1912-02-20
PREPARE FOR DROUTH
Farmer Must Pay Particular kt-
tention to Soil and Crop.
Perhaps Moot Important Considers
ton In Connection With Moisture
Conservation Is Flowing
Use Disk and Harrow.

CBy H. F. PATTERSON, Montana Ex-
pertinent station.)
1t Is not possible for anyone to
foreten the season and it is not the
purpose Of this article to try to pre-
dict the amount Of rainfall during the
coming spring and summer months.
The season of 1910 was very dry in
nearly all parts of the United States;
previous to 1910 we had number OF
very wet years. A good many au'
wet and the dry seasons alternate.
1t Is not the purpose of this article
to leave this impression. for the
writer has not access to the precipi-
tation tables over a long enough Pc
Rod. He does not know whether the
coming season will be dry or wet,
but. In the event that 1t is dry, 1t is
well to be prepared for it. Then, II
1t should turn off wet, the extra labor
would still bring one In good returns.
To protect himself against a dry
season the farmer must pay particu-
lar attention to the method Of hand
ling the soil and TO the crops that
are planted. 1t has been stated that
the equivalent Of about seven inches
of rainfall can be stored in the soil
by proper methods Of cultivation. If
this amount OF water Is saved and Ii
then there Is any rainfall during the
growing season, one is quite sure 20
have good yields. If, however. the
soil Is not properly prepared and
moisture has not been saved, and II
then it turns off dry, there is moth
ing to do but to fail.
Perhaps the most important con-
sideration in connection with mois-
ture preservation is the blowing. The
land should be plowed as early In
the spring as possible. 1t should be
plowed to good depth and the pillow
should be followed Immediately with
the disk and the harrow. The disk
will pack down the land, I'LL up the
air spaces, aid in decaying the or
ganic matter, and the harrow will
place a dust mulch over the surface
This dust mulch will act as cover
and prevent the evaporation of mois-
ture.
Whether or not it will pay to seed
crop upon this newly plowed land
Is difficult to say. In some instances
a Quick-growing crop would give a
yield and in many instances 1t would
not. In order to be on the safe side
1t is suggested that the land should
be summer fallowed the first season
and seeded the next fell or the next
spring. BY summer following is
meant that the land should be culti-
waited or narrowed after each rain
throughout the summer. A good way
to tell whether the land needs to be
narrowed or not is to study the phys
zeal condition of the surface soil. II
a crust has been formed do not delay
the narrowing. If a large number OF
weeds have terminated and are grow
ing, the quicker the land is narrowed
the better The object Of this sum-
mer following is to prevent the
evaporation of moisture
means success or failure IL q dry re-
gion is the crop that is grown. Crops
that are especially we'll adapted to
the dry land areas should be used.
The quick-growing varieties seem to
give the best results. There are both
winter and spring varieties of quick
ly maturing grains. The Turkey Red
wheat seems to be very desirable for
fall seeding. The seed should be
sown quite early In the fall. This
will give opportunity for a good root
development. Then again, the fall
sowing permits the grain to start
very early the next spring. Because
of these characteristics Turkey Red
wheat will mature before the dry
weather of July and August. II one
is to COW a spring grown crop he
should also secure a variety that will
mature In as short time as possible
and one that has hardy root
growth. These characteristics will
tide the plant over dry spell and
no doubt will mature a crop.
Too much emphasis cannot be
placed upon the method Of handling
the land and In choosing the varie-
ties of grain that are used.