The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1923-05-10

grim IdIltIS 10 ldIu OH IS mucn Oh
mystery to US in Montana. You re
call that they landed there Will
"The breaking waves dashed high OF
a stern and rockbound coast" and tn
next winter many persisted from star
walton and the severity of the winter
If they had been blessed with a Mon
tana winter and a share of Montan;
resources, these lives would have
been saved.
However, God in His infinite wis
dom has seen fit to settle New Eng
land first and save the best to las
and when we cogitate on these thing:
we surreptitiously slip away to the
back of the barn with u stick anc
jack knife and thank Him that he
has permitted US to enjoy the ca
resses of our western sunshine and
has given US a knife and stick where
with to white.
In all. seriousness, now, did you ever
experience a more inspiring and ir-
resistable sensation than comes with
our spring season, when the birds are
flirting with one another in the trees,
the bees and flies are stretching their
long disused wings and the mellow
earth invites you to delve therein?
There is no mar who has spent his
boyhood on the farm, but in these
days feels the call of the land tug
ging at his heart strings. He sees
again the newly turned furrow steam
ing in the sun and the crows that are
building their nest in the big rec
over there by the creek, hopping
along the furrow, searching for the
tidbits which the pillow has unearthed.
These things, the fresh air, the I'M
discriminating appetite, the abound
ing health and vigor, the beauty of
nature, the freedom of the open and
the priceless feeling of contentment
and well-being-these are the things
that cannot be bought for gold and
make farming the greatest of all vo-
cations.
Nature has chosen the soil as the
scene of her most wonderful miracles.
A million years has she spent in lay
ing a mantle of richness over Mon
tana's planes and valleys. Day in
and day out she busily collects her
oceans of moisture from the seven
seas and God himself only knows the
original home of the snowflakes and
raindrops that she deposits on Mon
tana soil.
She is a t~ireless performer. Each
spring she wakens the soil with her
sun and rain and transforms it from
a drab expanse in to a living, grow
ing garden. There is no spot of
soil in Montana that she does not
clothe with vendure. The severity
Of the mountain tops she softens with
moss and hardy grasses and shrubs.
The mountain sides are waving acres
of forests. The valleys are beauti-
fed by an endless variety of grow
ing things and the virgin plains are
covered with nutrintious grasses.
Everywhere she has adapted some
kind of plant life to grow.
Nature is unwilling to see her
lands go barren and is willing to re-
ward him who co-operates with her
in growing her crops. She has GER
tain laws, however, which she fol-
lows herself and which no man can
violate. To understand these laws is
the first requirement of successful
farming.
Moisture is a necessity in crop
growing and it is necessary to con
serve moisture which she has collect
ed from the four corners of the earth.
This may be done by storing for ir-
rigation or by storing within the
soil where the plants are going to
grow. The latter may be accom-
plished to a very large extent by
proper tillage.
Proper tillage will protect the res
ervoir of water within the soil from
the rays of the sun and from the
wind which is always busily engaged
in filling the air and clouds with earth
drawn water.
Thousands of farmers in Montana
have found that these reservoirs can
be protected by proper care end
there is more interest in tillage prin-
ciples in Montana than ever before.
Summer tillage is not a one-year fad
but is a plan of moisture conserva-
ton that is essential to constant crop
production on non-irrigated areas.
Those who summer till, be it ever so
carefully, cannot expect one years
operations to insure good crops for
years hence.
Summer tillage must be carried on
whether through organized clubs or
through individual enterprise is im-i
material, but it must be carried on
Development Bulletin.