Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-06-16
The Value Of Cultivation.

There are very few persons who
realize and appreciate the value Of
thorough cultivation in the garden OF
nelds. There are experiments to show
that an additional cultivation or two
at he proper time will greatly in
crease the yields and quality Of the
crop. It 10 a great deal more essen
tial here to cultivate frequently and
stir the ground SO that air can enter
1t and warm 1t up. than 1t is further
south where The ground gets warmed
up much more quickly.
The earth absorbs heat just in pro-
portion as the evaporation OF water
is limited by. cultivation. When the
ground gets hard on top, all the mois.
ture is drawn to the surface. and ali
the heat that might be absorbed by
the soil is utilized in evaporating the
moisture. and the soil remains cold
n consequently tho crops do not
grow. Crops grow and produce more
nearly In proportion to the cultivation
given than any other factor.
1t Has Rained.
Since the rain. the soil needs stir
ring. because of the fact that 1t is
packed down whore It was cultivat-
ed, and evaporation IN taking place
rapidly. Cultivation also destroys
weeds that are gaining a start, and
later will be taking a great deal Of
the moisture. But the principal value
of, cultivation Is to stir the soil SO
that 1t will hold moisture, and at the
same time warm up.
At this time. all seeding except
some late garden stun should be COM
pleted. There is no question but that
the later seeding of small grain il
much more apt to be damaged by dry
weather. rust, blight, ETC., than the
early seeding. and 1t is only the farm
or who is trying to do too much who
does not have his see all in the
ground by the first Of June.
Much Late Seeding.
owing to the efforts made by many
farmers to put in extra acreage, there
mas been an unusual amount Of late
seeding. This has also been made pos
sible by the fact that we have had
very favorable weather for preparing
the ground for the past six weeks, and
the rain ha come just at the time 1t
was. most needed to start this late
seeding. It is thought that very little
damage has been done by the dry
weather. and with favorable condi-
tions from now on there has been a
great advantage in the dry weather.
q there are hundreds of acres
seeded that otherwise would not have
been put into anything, especially in
the wetter parts of the Red River
Valley.
Very little summer following will
be done, owing to the TACT that ev-
eryone seems to realize that there is
going to be a demand for all kinds of
crops, and consequently they are do
Ing their best to see land hat would
otherwise nave been summer fallow-
ed.
Watch for Diseases.
The department of agriculture. and
agricultural college sent out warnings
to farmers everywhere to watch their
crops for unusual diseases. Anyone
wanting Information about any un-
usual appearance on their crops
should at one get in touch with the
tags tina will carry any ordinary sized
sample Of grain or garden crop to
the laboratory. where investigations
will be made as to what is the trou-
bic and remedies will be suggested.
Anyone noticing any flies or insects
rusts or blights. on n crop should
at once get in touch with the agricul-
trouble is and also If possible, what
remedy should be applied.
There never was a time when such
things were more essential than now
and they certainly should not be. neg
lected. The a has started out
very favorably for all kinds Of crops.
Cut worms in some cases have al
ready done some damage to garden
crops and corn. However, there is no
remedy to be applied to this, except
to find and kill the worms, or induce
them to eat poison. The trouble ie
that the larvae was in the ground last
fall. and came out and began work as
soon as the conditions were favorable.
A little later. al the potatoes and
cabbage get larger. bugs and worms
may be expected to begin their work.
Directions for applying the different