El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-10-14

Upon the Inauguration Of the
farmers cooperative demonstra-
- ton work in the south it was
found necessary to outline some OF the
fundamental principles OF good farm
ing. and I am going to mention a few
Of them at this time
% Prepare a deep and thoroughly
pulverfzed seed bed, well drained,
break i'm the fan to a depth Of s, 10 and
Il inches. according to the soil, with
implements that viii not bring TOO
much Of the subsoil to the surface.
ca Use seed Of the best variety. IN
teIligently selected and carefully
stored.
80 Secure a high content of humus
in the soil by the use Of legumes, barn
yard manure and farm refuse
Break Land Deeply.
At this time a few suggestions re
garding the necessity OF adhering
strictly to those principals mentioned
above will not be out Of place. As a
rule most of the land in the Rio Grande
valley is not broken deep enough
am sure that the farmers who stop 10
think about this will readily see the
necessity and the advantage gained by
deep breaking. The presence OF heat
air and moisture is essential to chem
zeal and germ action in the preparation
OF plant food in the soil The depth 70
which these penetrate the soil depends
upon the depth Of blowing, provided
the soil is well drained. There is no use
plowing down into subsoil full OF
water.
Break Land in Fall.
It is best to pillow in the fall, and
am sure that every observant farmer
has noted that seeds terminate more
quickly and the plants grow more rap
idly on fall breaking than spring
breaking. Fail breaking renders more
plant food available and the prepare
ton Of the land in the fall saves work
I'm the spring when everything on the
farm is crowding- No principle in agrl-
culture has been more thoroughly
demonstrated than the value OF deep
breaking and a thoroughly pulverized
seed bed.
The Flemish farmers were the first to
follow the better lines Of agriculture
after the dark ages. They devoted their
efforts TO three main points; ID the
frequent and deep pulverization OF the
soil, 90 the accumulation OF manure
and 90 the destruction Of weeds. Those
are the three principles which We need
TO pay particular attention to IN this
soils Deficient in Humus.
Our soils are deficient in humus. and
we should at once begin to add to the
/ soil more barnyard manure and turn
under all stubble, and old refuse. ]
I notice one practice which seems TO be
| very prevalent in this valley. and that
i is the burning Of the old damaged al
/ falfa- No one can estimate the loss II
/ the soil both from tn standpoint OF
! fertility and the physical condition OF
I the soil by burning this alfalfa ] an
J sure that II the farmers realized Wnai
/ a big loss il meant TO them, they would
Z cease 10 burn this damaged hay. Nc
Z one wants to run a business az loss
/ and this is just one item that means 2
loss to the farmer. There has been q
( great deal Of complaint about this sol
! cracking open, crusting ana being marc
/ to work The trouble is a lack o.
/ humuss and the damaged hay is one
means Of adding humus to the soil Tn
I farmer should consider this very care
fully before burning any more hay Of
stubble- - a.. ,r..,.
The third principle which the Flemish
I farmer practised was the destruction
! of weeds. This is certainly one Of thu
| things whihc we need to do in this val
ley. We should try to keep the weeds
from going to seed and thereby grad
/ ually eliminate the nOXious ones
/ A great deal has been said in tht
last few months about the worst pes
we have to contend with. and that Is
| the johnson grass I would like to sec
] some concerted action taken, both IL
I the Mesilla and FL PasO valleys, 10 TIC
the lands OF this pest
select Good Seed.
The second principle Of good farmin
/ which should be mentioned at this time
! is that of selecting good seed for plant
/ ing It will soon be time for planting
fan grains and the farmers should
plant nothing but first class seed this
/ year Select seeds that are well ma
tured. plump and free from foreign
I seed. All small grains should be treated
I with the formaldehyde treatment tc
/ prevent the sinking smut and loose
I smut The treatment is as follows: Mix
/ one pint Of formaldehyde with 50 gal
/ Ions Of water There are several ways
/ 70 wetting the seed. but good results
! can be obtained by either immersing the
I seed IN the solution or sprinkling the
4 solution on the seed. In order to make
I the treatment the most effective, the
/ Sad must he fhornunhlv wet Fifty