| Show ANY DROUTH t mutch mulch becoming chief agana dt in insuring crops ck of knowledge among farmers a 3 cause cf ef many heartrending fall j uree ures with tree rm r M re must be conserved Coni ered yf bellevo that la in a state liko like that north dakota the dust mulch win vill naomo orna tho the chief agent for Ina urlac tho the tumor frimer and jar duzer aa as sure alexop as any system of Irrig irrigation aLson jhc time has not yot yet como come when tho overage farmer knows juat what tho the tet mulch ie and consequently 4 we of ita its uso use only last nay I 1 had thie this very forcibly brought S mo 0 to me when on a hot dry day mend of mino mine happened to remark t it was getting eo so dry that his hoys would not cultivate his corn for johir cisar it might dry out I 1 took the opportunity to toll him of my con fictions dictions Vict ions in tho the matter also to show alm my own garden adon consisting chiefly y of tomatoes corn and potatoes writes 0 C westley of north dakota la in the northwest farmstead thie garden I 1 kept well cultivated not giving weeds a chanco chance to sprout bo bb foro fore I 1 stirred the soil with a arake rake or hoe I 1 showed him too somo some littie litus spots in some soine portions where tho the hoe or rako rake had not yet been after little sprinkle I 1 called the attention to the cracks and told him of tho pores and the work of capillarity until he was so convinced that he stepped into my house called up hie his homo home and ordered tho the boys out with the cultivator at once this man Is no fool but he was simply ignorant of the mission of the dust mulch when setting out mv tomatoes last spring I 1 gave my some of my plants ho he set them and they grew but on came the dry summer this neighbor bad had had a hand cart into which he set a barrel and hauled water from my well with which ho he watered his plants I 1 never watered mine As the drouth increased I 1 increased the depth of the mulch until I 1 had to get a prong hoe with which I 1 went to the depth of 5 to 6 inches while I 1 gave away several gallons canned and ato ate all wo we wanted and sold almost as much my neighbor bad had scarcely a tomato what Is really the chief cause for heartrending heart failures with trees among the so called intelligent farmers faring la Is it not merely a lack of knowledge it seems to mo me the matter should be made clear to all readers of all the blessed farm papers of today that the dust mulch Is a means for conserving the moisture already in tho the ground and also tor for increasing the capacity of the soil for receiving moisture when it rains if the ground Is naturally hard the roots of plants have a hard bard time to generate and it stands to reason that such soils are benefited by deep cultivation the very fact that a soil is hard indicates a lack of moisture we cul cultivate corn com and potatoes why not wheat not in the same way of course but the drag should bo be used at least once a week on all grain crops until they are too high to be benefited or rather until tall enough to be injured by a good weeder this will break up tie tle cracks and pores and give to the whole lur tace that vital dust mulch how would you bo be able to cover a fild flold of or acres with a straw peat or manure mulch it would be sn en impossible task for want of help to say nothing of its uselessness useless neis when with a good wide weeder and two horses you can do the same thing practically in four or five days with all the saturation of sous boil through a good ordinary D spring coupled with a judicious use of the dust mulch I 1 believe north dakota or any other state may defy any drouth |
