The Springfield herald., 1915-04-09
A Weekly ak
On Dry Farming

| 80 S~3AS~os
A precipitation such as we had this
last season comes only once in fifty
years: but it makes little difference if
it never comes again for crops may be
raised every year IL the farmer knows
how.
| 1.-The above text. taken from the Dover West
ern Farm Life, we shall keep at the head of these
talks for the volume of fact that 10 l. led down
in the few words there is in It'll.
The Rainfall
The Sentinel's observations of
last week on the need of a change
of text in our weekly talks on
dry-farm methods, is the inspira-
tion of the rain talk this week.
The Sentinel says: while
there was an unusual amount of
rainfall last year, yet it has been
equaled or exceeded seven times
in the proceeding twenty-three
years, and 1895 to 1900 it was
equaled or excelled four times"
The Sentinel thinke our text is
! misleading; but the only thing of
which we are as yet convinced
is that she text strictly con.
forms to The facts, and that it is
the Sentinel's figures that arc
misleading.
Now to fully understand this.
let us get the exact status of
meteorological conditions in Ba-
ca comfy last year. so far as
concerns its rainfall.
AS an explanation to our read
ers, the Sentinel bases its con
tention on rain records that
were kept at Blame from 1891
to 1911, and at Two Buttes since
that time, the records for the
time and locality being practical
ly reliable.
These records show that
last year at Two Buttes there
was precipitation of Is 44 in
ches, and that these figures have
been equaled or excelled seven
times in the twenty three years
preceding as stated.
In this case, what was the re-
markable thing of last year above
proceeding years? 1t was this,
that last year there was not one
dry nook or corner in the whole
of Baca county; and the still
more remarkable thing is that
what was true of Baca county
was true of the entire short
grass territory of the entire
eastern slope of the Rocky
mountains.
The remarkable thing of last
year wasn't the great superabun-
dance of rainfall in any particu-
lar locality, but its precipitation
when needed, and its equitable
distribution over the county.
From the very opening of
spring until the crops were made
there " ere rains over the whole
of Baca county that couldn't
have been more timely if order
ed. They were almost invariably
of the mild order, and the guam
tity just what was needed.
This was the first remarkable
feature of the season. The Sec
ond was that when crop harvest
ing time came, the rains We're
discontinued until the body of
the work was done, and then
for small grain p,trposes there
came another gentle, soaking, all
over-Baca-county rain. 1t then
gave US good long spell of nice
weather for getting in fall crops
and getting in the winters sup
ply of fuel.
An Interpretation of our text
doesn'. mean that a locality
would have to wait fifty years
for such a precipitation as it had
last year, nor is that implied by
the use of the text.
There are two striking pecu-
liarit;es of rains in this highland
territory. Tie first is that local
ities are wholly Independent Of
each other as to precipitatiops.
The second is that almost invari-
ably for great ter or less number
of times rains follow each other
in their prescribed paths or To-
calities.
So strikinglv true is this that
in the dryest years that have