Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1913-04-18
BETTER RESULTS FROM scIENTI.
FIG FARMING.

~ E6ENsNas
The following article from the an
nual report I The Western Kansas
experiment station at Hays, b inter
esting and contains much valuable In
formation.
A definite rotation involving all Of
the general fields on the station farm
was put into operation IN the fall Of
1911 at the Western Kansas Expert
ment- Station at Hays. The rotation
is for three years and is: wheat, kali:
and summer fallow. This affords am.
pie opportunity 10 store in the soil
abundant moisture before crops are
planted, which, supplemented by the
'egular rains, should insure profitable
crops in all ordinary seasons.
Summer fallowed lands produces tn,
highest yield OF wheat. The season of
1911 was abnoImGlly dry so 1t was no
possible to accumulate the usual sup.
ply Of moisture in the summer fallow.
For these reasons the wheat on the
summer fallow did not have an ad-
vantage over wheat sowed on other
ground, as it normally has.
Summer FaIlow the Best.
The principal crops pdoduced for
local consumption and for sale are
those generally adapted to western
Kansas. These are: wheat, kafir, al.
talfa, corn, sorghum, barley, oats.
and spring wheat-barley and oats
and spring wheat on a comparatively
small scale.
Winter wheat was grown on 375
acres in 1912. A part Of this was sum
mer fallowed, part old wheat ground,
part corn land, and part fallowed
where cane had been plowed up early
Several methods of soil preparation
We're used in the fall of 1911, with
these results:
Summer fallowed, early summer
pIowed and surface TILED, Sc IL bu-
shells an acre.
Partly fallowed, summer plowed, IS
bushels an acre.
Wheat after corn, fall plowed, IS
bushels an acre.
This does not mean the usual result
in wheat growing with the methods
described. The result given was
brought about by a combination of
soil handling, its condition in 1911,
and the climatic factors of 1912. Rus
sian Kharkof wheat has been gener-
ally grown on the larger areas, but
Red Turkey and Ghirka received in
creased paintings last season and will
be 50 continued. These are the varie-
ties grown for seed distribution in
Kansas.
Early disking of the ground in
creased the yield "A bushels an acre.
Land disked July 20 and plowed Aug
ust I to II gave 24.9 bushels an acre,
while similar ground plowed at the
same time, but not disked, gave 2O.5
bushels an acre.
Ground double d!sked July 1920,
and again August 24-26, gave 26.S
bushels an acre, or nearly two bush
els more than that which had been
disked and then plowed. Where the
rainfall is not sufficient properly to
settle the ground during the summer,
as it was in 1911, better results can
be obtained by shallow cultivation Of
the soil preparatory to seeding 1t to
wheat.
Information regarding the use Of
the deep-tillage plow is greatly in de-
mand by western Kansas farmers. An
experiment involving the use Of one
type of deep-tillage pillow was started
in the fall Of 1911. A sixty-acre field
was fall plowed twelve inches deep.
This field was summer fallowed in
1912. The station harvested $500 bu-
shells of winter wheat Of the 1912
crop, a general average Of % IL bu-
shells an acre. A part Of this was
sold at harvest time and considerable
seed was distributed.
The station grew $50 acres of kafir
in 1912. This is the mos extensively
grown cultivated crop at the station.
Late spring frost and hard showers
just as the young kafir plants were
starting, demanded considerable re-
seeding.
Mrs. Sam Wollman came down
from lacrosse the first of the week