Show FARMING DRY LANDS Cultivation Puts Land in Condition Condi-tion to Retain Moisture Bummer Tillage Furnishes Period for Preparation of Soil Before Crop Is Sown Storing Enough Water to Carry Crop Through By Prof E A Burnett The development of the agricultural resources of western Nebraska seems to depend largely upon adapting the crops grown and tho methods of tillage til-lage practiced to the natuial conditions condi-tions of the country While there are largo areas of land which are too sandy for cultivation there aro still gloat areas of good agricultural land unoccupied except for grazing purposes pur-poses There can bo no question about the possibility of using much of this land for cultivated farms provided pro-vided these farms are Intelligently handled and a consldeiablo area of each farm is held In gross for pasture purposes so that tho live stock Indus tIT shall continuo to bo one of the prlnlcpal industries of tho country Where there is a shortage of mols tore from whatever cause It will ifmdily be seen that anything which can be done to storo the moisture as it falls and save it for subsequent use will be of very great value in growIng grow-ing crops It has been found beyond question that cultivation puts the land In tho best condition to take up the rain as it falls and also to retain that moisture In the subsoil until such time as It Is needed by tho crop Cultivation Cul-tivation of the land makes the surface porous so that It easily takes In water This same porous condition of tho surfaco also very gieatly retards evaporation of the water by the sun and winds Tho tests which have been made both In crop production and in tho weighing of soil samples to determine the amount of water contained agree as to the result of tillage upon conserving water In the soil Undcr the best methods of tillage til-lage very little moisture is lost from the soil by evaporation when no crop Is growing upon the land The use of water by the crop Is fairly well understood by all farmers and still it is probable that the amount of water required to grow a crop is not very well understood While it is difficult to determine ex uctly the amount of water used by any ClOp it Is probable that from 400 to GOO pounds of water will bo requited in the dry regions to produce one pound of dry matter In tho plant In other words from 400 to COO tons of water will be required to produce one ton of hay of corn or of wheat Including In-cluding both grain and forage Stated In a still different way from four to aft Inches of water passes through the plant for each ton of dry matter produced pro-duced It will be seen then that If eight or ten inches of rainfall Is available avail-able for the use of the plant when needed this should produce nearly two tons of dry matter per acre I It Is probable that not much more than half of tho rainfall of a region is available for the use of plants even under the best methods of cultivation so that tho necessity of using the best methods of conserving the rain which falls is apparent Tho advantage of summer tillage Is that it furnishes n period for the ptep aiotlon of the soil before the crop Is sown storing up enough water In the land to germinate the seed readily and provide for its growth until it is strong and well established and often furnishing an amount beyond this to help carry the crop through any period pe-riod of drought until the seasonable rains will carry It to maturity Where a crop is grown every year on the land It will be seen that the mots turo In the soil Is continuously drawn upon so that in every dry period pe-riod tho water is reduced to a minimum mini-mum to so low a point in fact that the plant is unable to get any more water out of tho soil and is Injured by drought A season of summer tillage stores tho water of one year so as to add It to tho natural rainfall of tho season following using tho rainfall of two seasons to produce a single crop Often it is not necessary to use so long a period of summer tillage as this but this method makes possible tho cultivation of great areas of land at a profit where the land could not profitably bo cropped every year |