The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1913-07-03

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is seen in a flower pot full of soil that
has been left a few weeks without
water; the soil shrinks from the sides.
You have seen cases where as much
as half an inch of space is left be-
tween the soil and the sides of the
pot. This is the measure of the
shrinkage Of soil due to drying.
1t is easy to see that these cracks
in the field admit air and lead to great
evaporation of moisture.
The more organic matter your soil
contains the more moisture it will
hold Also the cracks will be smaller
and not so deep. Don't forget that
when the soil cracks it is an indication
that moisture is getting away from
you and It's up to you to get busy.
Taking into consideration the meter
illogical conditions in practically all
of North Dakota and Montana, the
surface system of farming heretofore
generally employed is the quintes-
sence of foolishness.
AS Parsons said not long since in
the Dakota Farmer: "The quality of
the subsoil in this region is of inf
nitely mere Importance that the top
soil-for it is really the subsoil that
makes the crop" But of what use is
the subscil to the growing crop if
there is a plowsole only inches be-
low the surface and that so hard that
roots can't possibly penetrate it.
In my work as Agricultural Agent
for the 500 Ry. have paid particular
| attention to the new portions of the
500 territory, like, for instance, the
Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.
The people who took up these lands
| 10y lot) are from every state west of
New England and north of Tennessee.
They show their intelligence by real
izing that farming here and farming
east of Minnesota are different propo-
sitions.
They want to start right, and of
course, breaking the sod is the start
ing point.
On June goth at Underwood Lake,
west of Ryder, addressed more than
thousand of these people and it was
a pleasure to note the avidity they
! exhibited regarding the breaking Of
new land.
Now the object of breaking virgin
prairie 6 OF inches deep is to turn
the grass and roots into humus by
getting them down so deep that rapid
nitrification is promoted; nor can the
atmosphere get the grasses, which
tends to keep the fields fertile.
Traction engines and machine plows
are great implements, no doubt, but
somehow it seems to be the case gen.
orally, that the men owning and OPP
Grating those machines doing work for
others, rarely do the work in good,
workmanlike manner. Sod kinked and
twisted and standing on edge and
thrown helter- SHELTER is almost ruin
Gus to that land for years to come
and prairie sod plowed IL inches
deep (which is about the depth your
land will oe plowed by the traction
, man, unless you are wide awake
enough to have contract calling for
blowing at least 6 in deep and then
see that the contract is lived up toy is
in my opinion sin.
You simply take off the cream Of
of such land and allow it to be burn
ed up by the sun and dissipated into
the atmosphere and it is crime
against agriculture and an outrage on
your owr intelligence.
The farmers should get to under
| SCk4Iu CAl0l oSA ANuACOAV 10 AOAAAA6 w oS
more of Pm "exact science"
In the past-and more especially in
this state, farming has been mere
matter of "rule Of thumb" with the
result that mistakes have been re-
peated over and over again.
"Chancc' and weather" have been
the patron saints and though the
power and influence and inconsistency
of weather can never be eliminated,
that of chance should have no place in
modern agriculture. There is no ex-
cellence without thought and labor
we'll mixed. Remember the poor till
err gets poor crop. Chance, Of
course, has it's turn-but the man who
depends on Chance is soon pushed
aside and forgotten.
| The intelligent working of a farm
requires more all-around knowledge
than any other business or profession
that know of.
In many instances in --orth Dako-
ia the most successful farmers are tie
fellows without much previous train
ing-but you will always find that
such men are using that part Of their
head above their eyes; and having no
Anticipated methods to lay aside, they
avoid costly mistakes and adapt them
selves to the proven methods at once.
! Such men know that continuous
wheat and fax growing as it has been
carried on here in the past, has bad
effect on the fertility of the soil and
should not be dignified with the term
farming.
When every depression and every
pot hole in every field was full Of wat
er last spring you likely had visions
Of a bumper crop and took chance
and disced in good part Of your
| crop, forgetting the Inconsistencies
of the weather.
Well, tie school of hard knocks and
experience ought to teach you if moth
ing else will.
But don't damn the country you
are living in the best poor mans
country in America but get busy and
tiers. Mr.. Arpin well remembers when
she gets a setback, does no whining
about it, but takes notch in her belt
and gets busy making good the loss.