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Show DRY FARMING TILLAGE Very Much Depends on Farmer and Equipment at Hand. Medium Sandy Loam, Free From Hardpan and Clay Is Best Adapted Works Up Easily and Holds the Moisture Well. Whil perhaps 320 acres or a half section is as much as can ordinarily be tilled under dry farming methods hy one man, very much depends upon the man and equipment. It is a serious seri-ous mistake for anyone to undertake to farm more than he can attend to without slighting any of his work. The soli best adapted to dry farming Is a medium sandy loam, free from gravel, hardpan and clay, writes F. A. Randall of Idaho in Orange Judd Farmer. Farm-er. It works up easily and holds moisture mois-ture well. For its proper cultivation we need disk, moldboard plows, harrows, har-rows, press drills and roller. The disk plow Is used Wi sagebrush and mold-board mold-board plow for the older soils. My plan is preparing storage for water is deep plowing by summer fallow method, close harrowing and continuous continu-ous harrowing after rains. This keeps the surface soil loose, freely admitting admit-ting all precipitation and prevents rap-Id rap-Id evaporation. It also keeps the fields very free from weeds. The practical crops grown are wheal, oats, barley, potatoes, alfalfa and peas. Plowing must be deep. I plow nothing less than 7 inches, the large majority of my farm is stirred to a depth of 10 inches at each operation. By so doing 1 provide a deep reservoir for water storage. Plowing to this depth, of course, requires power and here is where I differ In Judgment from many of my neighbors. We have horse power, pow-er, mule power, gasoline tractors and steam engines. I have tried all and am thoroughly convinced that there is no power equal to good mules. Now, good plowing means something more than deep plowing. Half the advantages ad-vantages of deep plowing may be lost by careless plowing. I insist that every ev-ery furrow turned is never more in width than the size of the share. There must be no cut and cover proposition, but all dirt must be completely turned. If the ground Is weedy or not In good condition, I frequently plow the field a second time. I begin sowing winter wheat from August 15 to September 20. Spring wheat is sown just as early 'as it is possible to get in the fields after the frost is out. The grain is drilled In, not broadcast, and nothing but the press drill used. With it the seed is sown at a more even depth and the surface packed over the seed, giving it a much better covering and seed bed. Disk and harrow are used to pulverize the soil. From three to five harrowings are given the field, the number of operations depending on the ground and the amount of rainfall. 1 do not use the disk unless the ground is hard, weedy or sodded. For ordinary harrow, the spike or drag barrow bar-row is always preferable. The weeder is another handy tool that comes into play whenever weeds become bothersome. bother-some. The surface soil is worked up into a mulch, usually from 1 to 2 inches deep, and must be carefully harrowed har-rowed after every bard rain to pre- vent its packing or forming a crust. If the field is very dry I use the roller for the purpose of packing the surface, but under ordinary conditions, or where the soil contains any trace of moisture, the harrow is better. The surface packer is a splendid tool to use on heavy soil, but it does little or no good on light soils. I harrow wheat at least three times after it is up. If the ground crusts after a rain, it is necessary to harrow, and if the weeds are getting a start on the grain it is necessary to harrow. In fact, you cannot harrow too much. |