The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1913-04-04
A Royal
Baking Powder
Hot Biscuit
is the luxury
Of eating
AaANr At SRsNuRT
MADE AT HOME :

proper cultivation dry farming
should succeed under average condt-
TONS Where the rainfall is less than
is inches, cropping should not be
attempted every year. For all crops
except such as are permanent the
land should be summer fallowed. In
, the dry farming sections of eastern
! Washington the most successful
farmers pillow for summer fallow late
in the spring At that season the
soil generally handles better than at
any other time of the year. Discing
and narrowing early in the year not
only saves moisture but kills weeds.
Immediately after blowing the soil
is fined to make surface mulch.
Narrowing a few times during the
summer keeps down the weeds and
prevents loss of moisture by evapor-
alton. In southern Idaho and in
Utah the land is plowed dry in the
fall and left rough through the win
ter. The following spring and
summer, cultivation is practiced to
conserve moisture and keep down
weeds. Very satisfactory results are
being obtained in the Great Basin by
fall blowing. The amount of available
moisture in the soil very largely de-
termines the yield ana therefore the
success of dry farming. The yield
however is not necessarily proport'
ional to the amount of annual pre-
cipitation, since the PERCENTAGE that
may be conserved will vary as the
soil and climatic conditions differ.
The amount that can be stored in the
soil is therefore the real factor. The
depth and retentiveness of the soil
and above all the methods of hand
ling it are of great Importance, and
according as they are favorable or
unfavorable make for or against sue
cess.
It has been demonstrated that with
good methods one-half and even
: three fourths of the precipitation
can be stored in the soil under the
average conditions. BY adopting bet
ter methods of tillage we could cas-
lily increase our production of wheat
rs percent. Indeed It has actually
been done on many farms -
On the greater portion of the plains
of southern Idaho the soil is always
dry below a depth of IS to "a inch
es and generally it is entirely dry in
the fall before the first rains. Often
an annual precipitation capable OF
moistening the soil four or five feet
: deep penetrates only one-third that
: depth. BY fitting the soil to receive
water and cultivating to retain 1t,
} it is possible to accumulate moisture
3 in the soil to a considerable depth.
3 Where the annual precipitation Is no
more than 10 or IL inches, the en-
: tire amount is used by crop Of
Y grain, leaving the soil quite dry at
t harvest. Where the rainfall Is more
: the supply is not always entirely ex-
S hausted. In Idaho the summers are
1 generally dry and the rain comes
9 chiefly in the winter and spring. 1t
r is the water that penetrates into the
e soil that does duty in crop production
. Spring showers are of benefit, but
!, rain in the summer is of little con-
= sequence since it is difficult to con-
y serve any part of it or turn it into
= beneficial use. A small amount OF
r rainfall during the growing season
= of grain is therefore no serious OBJ
stacle to farming.
! Cereals are by no means the only
4 crops suitable for dry farming in
Idaho. Alfalfa and field peas are al
so grown. Milo White Dhurra and
:. early maturing varieties of non-sac-
- charine corn are quite drought-res.
- listing, and will mature at lower al
titudes. Potatoes are well suited to
- dry farming and the quality is always
= the best. p.
10 ELIAS NELSON, Idaho Aux
h iliary Experiment Station.