Show SUMMER TILLED FIELD i LINE OF WORK THAT IS NOT GEN understood soon as one crop la removed work of preparing for next should be lessening surface and oe all weeds summer tilling Is one part of better or scientific arming that applies to sections of the country where the rainfall la light and untimely and where irrigation Is not available writes H W campbell in dry farming it Is a line of work that Is far from being gen brally understood or appreciated for the reason that many know nothing about it and many more not tander standing the principles have made mis takes in attempting to carry out the work it Is so easy for us to be content in the thought that we are doing all right when we really are quite wrong then again our mind la drawn to other fields of work thai we conceive to be more important causing us to relax our consideration of the summer tilled fields during which time they deteriorate either through the loss of moisture by direct evaporation from excessive heat following rain or through the growth of weeds at no time between the harvest of one crop and the seeding of the next crop should a field be neglected it la not alone during the growing of a crop that the field needs close atten alon it it Is possible the field should never be allowed to lose all its mols ture tor there Is no time when the available plant food may be increased through nature s own medium as rapidly as when a field has no crop growing providing soil conditions are right the difference in the yield of grain from the fields handled just right as compared with other fields where work Is not correctly done or slight errors occur Is so marked that we cannot but insist more and more that before the high limit of progress can be attained in the semi arid belt there must be closer attention to details not infrequently a slight error in sum aner tilling will make a difference ol 01 10 to 20 bushels in the yield of wheat timeliness of work done Is one of the vital requisites As soon as ono crop Is removed the work should begin by loosening the surface and destroying ying all weeds or volunteer growth the alk harrow Is the best and al most the only tool that will accod this successfully this implement should be used by lapping half thus double disking cutting to a depth of three inches this will leave a loose mulch of about tour and a halt anches which stops the upward move ment and of the moisture in the soil below causing it to acau emulate in the top ot the firm boll ju below the loosened soil or mulch fur ther advantage of this loosening Is found in the more ready percolation or soaking down of the later rains as they come to get all moisture possible into the coll below and retain it there Is the one great problem and until this point is fully appreciated both as to the extent that it can be done and really means to the future crops when it Is done we shall never see the progress and successful development of the semi arid sections that are possible |