OCR Text |
Show - - it." VALUE OF MOISTURE Rain and Snow That Fall Should Be Carefully Conserved. Almost Impossible to Impress Upon Minds of Farmers Importance of Giving Most Careful Attention Atten-tion to Thle Question. In tho dry nreaB moisture Ib nlwnya precious. Tho amount of molsturo that fnlla In tho form of rain is always or nearly always low. Uy no means that mnn can adopt can it bo Increased. In-creased. Tho only thing that can bo dono Is to adopt measures that will mako falls go further than it would if it woro not carefully conolrtcred order to grow crops. NotwItliBtnndlng this fnct, It Is almost Impossible to Impress upon tho minds of many farmerB tho Importanco of giving tho piost careful attention to this question. ques-tion. In Montann tho present season Inrgo quantities of pralrlo aro being brokon. In many Instances tho land thus brokon Is loft as tho plow left It. It hnB been turned over nnd It may bo In a way that loavcB It lying loosely, says Dakota Farmer. If loft thus through tho summer season It will dry out so completely that no molsturo mols-turo will bo left. Should winter whom bo sowed on that land, tho moisture Ib not there to gcrmlnnto it or to BUBtnln germination If it should itnrt Grain starting thuB weakly Is mro to succumb In tho wlntor thnt follows. Should no grnln bo uown until spring, tho ground has Just that much less molsturo thnt It would hnvo had by 'tho amount that wnB lost. And yot this Ib what very many nro doing. It may bo thatsomo nro constrained to do thlB by force of circumstances, ns when they hlro tho breaking dono by Btcnm power nnd lenve tho land lying thus. It may bo that thoy do not And it possiblo to got tho land compressed com-pressed nt onco, nud a dust mulch mado upon It Tho question of harrowing grain is ilso one of tho greatest Importanco to tho farmer in tho dry country. This Is n grcnt question. Wo hnvo only touched upon Its outer rim. In soma Instances ono harrowing may mako tnoro of a dtfferenco than can well bo Imagined. In othor Instances It mny do harm. In tho dry country from ono to two hnrrowlngs nro nearly nlwnyB helpful to a grnln crop. In some instances in-stances from throe to four mny do good. In tho cnFo of winter wheat ono to two hnrrowlngs may bo benofl-clal benofl-clal In tho autumn, nnd from ono to three In tho spring. If but two hnrrowlngs hnr-rowlngs nro dono In tho spring, let It ho understood that, ns n rulo, ono enn best ho given when tho crop can first bo discerned coming through tho ground, and tho othor after tho plnnts are several Inches high. Uut no caHt Iron rules can bo given. A heavy rnln falling may call for hnrrowlng at boiiio Jlfferent tlmo. Tho conditions also amy cnll for tho uso of n different kind of harrow. Tho dry funner Is not equipped for his work with only ono narrow. Tho harrow that is suitable for ono kind or soil and condition Is not suitable, It mny be, for another kind of soil or a different condition. Nor Ib tho fnrmor In the dry country coun-try properly equipped for his work without a roller. In eomo Instances he may wnnt n uubsurfneo packor. In athor instances ho will want n corrugated corru-gated roller, nnd yot ngnln n plnln roller. Those throo may not always be wanted on tho same farm, but In tho dry country thoy all hnvo a place according to tho conditions. Bach farmer should havo tomo kind of a clod crusher, It may bo of various va-rious forms, but usually It mny be bomc-mndo nnd, therefore, cheaply made. Tho idea is to hnvo something that will crush clods, In hinds thnt are moro or Iosb ndobo in chnrnctor, rucIi nn linploni.nt If ft can bo called nn implement, Ik of Immense valuo. Roth tho roller and clod crusher aro ' . 1, 1. 1 .-. , I.,, I... -..".) pH Generally but not always to be l beforo tho crop Is planted. The clo4 !H crusher on uneven laud or on cloddy ll adobo land may do a world of good' by H way of mashing clods at the rlghf J timo. 'IfH Of courso tho beginner may not ! H able to do all these things at the first, vll but ho should mako tho nearest ap P proach possiblo to them. On fifteen ' inches of rainfall a year, good crf 4l can bo grown if much of tho moisture- tll falls In tho growing Bcasoo, MU tfcf "lP Buccess will bo proportionate to th ? extent to which tho moisture la lield ';M Dcop plowing enlarges tho room" for II ,H In tho soil, and provonts tt.from rui 1 nlng away ovor tho surface Into the , 'H streams. j |