Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1914-07-16
Upon Vast Scale Ascertain Methods Best Adapted
Meet General Conditions in Semi Arid Fund
red Pats in Two Hundred Acre Effort ~
Continue An Educational Feature Farming Operation

SVAAuAAASAS ~ - 1sAA sAfNssssAsS1eAss'
The United States governments
field station at Ardmore, South Da-I
kota, in the extreme southwestern
I portion Of the state. about three or
four miles from the Nebraska state
line and about score OF miles from
Wyoming, has undertaken q most ex-
haustiye work in the line Of expert
mentation.
It is doing, in measure, the same
class of work that the state Of South
Dakota is performing at the states
experimental station near Cotton.
wood, in Stanley county, west Of
Pierre. The state. however, is handi-
capped for want Of funds, as we un-
derstand the situation, SO that it is
4 unable to conduct its experiments up
on such an extensive scale as that
which marks the work Of the federal
station at Ardmore.
Gumbo Predominates.
+ II 4 at55st )
That belt of territory extending
from the foothills of the Rocky Noun
tains to the Missouri river, embrac-
ing many miles along the eastern bor-
der of wyoming and extending over
about half the breadth Of South Da-
kota, is known by geologists as q
senli-arid region.
The surface soil is largely impreg-
mated with gumbo, although there ara
many thousands Of acres in the ag-
gregate that are free from this kind
Of soil; but, taken rs a whole, there
is more or less gumbo mixed With
nearly all Of it, varying from minus
quantity in some localities, a small
percentage In, others, decidedly spot
/ ted with gumbo in still other sections
and merging into pure gumbo else.
where. II,
What Gunlao u.
II you will turn 10 Ihea dictionary
you will find that gumbo IS q souI
ithickened with the muscilag aginous
pods of the okra okra ii turn is de
fined as an annual plant whose greer
pods abound In nutritious musrilage
Well, omitting nutritious, I, that's
what gumbo is, when it is wet-jnsl
muscilage, thick inusciiage.
II you will turn, however, to thu
supplement, you will discover thai
the dictionary recognizes gumbo Al
belonging to "a class OF peculiar, fine
grained, silly soils, which are usual.
devoid OF true sand; but rich in al
kaline compounds, and which wheI
saturated with water become imper
vfous and soapy or waxy I'd appear
ance and to the touch
Definition Il Good.
81 The definition conforms to the facts
& no doubt. If there is any soil any
& where on earth that is more sticky
and soapy or waxy and clinging ane
grasping and persistent when mixed
with a little water so as to make i
OF a certain consistency, we'd like
/ to be piloted to it. No. no. we wonli
Il not care to be led into it Just ul
towards ii, SO that we might gaze up
on it from d safe distance.
# III not tickled with the cultivator Al
is the right moment in the drying pro
cess latter It has become sufficiently
dry to be worked UP In passably good
condition. it becomes very compact
& very hard, SO that in order to pents
Z trate it at all it would be necessary
70 dynamite it, we should Judge,
based upon our personal observation.
III Short, It's Clay.
It is, ii short. the clayiest kind OF
clay Through the countless ages
that it has been above water 1t has
gradually encouraged the growth of
vegetation, or rather yege rotation, in
spite of it's pecuiiarities. has force
itself into the soil, so that, with
ample rainfall, ii develops a good
crop of grass, Always having sufic.
lent moisture to start vegetation Id
4 the spring, d crop Of grass for ggazing
purposes may be depended upon Id
{ { this extensive region, although some
U asons the growth may not exceed i
few inches but curing: on the gronnd
before the visitation 5of fail frosta.
M It supplies forage. unless covered