Farmers' champion. (Elgin, Okla.) 1912-1922, 1913-01-23
SAVE SOIL MOISTURE
There Is Nothing Difficult or Mys.
teri0us About II.
In Dry Season u Makes Difference
Between a Crop and No Crop
Many Benefits Of Deep
Furrow Slice.

tBy W. e. PALMER. North Dakota Az
riculturai COlloge)
Enough Is now known Of the prin-
ciples Of soil moisture conservation
that each one can be in possession OF
the secret. Then again there is moth
ing difIlcult of mysterious about 1t.
II Is a common knowledge, that any
thing wet dries on being exposed 20
the air The housewife makes use OF
this principle In hanging out tho
clothes to dry.
II is well known that oil moves up
through wick. and that If The wick Is
cut the oil cannot pass over the gap.
Water viii act the same as the oil
and II moves through the soil In the
same way that II does through the
wick
Keep In mind that we. soil exposed
to the air will give up It's moisture to
the air that water moves from the
wetter portions to the dricr soil II the
soil is compacted which condition
compares to the lamp wick; a loose
soil compares to the lamp wick that
is cut and so the moisture cannot
move through II.
The plant needs the moisture in the
furrow slice az that " where 1t does
most of its feeding Notice the plant
growing in the dead furrow It has
Its roots In tho subsoil The moisture
conditions should be better there than
In the surface soil yet the plant does
not do SO well, and due to lack Of
available plant food This means that
deep furrow slice will offer more
feeding room for the roots than
shallow one. The furrow slice should
be packed Arm against the bottom so
as to furnish the means for the mois-
ture to pass from the sub soil to the
surface soil as the plant needs IT, To
keep the moisture from passing to the
surface and evsporating, the surface
sell s1ouli be kept loose condition
kncwn as the soil mulch
Another reason for deep blowing ls
to furnish large reservoir to take up
the rain fall readily. Shallow blowing
cannot take In raln as fast nor as much
of It as deep plowlng The proof OF
out by the fact that 1t produces larger
yields.
The soil mulch can be produced by
the common harrow. Crops are har-
rowed after they are up, grain can be
narrowed till five or six inches high,
and some are trying TO harrow till 1t
heads out and with good results. The
narrowing OF grain or corn should
only be done on bright sunny days and
not before the sun has been up three
or four hours The plant when wet
and In the morning and on cloudy days
Is more crisp and breaks up easier
The mulch should be made as soon rs
the land is plowed. II 1t is not, con
siderable evaporation will take place
at once. In plowing do not leave the
field before narrowing what was plow
ed that half day.
A plow attachment is now on the
market that loosens up the surface at
the same time the plowing is done
Another way is 10 hitch an extra horse
to section Of harrow when plowing.
this does 1t all at one operation. too
In the case of spring plowing II may
be necessary to pack II so as to get the
bottom of the furrow compact Fall
blowing should be narrowed as soon
as possible in the spring as moisture
will escape fast from the surface that
has been compacted during the win
ter
Humus adds greatly to moisture
holding capacity of the soil acting like
a sponge or hlotting paper The pl6w-
ing under Of green crops or weeds
when green adds humus Applying
manure ssne of the best ways of ad
ding t.