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Show SEED PRODUCTION OF DRY LAND By Dr. Frank S. Harris, In Utah Farmer. Farming on dry land will probabiy always bo difficult farming, as ce ta.n coml.tlons nic encountered wnlcli mitt be oercome by special methods relentlessly applied. In humid districts dis-tricts crop jlelds may be diminished by nny one of a dozen factors, eaca contributing Its share, but under dry-farming1 dry-farming1 nil these factors aro well-nigh well-nigh forgotten In the face of a) great need, and that need Is water. All practices focus around the ono Idea ot saving tho moisture. This Is done ln two general ways. First by prevent Ing loss as near as possible, and second, sec-ond, by useing tho limited supply which 1p present as economically as possiblo. With dry-farming all the various fac tors entering into the production of crops must bo as favorablo as possible If profitable yields are to be obtained. It Is ltko a person working under high strain. His food, clothing and rest must bo about right or ho may col-I col-I lapse. If ho la not doing strenuous work ho can mlEa a meal or n few I hours rest without noticing It, but It extra pressure Is on, lis bodily needs must be well takt.c rare of. Dry-farm rrops aro growing under tho stress caused by a lack ot water, and If other things In their environment are not favorablo It Is difficult for them to maturo properly. But by supplying their needs In other respects, the can ln part overcome the handicap caused by the scarslty of water. Only certain kinds ot crops can withstand the withering hand of drought. Some are by the r very nature na-ture suited to grow In humid climates and they could not withstand the dry conditions encountered In arid regions for a b ngle day. Their leaf area and structure are such that all tho moisture mois-ture would very soon be lost from tho plant Itself. Other plants are so arranged ar-ranged that they can retain much of their water even undor very dry conditions. con-ditions. Tho. amount of evaporating surface Is small ln proportion to root area. Thus tho leaves can be supplied suppli-ed vltli water as fast n,n It Is lost and thf- I'lant Itself is not ln danger of oeliiK withered. Tho water Illy is at ono extreme and tho cactus at the other. All cultivated plants Ho between. be-tween. Somo of the crop plants arc decided ln their preference for a wet environment, while others can en-duro en-duro drought with oaso but most of thorn nro Intermediate in their needs. Somo of tho oeren's Ilko wheat and barley, produce well oven when tho water Is not all that could bo dcslicd. On the other hand timothy, rodtop, nl-Blko nl-Blko clovor and a number ot similar crops do not do well If kept too dry. For tho hotter arid regions tho fr rln'u borghuiiiH have been fo.md 1" !C i ' i crops. In roolcr el mates m-'i m-'i r ind peas often do well. Al-faiKt Al-faiKt a sometimes a good crop, especially es-pecially In tho production of seed. Taken for most climates however, wheat Is king of all tho dry-fnrm crops. Thoro aro ft number of vatlo-ties vatlo-ties of this crop which aro good drought reslsters. After deciding what crops to raise on tho dry-form, tho noxt question Is to get varieties which are suitable for arid conditions, It is hero that the seed producer must understand his business It he Is to bo sucessful. On tho dry-farm it Is not enough that Beed wheat bo free from weedn and disease,, bat It must (ilso.bo ot tho varieties var-ieties winch are capableof thrlv ng ln dry weather. If tho seen is being under arid conditions and sold tor planting under wet conditions tho a-rlety a-rlety Is not so importnnt except In so tar as It effects the orlglonnl leld. On tho other hand, it a person Is going to cater to customers with dry-farms he must pay strict attention to varieties If he desires to build up a reputation of wheat. Of tho winter wheats, Turkey Tur-key Red has given almost universal satisfaction. It has some bad features but these aro more than compensated for by its many deslrnble qualities. Ot course tho best varieties must bo determined de-termined for each set of conditions By following tho correct methods of breeding it is possiblo to develop deslrabia strains within tno Several arlt'es. Thero aro many oppottunl-ties oppottunl-ties along this lino for tho seed produc ' er who Is willing to glvo tho subject his tlmo and Intelligent nttent'eu. 1 The seed to bo used on tho lry-fnrm should be especially high ln germlnnjt- I lng power and purity. Only nbouf. halt as much seed Is used under arid con-d. con-d. tlons ns whero thero Is an abundant I supply of soil moisture. If tho seed that Is sown Is low in vitality It bo-comes bo-comes a much moro serious problem I thnn whero moro seed Is used, slnco I the stand may bo so poor aa to tnalco tho crop not worth harvesting. Liko-wIbo Liko-wIbo any foreign material will cut down tho nlready small amount ot I seed below tho profltablo limit. WSeds ln seed intended for tho dry-farm dry-farm are particularly undeslrablo, as there Is usually barely enough moisture mois-ture In the soil to produce a crop, and 'f the weeds aro present they easily rob tho crop and cause a falluro. Under Un-der fr'gatlon enough water can bo ndded for both tho crop nnd tho weeds , HJ but this Is not posMblo on tho dry- ti BBI farm I BBJ Slnco tho dn Iv.iner uses n com- iBB parattvely small amount ot seed he BBJ ecu afford to pay more foi scod quaV BJ Ity than Ms fellow fnrmor under the iiB d tch , 'rn In nrld regions there flH should 3 Hpeclal emphasis put en the BBl seed prnb'em IBBl In no branch of tho F"ed tus'ne-n It )VBb there greater opportunity than In pro- jBBB duclng seed for tho uso or dry-fan ins. !!bS Tho very Hie ot tho dry-fnrmlng Indus flVJ try Ib dependent on the quality used. IBBl For tho man who Is willing to learn jBBl nnd practlco tho principles of dry-fnrm 'BBb Ing and who will dovoto himself to Itl building up n business of furnishing I'l good seed, thcro is eminent success '-BBI waiting. Ho can not only fill hts iIBBI pockets with worldly wealth, but can 1AH bo ot great benefit to his fellow farm- iIBBI era In reclaiming the arid parts ot BBJ tho earth.- ,BBa lBBBBl |
