The Ordway new era., 1918-08-23
A Dry Land Crop


certain intervals as does the farmer
on the unirrigated lands of Colorado.
In turn, however, the irrigated land
farmer knows what it means to have
a good run of water and so does
the so-called highlander know what it
means to have an occasional good
rain. Even little rain helps and
right now good general rain thru
out the big unirrigated farming sec
tion to the northwest, north and
northeast of Ordway, covering the
north part of Crowley county and the
southern part of Lincoln county.
would mean thousands of dollars to
the farmers of the district in ques-
ton. 1t would mean some exceed
ingly good yields of corn even at this
later date. 1t would mean bumper
crops of beans. good fall and winter
pasture, good plump milo, ieterita
and koeling, and in all it would bring
real prosperity.
| Rains during the entire season in
the country, to the north have been
local. Some small sections have had
sufficient amount to make good
have had but little rainfall all sea-
son, and the crops are short. Some
kinds of crops in fact have failed to
make good and others more suited
to drouths are not so bad OFF. In
speaking of drouth resisting crops.
koelang seems to have the other crops
bested in every way. One of the
most distinct cases of what an eX-
cellent drouth-resisting crop koelang
is, is shown on the John Bennington
ranch. thirty-eight miles north of
Ordway. Mr.. Bennington is in n
section where but very little rain
has fallen this season. In fact, less
rain has visited his immediate section
than any other section in all the dry
land region of eastern Colorado, yet
{ he will have what might be termed
big crop of koeling. Corn in the
same field, and as many as four
varieties of it at that, has failed ut
terly to even produce few roasting
ear.. yet this koeling stands shoulder
| high with plump heads full of fully
matured and full sized grains, and
the stalks are as green AS corn could
be with all the water of a rain-belt
district. The stalk is hardy one
and has a way of storing away mois-
ture which 1t gets from some place
no one knows, and in cutting down
stalk the sap or moisture drops out
of 1t in profusion. The moisture is
not stored in the center of the stalk
as in sorghum cane, but is next to
the stalks and inside the blades. In
cutting stalk in two near the head
even at he noon hour of dry. blister
ing hot day. as much as a tablespoon
full of moisture will run out from
| the one cut section, or from under
the blades which enfold the main
stalk.
Koelang is a new crop to this part
of the country. Mr.. Bennington has
eighteen acres of it and will raise
big lot of grain feed as the crop
will be almost as good as if rains
had been abundant. 1t is a little
like milo, feterita or cane. The wiry
tendral holding the individual grain
even has the appearance of broom
corn. while there is also much re-
semblance of sorghum cane. The
seed or grain itself also appears much
like feterita. From what Mr.. Ben
nington has to show on his place at
! the present time this new crop would
indicate that koelang is almost so
drouth-resisting that it will produce
without rains whatever. providing
there is sufficient moisture to get the
seeds sprouted and up in the spring.
On this ranch, which is unlike
many other ranches in that section
of the country, is a field of about
forty acres of beans. If rain had
come the past week or will come
within a few days 400 pound bean
yield will be secured wherein the
need of rain will hold the yield down
! to 100 or $50 pounds.
Water is all that the country needs.
The soil is good and the tillable lands
are vast, and as an illustration of
what water will do, on the John Ben
...... a. .-.l5 h.
town block in size which Is literally
filled with vegetable crops. vining
plants, flowers and the like. 1t is
in fact a beauty spot to behold. To
enumerate the many kinds of garden
truck being grown in this garden
would be necessary to make writ
ten invoice for there is everying most
one can think of. besides flowers and
towering plants of an endless number
of kinds. and what is more every
thing is prolific. 1t all comes about
because of the fact that near the
house and at one end of the garden
is an eighteen foot dug well which
does not permit of its being pumped
dry. A gasoline engine pops away
and the water flows out onto the
garden thru little irrigation ditch {
es and production is a certainty. Mr.. /
Bennington's father supervises this .
part of the work. but he also does
other work and has a good sized
field crop out which takes most of
his time.
What is done on the Bennington
ranch. of course is what can and
is being done pn a good many other
ranches in the dry land sections
where drouth-resisting crops are put
out and where well water for irriga-
tion can be found to make a big
head of cabbage or a prolific water
melon vine grow where only lone
sickly cactus grew before.