El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-03-19

3 nTaEL1EE
! of farming and make a go of it. It
/ takes a careful thinking man who has
/ made a study of the situation and
I knows what he has to contend with
and makes his plans accordingly
Points to Keep in Mind.
Some of the main points that should
! be kent in mind and carefully cOnsid-
l cred are: % What IS the average
Z yearly rainfall in my section2 %
! What is the nature Of the precipitation
/ and during what months Of the wear
/ does most of it fall2 CD How can
l this moisture be best conserved for the
I growing crops? ca What crops are
best adapted to my section Of the
/ country and will be the most drouth
! resistant? 90 How can I dispose of
/ my crops to get the most out of them ?
Northeastern Rainfall.
! THE northeastern part of New Mex
! leo has an average yearly rainfall of
/ 16 to Is inches, which is considered to
! be sufficient by number of authori-
/ ties on dry farming TO raise a crop.
/ Most of this rainfall occurs in the
l months of June, July and August as
! is shown by the weather records ex-
! tending over a number of years Many
/ Of these showers come IN the form of
/ heavy downpour, ana considerable
! loss is occasioned by the TunOff. Es-
/ pecially is this true on soils not we'll
1 prepared to hold it.
Conserving the Moisture.
'Taking care Of this moisture and
J conserving II Tor the EAOpS - extreme
! " important To do this the land must
| be well prepared and kept in good
! condition and state OF cultivation.
! Weeds should not be allowed to grow
/ and cause a loss from this source for
! it should be ever remembered that
| growing weeds require a great deal
Of moisture to make their growth. To
get the land in good condition it
should be well plowed IN the late sum
mer or fall. When it is impossible to
plow the land at this time on account
Of a lack Of moisture, a good double
dtsclng will answer the purpose for
the time being; but the land should
be plOWed as soon as possible. The
depth Of blowing should be from five
to eight inches and if the land is too
rough it would be best 10 work it
down after blowing. In doing this the
harrow or disc are good tools to use,
but the soil should not be made too
fine or loose or it will blow badly in
the heavy winds that visit this sec
ton in the spring. The later the pIOw-
ing is done the ShallOwer 1t should
be plowed and the more il ought to be
worked down in order to secure
good seed bed.
Weeds Absorb Moisture.
when springtime comes cultivation
should be given frequently enough to
prevent blowing of the soil and the
growth Of weeds. Weeds take mOiS-
tUre rapidly from the soil and are enc
mics of good farming.
There are only two ways for the
moisture to be lost from the soil, and
these are through the weeds and by
evaporation from the surface. Both
Of these points can be regulated by
good cultivation practiCed at the pro-
per time and in the proper manner.
Spring Flowing Improbable
Most OF the farmers in the dry
farming districts practice spring
blowing. In my opinion this is wrong
on account of our spring months be-
ing the driest and windiest period of
the year The spring plOwed land is
made so loose that excessive loss Of
moisture is likely to occur in cOnse-
quence, especially is this true when
spring listing is practiced, or the land
is not properly worked down after the
blowing is done The land should be
so worked in the spring to get it in
the best possible condition, and still
cut the loss OF moisture due to evap-
Grafton to the lowest possible amount.
Kind OF Crops to Grow.
THE kinds Of crops to grow in New
Mexico IN the dry farming districts
are those that are naturally adapted
to dry climates, and which will give
me hlghest returns per acre for the
labor and money invested The crops
must be dTOuth resistant and able
to thrive in a hot, dry windy atmos-
phere and, frequently on little mois-
ture for long intervals. We find in
such crops as milo, kaffir, sorghum,
Mexican beans and broom corn the
qualities desired, and therefore these
are the ones that should be given the
most attention as the main crops. In
addition to the above crops, cOWpeaS,
millet and Spanish peanuts are valu-
able crops in normal years, but not so
drouth resistant as those first men
toned
Dwarf Varieties Preferable.
"Of the varieties of the above crops.
it has been found and is believed that
the dwarf varieties are best suited to
this region. because they grow in a
shorter time and therefore require
less moisture. They also have an ado
vantage over the longer season va
rieties because they offer a chance
for a greater latitude in the time of
planting.
In most cases late planting will
give better results than early planting
on account of the late rainy season.
If the crop be planted early it may
perish for lack Of moisture before the
summer rains arrive.
How to Plant.
When planting, the crop should not
be planted too thickly in the row be-
cause the amount of available mois-
ture is low, or limited to a certain
amount. The more plants that this
moisture has to be distributed among.
the less chance there is for each in
diyidual to make its growth. This
planted as thickly here as in Texas
and Oklahoma, where the rainfall is
twice the amount.
Number Of Civilizations.
"The number of civilizations the crop
should receive during the growing
season IS an open question. Some say
one cultivation is enough, while others
say to cultivate the crop from three
to six times. As a rule there are few
farmers Whoc ultivate too much The
number Of times the cultivator should
be run through the field depends upon
the weakness Of the ground. the ma
tUre of the soil, and the amount of
packing rain received after the crop
is planted.
How to Dispose Of Crop.
After the crop is grown the main
problem confronting the dry farmer is
how to dispose of it or use il to the
best advantage. The thoughtful far
mer win already have this planned
out This brings up the economic side
OF the dry farming proposition in New
Mexico, and the one Of the most i'm
pOrtance to the general welfare of the
state and all the farmers concerned.
Whenever it is possible the farmer
should endeavOr to feed the crop at
home Turning it into finished pro-
ducts such as butter, cream, pork,
beef, wool and mutton, will give him
much more value for the crop raised
than If he disposed of it on the open
market in the form of grain or fod-
der These finished products command
q much higher price than the unfin-
.shed, and there is an unlimited mar
ket for them throughout the state.