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Show LESSONS FROM DRY-FARMING Farmers In Humid Regions of East Can Cain Suggestions Regarding Conservation of Moisture. From the dry-furmlng methods which are so necenasry to success throughout the west, farmers In the more humid districts of the east ran often gain valuable suggestions with regard to the proper conservation of molnture. One lesson which may be learned Is In reference to the treatment treat-ment of the small gralna. The eastern east-ern farmer UHually consider wheat, oats and barley as crops which cannot be cultivated. Consequently no attention atten-tion Is paid to them from the time they are sown until they are ready to harvest. Not so with the up-to-date farmer, lie cultivates his grain flolda after every rain from the time they are well started In the spring until un-til they are too high to allow of further furth-er cultivation, nays tho Country Gentleman. Gen-tleman. The tplke-tooth hRrrow Is lined for the earlier workings; as the grain grows larger the welder Is substituted, sub-stituted, lly means of the latter Implement Im-plement grain may be cultivated almost al-most up to the time when It begins to bead, The advantages of this cultivation are two-fold. In the first place It serves to break the crust which Is so likely to form after the spring rains, and ti close the cracks which the frost as made In the winter grain field.. This lessens the evaporation of moisture, which Is most rapid from crusted or cracked soil, and conserves It until it is most needed by the growing grow-ing crop. The advantage of this pre caution Is most apparent In the seml-arld. seml-arld. districts, but In dry aeasons It Is notice h bio everywhere. In tho east rolling winter wheat as soon ns it is safe to go on the ground In the spring Is perhaps to bo preferred pre-ferred to harrowing. If clover Is planted with tho wheat It should be sown before the rolling Is done. The rolling covers the clover seed and also firms the soil about the roots of the wheat plants where It has been loosened by heaving. The other effect of cultivation Is In the keeping down of weeds, and for this purpose It Is Just as useful And-Junt as necessary In the east as In the west. Small weed are very easily killed with the harrow or wei der, and If the work Is properly done tho grain will not be Injured. Three precautions are necesasry In handling small grain. Drlllod grain only should be harrowed, for cultivation cultiva-tion destroys a portion of the stand of that which has been sown broadcast broad-cast and ko lessens the yield. For the same reason the harrowing should be done in the direction of the drill rows rather than across them. Fields on Orass or clover seed has been iRt1uot be harrowed, tor the young plants are as easily killed by this treatment aa are the weeds. None of these precautions need be observed If the roller Is used on winter grain, but the roller Is of little or no use in killing weeds. In the east, except in the driest seasons, It will not usually b profitable to barrow grain fields more than once. Another lesson which may be learned learn-ed from the dry-farmer Is the disking of land which Is to be plowed later In order to keep the soil from baking until un-til the plowing ran be completed. This practice was begun In the west on grain sMbble a.rter hardest In order or-der to bold whatever moisture was in the soil, for usua'ly little rain falls after that time. Since the disking ran be done much more rapidly than the plowing, there la less chance for evaporation, evap-oration, and the land then remains for some time in good condition for plowing. In addition to remaining in condition condi-tion to plot for a much longer period, land which has been disked Is much less Inclined to break up In clods and lumps than undlaked soil, nnd hence is more easily put in condition for planting. The loose earth which Is thrown to the bottom of the furrow unites much more readily with the furrow slice, and no larger air spaces are left. |
