The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1915-12-03

tSimple Talks on Dry F arming;
Sweat Of the Earth Explained
Ground Perspires Like Human Beings


| few inches, and that is true in a
'ense. But wheat has roots that are
almost invisible that go down Co a
depth of many feet, following the
pores right into hard ground. The
theory that the roots go only as deep
as 1t is piowed is not always true
A plant having large root like a
sugar beet cannot follow the pores,
and 1t has more trouble growing be-
low the level of the blowing; but for
the grain crops, the blowing serves
chiefly these purposes: To form a
soft seed bed in which the larger
roots can grow, to make It easier to
set free the elements in the soil, and
to form blanket to store the mois-
ture while the roots get hold of it.
Soil that has never been plowed or
stirred and never exposed to the air
and sun, does not readily let go of
it's elements such as plants feed up
ON. Stir the soil and get the air
into it and let the moisture act upon
it, and it gives up it's elements
Freezing and thawing are the most
powerful agencies for doing this.
This is the reason why deep blowing
in the spring does not improve, but
rather impairs the crop of that year,
Summer following has these ad-
vantages: 1t causes the accumula-
ton of the sweat from below, and
of the rain and snow water from
above, and it will store them both If
the ground is narrowed or worked
properly after each rain. 1t enables
the air and moisture and frost to
release enough of the plant food to
make ready the feast for plants con-
shutting the next crop. 1t is like
preparing a meal and eating it at
meal time as compared with eating
cold lunches often. The one gets
results, the other Is not very salts
factory. The reason why the soil is
not easily exhausted by the summer
fallOw method is that is recoups dur
ing the off year.
Deep blowing does not necessarily
improve the crop. 1t may even be
disadvantage by affording air spaces
below the point where the action of
the harrow and drag can reach to
pulverize it. But it is a certainty
that no good comes of very shallow
or slipshod blowing. A man must
not expect to get good crop by the
3ut-and-cover method. Every hard
spot in the field is a break in the
coating that holds the moisture and
through this break the earth is pour
ing its invisible perspiration. A man
should be careful to have the whole
field plowed as nearly the same depth
as possible and absolutely all plow-
ed and all narrowed and dragged and
rolled the same. Spotted work is
not only waste of seed and work
but leak in the blanket intended to
hold the moisture. 1t causes the loss
Of more than that simple hard spot;
1t leaks sidewise to the damage of
larger spot than what is hard or
neglected. When our wild land is
plowed for the first time it is very
loose, and special effort should be
made to get it firm in the spring be-
fore evaporation begins. 1t should
always be left rough during the win
ter so the frost can work on as much
surface as possible; it holds the drift
ing snow better and holds the water
better when the snow melts and the
rains fall. It should be narrowed as
early in the spring as 1t will do to
work it. Then it should be worked
after each rain, but nothing need
be done to loosen 1t, such as discing,
unless something has happened to
make 1t hard like it was before it
was plowed.
When we get so we can raise crops
each year by dry farming, the prob
lem of making 1t profitable will be
only partly solved. We must find
some way to maintain hogs or other
stock on the place to utilize the
waste and roughness; and as this is
only available for part of the year,
we must find some kind of forage
crop that can be utilized for pastur-
age for hogs. Field peas or soy
beans or some other forage crop that
enriches the land through it's root
system and is short lived, might be
raised on the summer fallow for this
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