| Show HOLD MOISTURE IN THE SOU SOIL practice of harrowing and loosening surface can be employed to advantage by firmer farmer 1 by 11 11 II HOUSE colorado station it to la a well known tact fact that ground which la is kept loose on top iop will evaporate much less lesa water than a soil boll which Is packed on top the 60 mols mois I 1 ture which escaped into info la Is ab sol lost so BO far as the plants growing in that particular hold tire aro concerned and it if anything can bo done to hold this moisture in the ground so that it may reach the roots of the growing crop it Is of course the thing to strive for and will crovea prove a benefit to the plant grow grawi ing 1 lii the field some years ago one of 0 vic the depre senta tives from the agricultural col logo was visiting an up to date farrer farmer in the country and tho the farmer showed him a field of wheat which illustrated this harrowing in a remar remarkable lable mannor manner A storm had bad passed over that section of the coun about one and 0 a halt inches of rain had fallen it had been a dashing shower and had packed the surface of the ground considerably sider ably the grain was fram four to six inches high and the farmer had been advised to harrow hanow the ground to prevent evaporation he sent his hired man to do the work who hitched on to the harrow and dragged it diagonally across the field of wheat and then around the outside of the held field some come five or six times ile ho then became disgusted with the work because it appeared that he was dragging out so much of the grain and reported the fact to the farm farmer or who ordered the work discontinued by the time the grain had headed the marrs marks of the harrowed sections could be plainly seen the place where it had boon been dragged diagonally across tho the held field produced grain at least eight or ten inches higher ghani that on either side which had not been harrowed and along the edges of the field the grain was waa in a like condition the grain of the field that had not been touched by the li harrow arrow was not to be compared with the harrowed grain either in appearance size elze of plants or heads of grain the yield from the harrowed portion was practically double that from the portion it simply shown shows that the harrowing and loosening of the surface soil even though it did destroy some of the plants conserved the moisture and benefited those plants that were left in such a marked degree that it mate at froni from that field and shows that this practice could be employed to advantage by all farmers |
