The Raymer enterprise., 1915-01-28
EXPERIMENT IN TEXAS
Valuable Light Thrown on Ques-
tion Of FaIloWing.
No Larger Yields Of Corn or Cotton
From siennialiy Cropped Land
Than From Annually Cropped
Land-oats Show Increase.

Significant experiments in the prac-
tice OF following land have recently
been conducted by the United States
department OF agriculture at San
Antonio. Tex. These experiments, ac'
cording to the scientists in charge,
demonstrate that the practice under
such conditions as prevail through
out a large part OF Texas is not ad-
visable. In no case did the inyesti-
gators obtain larger crops Of corn or
cotton from biennially cropped land.
On the other hand, biennially cropped
winter oats did show a slight Increase.
This increase. however, is proba-
bly, not sufficient to Offset certain
other economic disadvantages insepa-
rable to fallowed land. While the ex-
periments are not conclusive, still
it is believed that they throw val
liable light upon the whole question
Of following for the purpose Of stor-
ing In the soil an additional supply Of
moisture.
The practice OF fallowing varies
widely in different regions. At San
Antonio the following period varied
from sixteen to nineteen months. Ac.
cording to a widespread belief land
cultivated for this period but bear
ing no crop would retain so much
moisture that any crop raised on II
the following year would benefit ma.
terially. Some persons have gone so
far as TO assert that the quantity OF
moisture would be practically double
that in land cropped annually. II
this theory could be substantiated Its
importance to semiarid regions is OBJ
vious. Unfortunately the results OF
the recent experiments which are con
tained in bulletin No. Isl OF the
United States department Of agricul'
ture. entitled. Experiments in Crop
Production on Fallow Land at San An
tonic, Tex" do not bear out this
contention.
The experiments dealt with three
crops. corn, cotton and oats. and COW
cred three years, 1911, 1912 and
1918. While no explanation is offered
for this totally unexpected result. the
facts speak for themselves. In the
case OF winter oats the biennial crop
shows very appreciable increase
but it is still doubtful whether this
increase means real profit. Fallow
land is not only unproductive, but its
cultivation actually costs very nearly
as much as does the production Of
a crop
Together with other practical ex
periments in raising actual crops the
investigators carried on series ol
measurements designed to determine
the comparative moisture content ol
annually and biennially cropped land
| These measurements showed that
there was only a slight difference In
the moisture content at planting anc
harvesting times, whether the land
had been fallow for a long or only
short period. Fallowed land shows
somewhat higher moisture in thu
plats at planting time for oats bu
otherwise the variations were neg
ligible. Summing the whole mattel
up. the investigators state that thu
results of these experiments indicate
that biennial cropping. at least o
corn, cotton and oats. is not to b.
recommended for the San Antonio
region.
In considering the application o
these experiments to other sections o
the country 1t must be borne In mind
however, that climatic conditions a
San Antonio are quite different from
those prevailing In the dry farminl
regions farther north. The mean an
nual rainfall at San Antonio is re
ported as 26.s3 inches. This woult
seem to make crop production fairl,
certain, but the rainfall is SO unequal
ly distributed and long droughts Sc
common that the beneficial effects O
this rainfall are much diminished
On the other hand. the winters are
mild. the thermometer seldom going
below Is degrees, and plant life car
grow practically throughout the year
When supplied with sufficient mois
ture, the soil produces abundant crops