The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1917-09-21

abundance, are either dry or nearly 60.
Our almost famous "town pump" which
stood all the calls Of last years drought
is getting TO be sucker ss.
The Red river is at the lowest ebb in
the memory Of the oldest inhabitants.
The Pembina, which drains q country
more than hundred miles west OF here
and flows through large lake, is about
ten feet wide at the very mouth and
about six inches deep at most.
The Tongue river which rises in the
hills at the west side of the county is for
the greater part of its course abeolutely
dry. A few pools are left here and there
sometimes a mile apart from which far
mers are getting scanty supplies for
stock, and many Tongue river farmers
will soon be compelled to haul water
from the Pembina, as we'll water is
scarce most any time in that section.
OF course the ground is very dry and
makes plowing very difficult.
The above might sound to the strang-
er as sort Of wall Of woe. and he would
naturally think the county was in a
rather bad state generally, but such is
not the fact. These extremes have
caused some loss and considerable in
convenience, but there still remains the
fact that in spite of the drawbacks of
these extremes of weather, that as a
whole Pembina county has a fair crop
and the farming community is prorper-
Gus. AS we remarked, the distribution
of showers was not altogether even,
either in time or place, and this made
considerable difference to individual
farmers. but as whole they are getting
fair crops of wheat. Barley and oats
ale generally poor as they are put in
later and the want of moisture made
sprouting and growth rather poor.
The coldest winter, latest spring and
earliest fall freezing, hottest week in
July, and lack of rain all the season are
the record extremes.
But We doubt if there Is another land
on earth that could have stood the vicis-
situdes of the extremes of heat and
cold and the lack of moisture and pro-
duced as good crops.
This three or four feet Of black loan
which forms the surface soil has bot
tom of yellow clay that holds water.
Last winter, with it's other extremes,
gave US very heavy fall of snow for
this part of the country. In the spring
that snow melted and much Of the mois-
ture was absorbed in the ground. That
is where this land ''conserves" it's mois-
ture for future use. The soil is as fine
IN texture as -four and has wonderful
powers of ABSORPTION for moisture.
Hence. if we get enough melted snow in
the early spring, and few showers
along later, we can still raise good
crop even if the rainfall is abnormanly
short.
Another extreme of the present year,
which Is advantageous is the fact that
never has the harvest and threshlng
been done with better weather condi-
tions. BY the time this is read, and the
same weather continues, the threshers
will have finished and will have lost less
than one day on account of moisture.
In fact some threshers think that lit
tie rain would have helped as the dry
grain is hard to thresh. The samples of
grain coming to the elevators is fine
both in weight and looks. The wheat
just looks the rich brown color that it
will make later in the baked loaf.
But now we want some rain and a
good deal some. We want it now be.
cause of the hard nlowinr and wa want