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Show PRACTICAL DRY FARM i There Are Three Essentials foi I Farmer to Consider. fiepth of Soil, Amount of Preclprtatlos and Evaporation Are Conditions That Go Far for Success i or for Failure. (By NORMAN E. 1IOLPKN.) In speaking of dry farming from I practical standpoint, it would seen that the conditions which go to maki dry farming possible should be of flrsl consideration. There are three esseo tlals for the dry farmer to consider be fore attempting to dry farm. Tbey are depth of soil, amount of precipitation, and evaporation. One attempting to dry farm wltt less than four feet of aoll is bandl capped to commence with. There art many places In tbe west where then is from 18 to 20 Inches of soli on to( of a bed of gravel. Some of tbe moat beautiful laying land that I have evei aeen has this condition, and tbe worst feature of it is that it has been files on by prospective homeseekers, be cause It means utter failure for thoe and also a black eye to others. Take, for practical results, this aea eon on my own farm In Dillon, Mont Everything baa done well, the farm bai paid, despite the fact that It has been dry. A crop haa been raised with on and one-half inches rainfall from tht time It was planted until harvested There was no rain during tbe main growing aeaaon; we have bad hot winds continuously. The results arc most encouraging. Why was this possible? pos-sible? With a soil averaging 10 feet every drop of moisture it waa possible to store waa stored. When the crop was taken off this land In the fall of 1908 a disk harrow was used immediately. In 1901 tbe first treatment It had was an early double disking. Then the common spike-toothed harrow was continuously con-tinuously used until freezing weather In the fall Tbe spring of 1910 It was seeded to different crops, consisting chiefly or Durlen wheat (Kubach), although al-though there were other crops, among them Ited Turkey winter wheat, seeded seed-ed tbe middle of August. 1909, which has given most excellent results. There waa flax, corn, potatoes and almost al-most every kind of garden produce. And right here the success or gsrden truck on dry land should be mentioned. mention-ed. I have either read or heard some speaker say that one should have a little lit-tle spot that Is susceptible or irrigation irriga-tion to supply the table with garden delicacies. This Is not necessary. If I were asked what one line of dry farming I considered the most successful, success-ful, tbe answer would be gardening. Tbe moat splendid results can be obtained ob-tained from the dry-land garden. It la a general belief that lettuce, radishes, rad-ishes, young onions and the like are not up to quality In tbe dry-land gar den. This Is not true, as the very highest quality of this stuff can be produced on tbe dry-land garden. The past season, while It has been the driest we have any record of. we have bad lettuce, onions, radishes, cauliflower, x tomatoes, cabbage, cam rots, parsnips, garden peas, kohl rabL turnlpa, and in ract everything that can be grown in our altitude, which is 6.300 feet. This garden produce takes rank right along with that r lis rlgatlon. The tonnage la not quite as large, but tbe quality mere than off-sets off-sets this. This year we have tried out the augar beet, and while there has been no tests aa yet for the sugar, the yield has been splendid, averaging about 10 tona per acre, some Individual beets weighing nine pounds, while garden beeta went JH pounds, carrots 114 pounds and onions one pound. An acre or two thoroughly prepared for the garden is the best Investmeut a dry farmer can have. This land should be tilled a whole year in advance ad-vance with a view of conserving the moisture, and, if possible, fertilised. A bunch of 60 chickens will make enough fertiliser for a garden or two acres. This fertilizer should be placed on the land the season before it Is cropped and should be thoroughly worked Into the soil. Two or three acres thoroughly prepared and planted plant-ed to garden will supply the tsble, keep a cow and raise two or three pls. ' |