The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1915-09-23
DRY FARMING TILLAGE
Very Much Depends on Farmer
and Equipment at Hand.
Medium Sandy Loan, Free From
Hsrdpan and Clay Is Best Adapted
Works Up Easily and Holds
the Moisture Well.

While perhaps 800 acres or a half
section is as much as can ordinarily
be TILED under dry farming methods
by one man, very much depends upon
the man and equipment. 1t is a seri-
Gus mistake for anyone to undertake
to farm more tLan he can attend to
without sighting any of his work
The soil best adapted to dry farming
is a medium sandy loan, free from
gravel, hardpan and clay, writes F. A.
Randall Of Idaho in Orange Judd Farm.
er. 1t works up easily and holds mois.
ture well. For its proper cultivation
We need disk, moldboard plows, har.
rows, press drills and roller. The disk
plow is used In sagebrush and mold.
board plow for the older soils. My
plan is preparing storage for water
is deep plowlng by summer fallow
method, close narrowing and continu
Gus narrowing after rains. This keeps
the surface soil loose, freely admit
ting all precipitation and prevents rap.
Id evaporation. II also keeps the fields
very free from weeds.
The practical crops grown are wheat
oats, barley, potatoes, alfalfa and peas
Flowing must be deep. plow nothing
less than inches, the large majority
of my farm is stirred to a depth OF
10 inches at each operation. BY so
doing | provide deep reservoir for
water storage. Flowing to this depth,
of course, requires power and here is
where | differ in judgment from many
of my neighbors. We have horse pow
er, mule power. gasoline tractors and
steam engines. | have tried all and
am thoroughly convinced that there is
no power equal to good mules.
Now, good plowing means something
more than deep plowing. Half the ad-
vantages of deep plowing may be lost
by careless plowing. insist that ev-
cry furrow turned is never more in
width than the size of the share. There
must be no cut and cover proposition,
but all dirt must be completely
turned. II the ground is weedy or not
In good condition, | frequently plow
the field second time.
August is to September 20. Spring
wheat is sown just as early as 1t is
possible to get in the fields after the
frost is out. The grain is drilled in,
not broadcast, and nothing but the
press drill used. With 1t the seed is
sown at more even depth and the
surface packed over the seed. giving
bed. Disk and harrow are used to
pulverize the soil. From three to five
harrowings are given the field, the
number of operations depending on the
ground and the amount of rainfall
| do not use the disk unless the
ground is hard, weedy or sodded For
ordinary harrow, the spike or drag har-
row is always preferable. The weeder
is another, handy tool that comes into
play whenever weeds become bother.
some. The surface soil is worked up
into a mulch, usually from / to
inches deep, and must be carefully har.
rowed after every hard rain to pre-
vent its packing or forming a crust
If the field is very dry use the roller
for the purpose Of packing the surface
but under ordinary conditions. OF
where the soil contains any trace OF
moisture, the harrow is better. The
surface packer is splendid tool to use
on heavy soil, but It does little or nc
good on light soils. ! harrow wheat
at least three times after 1t is up. II
the ground crusts after rain. It Is
necessary to harrow. and II the weeds
are getting a start on the grain 1t IL
necessary to harrow. In fact, you
cannot harrow too much.