The Springfield herald. (Springfield, Baca County, Colo.) 1887-1919, 1915-02-19
A Weekly ak
On Dry Farming.

We in the west are inclined
to believe in extensive farming
rather than in the intensive.
provided of course the cX.ensive
is not beyond the work here re.
quired.
We believe in good farming
here as we'll as anywhere; but
we believe if the attempted
good farming here were to get
down to the intensive farming OF
the eastern states, it would not
only be IL waste of time and
money, but that the man under
taking it would starve to death.
We will try TO make our mean
ing clear. Whenitisd dry, and your
field is clear of weeds, and you
have the necessary soil mulch,
we do not believe that stirring
that mulch again before there is
a rain is worth five cents to a
crop; and the sequence is that by
consequence Of this fact, less
work here is required for the
same results, by reason of the
dryness of the country.
There is another thing in con-
nection with this fact, that by
reason of our little rain the soil
does not at any time become SO
compacted, and consequently re.
quires less work to keep it in
the same cultivated condition.
Just what one man can actual.
ly farm here is for each man
to decide for himself; but
for him tn farm to the
limit. and still do good farming.
requires certain tools, without
which, whether he intends to
farm much or little, he is up
against u pretty hard PROPOSE
ton in this short grass country.
We do not here need whole
yard full of tools, as they have
it back east. Indeed, if a man
has three certain tools, and the
necessary horse flesh, he is pre-
pared for that extensive farm
ing, as well as being prepared
for making money.
One of those tools is good
lister-a two-row one if there is
sufficient horse flesh. With the
right kind of horse power, get
ting right down to ten acres a
day, in three wee,ts that exten-
sive crop will be in the ground.
Or course there will be days dur
ing these three weeks when you
can't work, but from 12O to
160 acres can easily be planted
in that time.
The second tool needed to
make any kind of farming here
il success is d tWo-row disc cul-
fivator-and the man who hasn't t
get it isn't prepared to farm,
and stands little chance of sue
Cess.
a great lot OF success in both
plan nting and cultivatin4 con-
sists in rapid-fire work. There
ale,times in cultivating when
tn" whole crop ought to be got
ten over in a few days-after
hard dashing rains; and in or.
der to do this there ought to be
six or eight horses, in order to
change about.
We believe that a man with
six or eight good horses can
easily plant to row stuff ard cul-
livate l6O acres, and do it right;
but as stated before, each man
must decide the exsct amount
for himself
The third tool needed is one
row bintler-and the mar courts
failure who hasn't got it That
crop should be harvested wher
ready, and you cart bank or
your neiRhbnr doing your work.
i Besides the danger of losing
the crop, the cost of hiring il
done would be enough to pay for
a machine in year or two il
you cut up as much of the cror
as you ought to.
We believe these three tools
make a pretty good equipment
in the rainless west, but of course
there are other miner tools that
will be needed, among them both
n v,lDxu or 4 r. bo~ro,,. l~,,& r,,1 H.,