OCR Text |
Show NEED OF CONSERVING WATER Necessity of Storing Moisture In Soil During Periods of Wet Wrcthcr to Use During Drouth. The Nebraska experiment station Bulletin No. 114, on storing moisture In ihe soil, Is a report of work done at the experimental station located at North Platte It takes up (he necessity neces-sity of slorlng water In the soil during dur-ing periods of wet weather, to be used during periods of drouth. The charts show that water Is conserved con-served In Ihe soil through cultivation and that It Is necessary lo keep the surface of the soil loose and In a receptive re-ceptive condition to get the water Into the soil. Almost as much water Is got Into the soil during the early part of the season where a cultivated crop Is being grown as Is conserved by summer sum-mer tillage. This Is due to the fact that the surface soil Is kept loose enough to hold the water that falls until it can get down Into the soil, and the loose soil on the surface prevent? evaporation. It is also due to the fact that comparatively few plants are being grown in a cultivated field, and these do not draw very heavily on the water supply during the enrly pSrt of their growth. In a small grain field more plants are grown, with the result that the water Is used more rapidly and less water Is got Into the soli. In fields growing alfalfa or brome grass, where the number of growing plants are large and the surface of the soil 1 smooth and hard, it Is seldom that enough water gets Into the soil to moisten It below two or three feet. By the method of summer tilling practiced prac-ticed from 40 to 50 per cent, of the season's rainfall has been stored for the use of the subsequent crop. On this type of soil the water In the upper up-per six feet is available for the crop. |