Show DRY FARMERS GROW ALFALFA conceded to be the best legume for arid regions on account of its deep rooting system by I 1 L C AICHER idaho experiment station if dry farming la is to become a per manent system of agriculture it is ab sol essential that humus and nitro gen be put into the soil there are many acres in the intermountain west where no other system of agriculture will ever prevail the constant grow ing of wheat on summer fallowed tall owed land ian d must cease for such a system Is sure to deplete the soil of its plant food at the present wheat farming meth largely consist of robbing the soil of its temporarily accumulated fertil ity and then lett letting irig it lie idle until such time as enough plant food has been made available and enough wa ter has been stored to insure another good crop humus and nitrogen are very essential to successful wheat farming and in order to secure these the dry farmer must make use ot of green manure crops that will supply these necessary plant foods by doing this he Is improving the soil texture as ELS well as the water holding capacity and in dry farming that Is the great est essential beneficial effects from plowing un der alfalfa previously grown in rows tor for seed production have been noticed on succeeding wheat crops tor for as long as ten years at present alfalfa Is conceded to be the best legume for the dry lands its deep rooting tern tem fitting it admirably to seeh seek stored water at great depths deep rooted plants are decidedly preferable to shallow rooted ones because they penetrate into the subsoil in this way air and water find entrance es specially pec lally ally after the roots decay it la Is supposed that alfalfa when plowed under enriches the surface soil with potash and phosphorus from the sub soil thus bringing these substances within reach of the succeeding low rooted crops the summer fallow tallow simply pro prolong longo the time when smaller crops and consequently smaller returns must in evitable evit ably come from constant soil de it Is easier to keep a soil up to its fertility it if soil building is started when the first crop Is taken off than if it Is prolonged until the farmer is forced to it due to small returns thus tar far alfalfa planted in rows both seed and forage production has proved more successful than the broadcast stand or closely drilled rows in regions where the moisture Is not plentiful while it will not ably resolve itself into a problem ol 01 seed production due to this lack ot sufficient moisture for borago forage prodoc tion nevertheless it can be made a paying crop both financially and as a soil improver |