Show rrereorrmoewneereaue DRYLAND FARMING Important Problem Is to Conserve Con-serve Moisture in the Soil I ro Properly Summer Till Land Requires Re-quires as Much or More Labor and Attention Than Raising CropOther Essentials Tho most important problem in dry land farming Is to conserve the moisture mois-ture in tho soil distributing it throughout tho season of growth The total annual precipitation Is usually sufficient to grow a large crop but some of It comes when not needed and In larger quantities than can be used and often fails to come when most needed by the crop Tho soil may be used as a vast reservoir for storing the water until It is used by tho plant Uy keeping the soil loose on top wo stop evaporation from tho soil so that all tho water may be used by tho plant In this way wo savo tho water In tho soil until It Is needed by the crop Surface tillage is a means of tapping tap-ping the rainfall Tho surface soil is mane loose and the capillary connection connec-tion between tho loose surface and tho moister soil below is broken making It more difficult for the water In tho soil to reach the surface whore It Is lost by evaporation The depth of cultivation desirable In tho formation of the soil mulch will depend on the frequency of cultivation and the amount of rainfall During n long dry period a mulch three or four inches thick Is not too much If a crust forms on tho surface water Is lost rapIdly rap-Idly by evaporation If a crust forms under the mulch it prevents tho circulation cir-culation of air in tho soil and also favors fa-vors the escape of tho water This crust must be broken by deeper cultivation cul-tivation Land is summer tilled to store tho moisture of one season in order that 1 crop mny bo grown the next The more thorough tho tillage tho hotter this moisture Is conserved When a small grain crop Is being harvested the disk should follow the binder The ground may be plowed later In the fall and packed with a harrow and soil packer pack-er As soon as the frost is gone in the spring tho ground should be made loose on top It should be kept in this condition all summer or until the next crop is seeded The disk and harrow should be used as often as necessary to keep the surface loose When tho ground is not plowed in tho fall it rill be necessary to disk early in the spring and plow before July 15 Deep plowing Increases the capacity of the soil to hold water If weeds are allowed al-lowed to grow the effects of summer tilling are lost Tho surface should never be allowed to become hard for this gives tho same conditions as leaving a hole in tho bottom of a water wa-ter tankIt permits tho escape of the water To properly summertill land requires as much or more labor and attention than raising a crop Subsurface packing is tho firming of the soil beneath the mulch This Is not done to hold the moisture butt but-t allow tho moisture to come up within with-in reach of the plant rootsto make a road for the water to climb up for water cannot go upward without a connected lIne along which to travel When tho soil Is very loose and full of air spaces the line Is unjotnted but I when the soil has been packed tho airspaces air-spaces are squeezed out tho soil I grains brought together and a fine roadbed Is mado for the upward movement move-ment of the water However the tilling of the soil Is not the sum total of dryland farming Drouth resisting varieties rotations and fertility aro also very Important factors The durum varieties of wheat are outyielding tho common spring wheat by many bushels per acre and tho best varieties of winter wheat are In turn outyielding the durum Kher son and other early varieties of oats are fast replacing tho common varieties varie-ties Alfalfa Is destined to produce a wonderfulchange In tho west both In its effect upon the soil and as a forage crop notations often give as great Increase In yield as tillage or varieties All these factors should bo given equal attention In a comprehensive com-prehensive system of crop production |