The Ordway new era., 1913-05-09

presented to the dry farming public.
II 1t has growing season OF IS days
1t will make . fair crop. and II 1t has
80 days it will make good crop II
1t is struck by q drouth 1t will ripen
the pods already set. and when the
drouth breaks 1t will set and ripen .
new crop II It has five weeks In which
to do 1t. In 1911. beans planted June
IA were struck with drouth July 20.
after but 3.34 inches of water had pen.
etrated the soil. The drouth continued
until August 25 and was accompanied
by extremely hot weather. the Fahren-
heit thermometer frequently reaching
= maximum of 105 to 10s degrees and
averaging 80 degrees as q maximum
for the entire period.
Beans Yield Well.
Notwithstanding these adverse con-
ditions. these beans ripened an aver.
age OF 319 pounds of seed per acre dur
Ing this drouth. Then, when tho rains
required, the beans again began set
ting pods and matured an additional
466 pounds Of seed between Septem-
ber and October 15. on 4.97 inches
more Of penetrating rainfall, making
4 total yield Of 775 pounds per acre
for the season. Moisture determine
tons in the soil made before plant
ing showed that there was not over
five inches Of water available for
plant production in the frst four feet
Of soil, and none in the subsoil below
that depth, when the beans were
PLANTED. When we consider the ex-
tremely dry character of the atmos-
phere In the arid southwest, with it,
consequent great power to absorb wa
ter from soils and plants. these yields.
under such conditions. are remark
nbls~ The pink bean. which has ~
putation itself as ; . drouth-resister.
made nothing whatever during the
drouth and only 100 pounds per acre
for the entire season under exactly
the same conditions.
Average Yield Large.
During three years Of experimental
ton 13 plots Of one-Quarter acre each
OF tepary beans have been grown and
the average yield on all Of them has
been 473 pounds 2er acre. Many of
the plots have had extremely poor
stands. and on many Of them the soil
was 80 dry at planting time that the
beans remained In the ground six
weeks before enough rain occurred to
sprout them and bring them up.
Eleven similar plots Of pink beans
grown during the same period aver
nges only 140 pounds per acre under
the some. conditions. Three plots of
red Indian beans averaged 131
pounds; two plots OF Leopard wax 119
pounds and two plots Of Hansen beans
107 pounds per acre.
In 1909, when only GIL inches Of
water penetrated the soil during the
growing season and only SO inches
had penetrated 1t since August Of
the preceding year. tepary beans aver.
ages ACT pounds per acre with a
poor stand. In 1910 the total water
penetrating the soil during the grow
ing season had received no water
other than this since the preceding
August. Tepary beans averaged $40
pounds per acre with extremely poor
stands in that year. In 1911 small
amount Of rain had penetrated the
soil since the preceding August. but
1t had all dried out at planting time.
The penetrating rain during the grow
ing season was S.31 inches. Four
plots of tepary beans averaged 527
pounds per acre on this rainfall. while
two plots that had three and one-half
inches Of irrigating water added to
the soil two months before planting
time averaged TIA pounds per acre.
Pink beans averaged 81 and 100
pounds per acre respectively under
similar conditions. These yields Ger
tainly give this new crop an enviable
place among the dry farming crops Of
the world.