The Springfield herald., 1915-03-19
A Weekly Talk
On Dry Farming.

years: but it makes little Terence il
it never comes again for crops l.oy be
raised every year II the farmer know
how.
1.-The above text. taken from the rTar West
ern Farm Life, We shall KEGS Ut til, Lead Of thess
talks for the volume of fact that is bolsd dowu
in the few words there is in i'll.
For the reason that this is the
exact time in the year for GEL
tain preliminary farming opera
tions, and that doing or not do
ing such work may make the
difference of crop or no crop.
we are hack-tracking some this
week for the sole purpose Of en-
phasizing by re-iteration of sun,e
cultural efforts at sealing up and
Thus holding the moisture that is
now in the ground.
In the east the matter of seal
ing up or canning the rnois lTa
in the springtime is never
thought of, just for the simple
reason that there it doesn't have
to be thought of. The advanc-
ing summer may, and otter.
does. bring them dry weather;
butin the spring there is always
an abundance of wetness to car
ry them over planting time.
1t follows consequently that
The eastern man comes here with
out any strenuous realization OF
the Importance of the special
methods here required to meet
conditions peculiar to d.'y-land
farming.
Whether this is an agricultural
country or not, we want here to
impl ess you with the TACT that if
you don't this year raise a crop
YOU CAN'T LAY 1T ONTO
BACA COUNTY. Indeed, that
is really true OF every year. 1t
is simply a matter of knowing
how and doing. as indicated in
the text at the head of this VIII ssa-
up.
The work that now should be
done is important in all cases,
and especially important in all
hard land and new ground. in
sandy soils that have been ong
and well titled it is not so vital,
though even here it is the safer
plan, and at all events always
pays good dividends on the
work done.
But on new ground, whether
sandy on not. it is the only safe
plan. On that new ground you
may have an abundance Of mois-
tule ,..-cn you start planting
say the first OF tenth OF May;
but righ then that south west
wind = gat ting in it's work, and
nothing having been done TO seal
up the moisture it is possible
that when you are half through
planting you may be surprised
to find that you have moisture
to sprout your stuff but not
enough to send its roots to the
moisture below.
Even if you succeed in getting
your planting done and your
stuff all up. if it has turned OF
dry you will ind upon investiga-
tion that your deep moisture up
on which Your crop was depend
ing for its support, is all gone,
such moisture having risen 10
the heated surface and there
made it's escape. Even in old
ground it is wonderful how this
moisture sometimes goes.
How different this picture to
the one in which you find, when
you are through planting, and
it has been long dry, that the
moisture is there practically a.
it vas i'll the early spring.
To have this moisture As a Ger.
tainty, or not to have it as g prob
ability, is the problem that is
now up to you; and the solution
is that preliminary preparation
OF the seed bed.
How to do this work isn't So
material as doing it. You nav
go in with disc harrow, cutting
as deep as possible; or you may
go in with a lister, listing shall.
lower than for planting, of course
J..