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Show COfTSERVE MOISTURE IN SOIL i 5 Oround Which la Kept Loose on Top I Will Evaporate Less Water I Than Land That la Packed. t my n. n HOfsr., retorado Agricultural C College.) ' It la a w ell known fact that ground f which Is kept loose on top will vap- I orate much less water than a soil 1 which Is packed on top. The mols- I ture which escapes Into tbe air Is I absolutely lost, so far as the plants f growing In that particular field are d concerned, and If anything ran be ( done to bold this moisture In the I ground so that It may rench the roots I of the growing crop. It Is of course e the thing to strive for, and will prove a benefit to the plant growing In the J field. Some years ago one of the repre- sentatlves from the Agricultural college col-lege was visiting an up-to-date farmer In the country, and the farmer showed fniri a field of wheat which Illustrated this harrowing In a remarkable man- t( ner. b A atorm had passed over that se q tlon of the country and about 14 w Inches of rain had fallen. It had been e, a dashing shower and had packed the Bl surface of the ground considerably. C( The grain was from 4 to 6 Inches high, and the farmer had been advised to harrow tbe field to prevent evaporation. evap-oration. He sent his hired man to do the work, who hitched on to the harrow har-row and dragged It diagonally across the field of wheat and then around the outside of the field some 5 or 8 times. He then became disgusted with the work because It appeared that he was dragging out so much grain, and reported the fact to the farmer, who ordered the work discontinued. discon-tinued. !iy the time the grain had headed the marks of the harrowed sections could be plainly seen. The place where It had been dragged diagonally across the field produced grain at . least 8 or 10 Inches higher than that or. either side which had not been cc harrowed, and along the edges of tbe f' field the grain was In like condition. The grain on that portion of the field ' that had not been touched by the har- ' row was not to be compared with the harrowed grain, either In appearance. . lire of planta or heads of grain. Tbe n rleld from the harrowed portion was practically double that from the un- harrowed portion. It simply shows that the harrowing ind loosening of the aurface soil, even though It did destroy some of the lilanta, conserved the moisture and I benefited those plants that were left n such a marked degree that It mate- C( ially Increased the yield from that leld. and shows that this practice ol ould be employed to advantage by be farmers of Colorado. p) |
