Tombstone epitaph., 1915-10-17
FARMING ON DRY LAND
Deep Flowing Gives Proper Sub-
 soil Conditions.
subsurfaee Packing Idea 10 Over Worked In Certain ouarters- Weeds Are Worst Enemies of
 Average Western Farmer.

Our agricultural friends who come from the humid states often tell us that dry farming is nothing but progressive farming-good farming. This is a seri. ous misconception of the facts Dry farming is a branch by itself, a new agriculture. writes Maj. J. s. Mur. phy in Denver Field and Farm The soil and water physics are entirely diff ferent; for. speaking broadly. dry farming is done in capillary waters. while humid farming is done with free water In dry farming the water is al- ways going down and the top drying up. while fin humid farming the free water is always helping out the surface moisture and supplying the roots in the seedbed. Therefore. we find it impossible to raise profitable crops without the right subsoil conditions. which can be obtained by one method only-deep blowing.
 Some folk think this deep blowing proposition is hobby with me. and that l am riding 1t too hard I think Inherently and l repeat. Tt is the es- sence of dry farming" And there is another thing my experience con vinces me of, and 1t is this: Water that is held in the ground from six to ten months. the longer the better. is much more effective in producing healthy growth than water recently placed there or water placed there about the time the roots are ready to use 1t. It seems to SC through a sort Of aging or ripening process-and 1 believe that more fertility is thus lib erated and made available; also 1 be- lieve it creates and maintains condi. tions favorable to the preparation of plant food. The gardener and fruit grower in the irrigated country likes to get the water in the ground at least two months before he uses 1t for the simple reason have here given: it lib- crates fertility
 Regarding subsurface packing. which is a great hobby of H. w. Campbell. who has preached a pretty good gos- pei generally. l do not take SO much stock in it. My own experience leads hiC tO tAc tudt lule lucd iS overworked in certain quarters.
 In the first place. no packer has yet been made that will pack the bottom of the furrow-slice when the blowing is ten inches deep and this is what c packer is supposed to do: and. again. summer-tilled land or fall-plowed land needs no packing if it has been plowed deep enough, for the contact between the furrow-slice and the subsoil is com plete after the blowing has laid over winter. Of course. in comparatively shallow spring blowing. l believe the packer is helpful; but have never yet seen packer that did any more effect i've work than a good disk. set straight and weighted down.
 The average observant farmer will admit that weeds are his worst enc mics. There are thousands of fields in the West which ten years ago were native sod and that are today abounding with Russian thistle, wild cats. sunflowers and other vicious weeds; and in the most of those fields the weeds are taking more moisture
 
 and fertility than the crop. The weeds must be eradicated. In the lexicon of the dry farmer it is a crime against heaven and the human race to permit weeds to grow and go to seed. When you become dry farmer you will grow to so detest weeds that you will get up in the night and walk mile to kill one. Another practice l fird invaiu- able is narrowing growing grain l first sweep over the field with light harrow just as the first blades are con- ing through the ground and as often thereafter as necessary. depending on the conditions have narrowed grain only once after 1t started to come up. and l have narrowed 1t three times again. depending on conditions It takes courage. too. when you are unac- customed to it. to put harrow into a field of wheat that looks good and thrift