The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1913-08-02


much moisture as a crop Of wheat
The real object. therefore, Of the sum-
mer fallow or tilIage at present is to
store up as much of two years pre-
cipitation in the soil for the use OF
the crop that is to be grown, usually
wheat. The men who are operating
their farms under the falIow system,
where winter wheat is the principal
crop grown, whether in the plains or
the mountain dry farming area, are
the ones who are succeeding best.
The men who are farming the great
est number of acres are not the ones
who are making the most money.
Farming in plains states or in the
counties of extreme western Kansas
is very exacting if profitable crops
are produced. The country is all right
if the natural advantages are intelIi-
gently utilized. In a very large meas
ure the farmer can control the mois-
ture that falls on his land. The sum-
mer fallow is the best known method
of doing this.
There is one possible way in which
farmers operating under a low annual
precipitation and summer rainfall,
ern counties of Kansas, can produce
profitable crops of wheat every other
year without the use Of the fallow,
and that is by the substitution of in
terrified crops for the fallow By the
growing of such crops as corn, sOr-
ghums, potatoes, Canada peas, Next
can beans, alfalfa in rows, etc, the
land can be made to produce a crop
and at the same time can be placed
in fair condition for wheat as the re-
suit of the cultivated state the soil
is left in after the growing Of one OF
the intertilled crops above mentioned.
The main drawback to such a system
at this time lies in the fact that most
Of the intertiIled crops now available
are not very drouth resistant and are
late maturing, hence cannot be re-
moved from the land in time to plant
winter wheat at the proper time. Also
many of these crops are caught by
frost because Of the short seasons
common to the semi-arid west. In or
der to insure profit by utilization OF
intertilled crops in rotation with wheat
it will be necessary to discover or
develop more hardy, drouth resistant,
early maturing varieties. Special eff
forts are being directed along these
lines by practically every scientific
investigator dealing with plants and
operating within the semi-arid dis
tricts of the West. Until such dis
coyeries are made and their practi-
cability demonstrated farmers would
do well even in western Kansas to
summer fallow or summer till their
There would be absolutely no doubt
if such a system were practiced that
more farmers would be producing
larger quantities of grain from one
half their land each year than they
are now producing from their whole
farm.
The writer would recommend, there
fore, that Ike farmers OF western Kan
sas; that is, of those farmers operat-
ing west of the eastern line of coun-
ties of Decatur, Sheridan, Cove, Lane,
Ffnney and Gray, handle a small tract
for a number of years in accordance
with the summer faIlow or summer
titled system. But in doing so they
must adhere strictly tc what is con-
sidered and known to be an ideal
summer faIlow; in other words they
must plow their land at the proper
time and to the proper depth and to
keep it cultivated and free from
weeds until they are ready to plant
it to winter wheat.