| Show definition OF DRY FARMING accumulation and conservation of moisture in all Is alm aim and purpose of arl arid d farmer by E n PAn sONS dry f farming has often been defined Ls the conservation of moisture A much like definition and a more accurate ono one would bo be the accumulation and conservation of moisture we wa must acquire our moisture before we can con conserve conserva servi a it and unless we give duo weight to each of dieso processes we cannot live up td the highest dof of dry farming it la is self evident that in order to mako make uso use of tho the best form of 0 mulch local conditions must given serl seri aua confide ration some soma of the problems aro am aej follows 1 in a country where the precipitation la is moro more or less evenly divided throughout the year will the moisture be able to peno the mulch sufficiently to g get e 1 down into the subsoil sub soil my answer based on experience Is that the moisture at the end of the season Is largely found in tile the soil under a mulch from two and a halt half to three inches in depth 2 will the mulch crust easily after a rainfall or the reverse t A furrowed surface will never crikt or bake like a smooth one after a storm the bottom of the furrow being much better than the top 3 when high winds prevail will tho the mulch blow the smoothest land blows the worst everywhere it if we could take the edge off the wind it amounts to the same thing as taking the edge off a razor it cannot rut cut 4 will a crust form oira under the mulch in very dry weather ber and it if so BO how can it be prevented every dry year a wall goes up from the shallow and surface farmers as to combating this problem there la is only one remedy deep plowing but not a preventive as nothing on earth can prevent this crust cruet forming provided tho the drouth last lorg enough 0 6 in a country like alk california which has haa a rainy and a wet season what Is tho the host best type of mulch tor for conservation purposes after tho the rain has all fallen and a farmer faces the regular five months montha drouth the deeper and finer tho the mulch the batter it conserves moisture when precipitation la Is no longer a factor in such puch a country we find the best beat farmers using a fine mulch oven even a dust mulch from six to eight inches deep the evaporation from tho the subsoil sub soil with a 0 mulch of this kind is almost nil 6 Is the topsoil top soil or seed bed of a cultivated field a mulch to the subsoil sub soil oy or does the subsoil sub soil moisture move up freely with it this to la mors more a question of dry farm physics in actual practice agricultural books to tho contrary notwithstanding ai I 1 have never ibee able in my thirty arty five years of bt dry farm work to discover any capillary or film mol moisture sture moving up from tho the subsoil sub soil into too the seed bed by capillarity and therefore I 1 argue that the top soil acts as and should be regarded as mulch tor for tho the su subsoil sub soil As a general rule on the dry farm ill fields will yield more when plowed and fallowes fallowed fall owed ahead of planting time it if only for a few weeks or a month A farmer who does this systematically will find that he can altogether dispense with a packer tor for the soil after being settled by a good rain or two Is in much totter better ghyst physical condition for the crop than when artificially taxed |
