Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1914-05-22
PRACTICAL DRY FARM
There Are Three Essentials for
Farmer to Consider.
Depth Of Soil, Amount Of Precipitation
end Evaporation Are Conditions
That Co Far for Success
or for Failure.
gy NORMAN e. HOLDEN,

10Y NNOINndkAlN IAOl4A1bANsy
In speaking of dry farming from
practical standpoint, it would seem
that the conditions which go to make
dry farming possible should be Of first
consideration. There are three essen.
tails for the dry farmer to consider be-
fore attempting to dry farm. They are,
depth Of SOIL amount OF precipitation,
and evaporation.
One attempting to dry farm with
less than four feet of soil is handi-
capped to commence with. There are
many places in the west where there
is from 1S to 20 inches Of soil on top
of bed Of gravel Some OF the most
beautiful laying land that / have ever
seen has this condition, and the worst
feature of 1t is that it has been filed
on by prospective homeseekers, be
cause it means utter failure for those
and also black eye to others.
Take, for practical results, this sea
son on my own farm in Dillon. Mont.
Everything has done well, the farm has
paid. despite the fact that it has been
dry. A crop has been raised with one
and one-half inches rainfall from the
time 1t was planted until harvested.
There was no rain during the main
growing season; we have had hot
winds continuously. The results are
most encouraging Why was this pos
sible?
With a soil averaging 10 feet every
drop of moisture it was possible to
store was stored. When the crop was
taken off this land in the fall Of 1908
a disk harrow was used Immediately.
In 1909 the first treatment it had was
an early double disking. Then the
common spike-toothed harrow was con-
tinuously used until freezing weather
in the fall. The spring of 1910 1t was
seeded to different crops, consisting
chiefly Of Durien wheat (Kubach), al
though there we're other crops. among
them Red Turkey winter wheat, seed
ed the middle Of August, 1909, which
has given most excellent results.
There was fax, corn. potatoes and al
most every kind of garden produce.
And right here the success of garden
truck on dry land should be mention
ed. have either read or heard some
speaker say that one should have lit
tie spot that is susceptible of irriga-
tion to supply the table with garden
delicacies This is not necessary. II
were asked what one line of dry
farming / considered the most success
full, the answer would be gardening
The most splendid results can be OBJ
tanned from the dry-land garden. It
is a general belief that lettuce, rad
ishes, young onions and the like are
not up to quality In the dry-land gar
den. This Is not true, as the very
highest quality of this stuff can be
produced on the dry-land garden.
The past season, while it has been
the driest we have any record of, we
have had lettuce. onions, radishes,
caulifiower, tomatoes, cabbage, car
Tots, parsnips, garden peas, kohl rabbi
turnips, and in fact everything that
can be grown in our altitude, which
is $500 feet This garden produce
takes rank right along with that Of IT.
rigation. The tonnage is not quite as
large, but the quality more than on
sets this.
This year we have tried out the
sugar beet, and while there has been
no tests as yet for the sugar, the yield
has been splendid, averaging about 10
tons per acre, some individual beets
weighing nine pounds, while garden
beets went 81 pounds, carrots IN
pounds and onions one pound.
An acre or two thoroughly prepared
for the garden is the best investment
q dry farmer can have. This land
should be titled whole year in adj
vance with a. view of conserving the
moisture. and, If possible, fertilized
Ia bunch of SO chickens will make
enough fertilizer for a garden of two
acres. This fertilizer should be
placed on the land the season before
1t is cropped and should be thoroughly
worked into the soil. Two or three
acres thoroughly prepared and plant
ed to garden will supply the table,
keep a COW and raise two or three
niRs