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Show I TO RETAIN MOISTURE 4 Question of Conservation Is of Prime Importance. Cultivation Not Only Aids by Preventing Prevent-ing Evaporation But Alto Keep Broken Surface That Catches Snow and Rain. , Agricultural college men tell ua that It takes 45 tons of water to grow bushel of wheat. Thirty bushels will mo twelve Inches In depth over an acre of land. For very obvious rea-fcona, rea-fcona, a twelve Inch rainfall would not be enough moisture to mature a 30-bushel 30-bushel crop if there were not some moisture already In the (round. During Du-ring the hot and windy day of Bummer Bum-mer evaporation might amount to three Inches or more In a week. If no means were used to prevent It At thia rate the whole year's precipitation precipita-tion might b loat In a month or two. At tho very best, tome of the anil moisture la bound to be loHt through evaporation, a rainfall of. gay. twenty Inches, during the year does not guarantee guar-antee that the crop will have that amount upon which to grow. Plow, harrow, and pack aa we may, the air will pick up a good deal of the moisture mois-ture that falls. When this work la done poorly, a much larger percentage of the precipitation escapes. The question, then, of conservation of soil moisture Is of prime Importance. Practical eonservatfon of the precipitation pre-cipitation that reaches the soil in one form or another consists of preventing Us escape through evaporation by obstructing ob-structing this process at Che soil surface. sur-face. Surface tillage that forms a dust mulch Is tho tnpst practicable means of doing this. This movement of soil moisture to the surface, from which point It Is evaporated Into the air, la accomplished by means of a physical law called vcaplllarity. The disturbing of the soil at the surface breaks up the capillary connection and stops evaporation to a large extent Hence, the value of surface cultivation. cultiva-tion. Numerous testa have shown that frequent cultivation of the soil In summer will prevent the evaporation evapora-tion of from seven to ten Inches of water where the rainfall is not over thirteen Inches. Thus, moisture that otherwise might escape Into the air is kept in the soli where It can be used by the send In hastening germination germ-ination and In supplying water to the growing plant. Cultivation not only aids In conserving this moisture by preventing Its evaporation, but It also prevents a broken surface which catches the rain and snow. It performs per-forms the double service of both gathering gath-ering and retaining the rainfall. If we are to have thirty bushel wheat crops, there are many set tle is In the west where the question of moisture conservation conser-vation must be given more careful attention. |