OCR Text |
Show f PROSPECTS FOR j DRY LAND FARM. I Indications Favorable for Crops the Coming Season. i SOIL MOIST JUST BELOW SURFACE. i Wheat, Rye, Orass and Alfalfa Plats are Beginning to Look Orcen. Testing- For Moisture. Jf there Is ono industry ubovo another anoth-er In Iron county, Id which public in tcrcat should center at the presont tlmo, it Isdry land farming. Wo huvc r-&v-'- .t lipy amount of the finest soil la ilio country, and tho boIo orawback In Mb past hus been an Insufficiency of water for Irrigating purposes. Projects for y. rcsorvolrlng and conserving the pro- clous fluid havo been freoly discussed and experimented upon in a stnull way but without uny satisfactory results. , But tho establishment of a dry land ex perimental farm in Iron county by the statu, should it prove as successful us -" .present prospects would lndleato, gives promtso of settling tho difficulty and of converting a desert wasto into productive pro-ductive and pleasant homes and farms. t And in no part of tho county is tho dry land farm likely to prove a creator boon than in tho Parowan valley, be-causo be-causo of tho fact that heroarteslan wells ;. "" are procured with comparatively llttlo dlllleulty, which enables the homo builder to havo a garden spot, orchard, flowers and shrubbery about his home, . besides un abundance of purest water for culinary purposes. Yet tho supply of artesian water is not sufficient to Irrigate Ir-rigate a largo farm and make tho labors la-bors of tho husbandman prolltabte. Tt remalnsi-v ' .stato to demonstrate fjLhi W&ffi f arId lftnd 'arming """atia when this hud been done tho last obstacle in the wuy of homo building In Iron county will havo been removed, and a great influx in our population can bo expected. WHAT WE SAW AT THE FARM. On tho 20th ult. representatives of The Record took occasion to visit and inspect tho condition of tho dry land farm, und while the spring has been a decidedly backward one, many of the plats give fair promise of producing a crop. Two plats of ryo looked especially especi-ally well, and tho blades raised to their full height would probably measure a foot. Wheat of course, Is most backward, back-ward, particularly that sown this year, a good portion of tho lo aero field bo-gins bo-gins to look green and Inviting. '"Nt A casual survey of tho soil from tha- drlvo-wuys would indicate that it was dry and dusty, but on closer Inspection wo found that within an inch or such a mutter of tho surfaco, just below the covering of mulch, or dust, it wtis nice and moist. There aro but few clods and no baked surfaces. Yet tho culti- vatlon of tho field does not entirely comport with tho conditions prescribed by tho best authorities on dry land farming' In tho first place the ground is all newly brokon, being plowed last fall for tho first tlmo, und a great muny brush route aro still In ovldencc. In tho next place, no part of It has boon subsolled, which is considered lndlspen-slble lndlspen-slble to tho best results in dry land farming, so that 6hould tho experiments experi-ments tho present season fail to fill our most sanguine expectations, thoro should bo no occasion for misgivings. Manager Rowley' who wus found at work with a small forco of men boring twenty-fivo wells with a two-inch auger for tho purposo of procuring samples of tho soil ut vurlous doplhs and localities to bo tested for their moisture at the Utah Experiment Station, Informed us that about two-thirds of tho field has been seeded. Some moro will be plant J ed to corn u llttlo lator, and some will not be sown at all tho presont season. Tho greater part of tho crop was plant ed lust fall, being for tho most part put j in with tho press drill. Very llttlo !wns sown broadcast, nnd that llttlo has proved very unsuccessful, "Loft House" wheat seems to bo tho most popular variety, and doubtless past experience has shown this sort to bo tho best f udupted to dry land farming. I TESTING THE SOIL. M As before stated Managor Rowloy r wus engaged in boring holes in various parts of tlio field, which woro pro- I i i i L. ... scribed by tho directors at Logan, for tho purposo of securing samples of tho soil. These holes, as far us practical, woro bored to a dejith of nlno feet, nnd the product of each foot when brought to the surfaco was carofully mixed and a sample representing the average of that foot was pluccd in a small can, carefully lablcd and tnado air tight. To tho unltlatcd tho boring of these wells would appear n simple matter, but it often requires the combined strength of tnrco stalwart men to withdraw with-draw tho auger, especially after tho six foot murk has been passed and tho third joint of tho auger shank bus been affixed. About fivo or si?: of these wells uro as many u3 three men can boro in ono day. Tho soil in tho 'well wo witnessed tho sinking of showed a great variety of strata, ranging from sticky clay to sandy loam. Tho first two feet of tho surfaco wero composed of nice, rloh soil and was quite moist. Prom there on it diminished in moisture mois-ture until seven or eight feet in depth had been reached, when tho moisture increased again, unlil at tho completion comple-tion of tho well, nlno feet from tho surface, sur-face, tho clay was almost wctenough to make good adobes. When tho boring has all been completed, com-pleted, tho cans of soil numbering over '100, will all be shipped to Logan to bo tested fur moisture. SYSTEMATIC EXPERIMENTS. Tho forty acres of lund comprising the experimental furra nro divided into in-to about 170 plats, each of which is numbered and a careful record kept of tho dato when it was plnntcd, tho variety var-iety of seed and means of seeding, mode of cultivation, etc., is carefully kept. Scarcely two plats represent exactly tho same conditions. Add to this tho intelligent analysis of soli, observations of ciimatlo conditions, prcclpltatlonsi etc., and it 1 not hard to seo how tho state dry land farms may achieve greater great-er success than tho individual farmers, who depend upon their crop for sustenance suste-nance and rannot afford to go to uny unavoidable expense. ' Tub responsibility responsi-bility of carrying out tho Instructions from hcuUquurters, too, is no smull mutter1., Tho diitOjWhcn each plit Is to be seeded avid tho iftit matter Is pre-, scribed by tho parent institution, and tho instructions must be rigidly carried out. Tho local farmer is compensated for only tho tlmo actually spent. PREPARATION OF THE SOIL. Tho preparation of tho soil consisted In plowing tho land as deep us practical practi-cal with a sulky, thoroughly disking uud harrowing and raking off of tho brush roots, it first bolng grubbed Tho thorough pulvc'rlslng of the soil with disks und harrows Is an important import-ant matter. In this loose condition It was allowed to rccoleve the winter's moisture, which, with tho frosts, reduced re-duced tho clods to mulch, and placed the ground In a condition to retain the molsturo for the crop. Of course, with somany plats, seeded under varying conditions,-u variety of results uro obtained. Somo few plats ulinost entirely winter killed. Some did pot sprout properly. Somo wero seeded rn'yeuch altornato drill tooth and appear thin and sparso, but taken aa a whole the farm presents u very encouraging uppearuncc. Somo plats seeded to lucern and grass are coming up nicely and bid fair to make a stand. Tho whole of the farm Is enclosed with a rabbit-tight fence, so that the contontsof tho enclosure are protected from this pest. A SLIGHT CORRECTION. Tho genoral impression hus gono out that the forty aero plat upon which the farm Is located wus contributed by the residents of Parowan by popular subscription. sub-scription. Thlsdoesun Injustice to a public spirited citizen who ulono made tho donation. That citizen is noue other than Win," II. Gurr, who feels that Inasmuch ns ho mude tho Haorlllea ho is entitled to tho credit. Mr. Gurr estimated that the tract had coat him $75 and proffered to contribute $23 of the amount himself If the other rosi-nents rosi-nents of tho town would subscribe tho other $50. This they havo fulled to do, and while Mr. "Gurr Is wllllngto mako tho donation all himself, ho" ut least feels that ho is entitled, to tho credit for so doing. |