414 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



December 26, 1908. 



DRY FARMING IN THE UNITED 

 STATES. 



What is known as ' Dn Faiiuing," i.e., the cultiva- 

 tion and utilization for agricultural purposes, of land 

 which enjoys but a ver}" small rainfall, has been 

 successfully adopted in California and other parts of 

 America, and it has been shown that when the system 

 i.s carried out in the most approved methods, and on 

 suitable soil, a crop may be obtained once in two 

 years, with a rainfall of no more than 10 to 12 inches 

 per annum. The possibility of dry farming depends 

 essentially upon the soil being kept in such a condition 

 that its capacity for water storage is at a maximum, 

 while evaporation is reduced to a minimum. It will 

 be seen, therefore, that the methods followed in econo- 

 mising the rainfall should be of interest to West Indian 

 planters, whose lands in many districts, are not 

 infrequently subject to drought. The following brief 

 account of the system is summarized from a report on 

 the subject, prepared by the Surveyor-General of 

 South Australia, and reprinted in the AfjriculfurdI 

 t/"(',7'Vi((i of the Cape of Good Hope for June last: — 



The soil from which the most satisfactory I'esults may 

 Tic expected under a dry-farming system is a tine, deep 

 sandy loam. It is much to be doubted if heavy clay lands 

 can be worked in this w-ay, and it is certaiidy impossible to 

 get good results under the .system from shallow soil over- 

 lying loose gravel subsoil. 



To farm successfully with a \cry liglit raintall, only one 

 (•r(i|i in two years should be taken. l)uring the remainder 

 of the lime, the land lies fallow, and should be kept entirely 

 free from weeds, the surface .soil, to a depth nf ?> inches, 

 being frequently stirred by harrowing. 



.\s soon as practicable after a rin|i lias been taken utf, 

 tlic land should be disced or lightly plnuglicd, anil as nuich 

 as [Missible of the roots or stubble of the old cro]) turned into 

 the soil. This increases the hunuis content of the .soil, and 

 therefore assists its waterhnlding cajiacity. Harrowing 

 follows (piickly after this shallow jildughing, and by freijnent 

 u.se (if the liai'rnw, a surface mulch of ilry soil is rcgul.irly 

 maintained, ami all ueeil.v me ke|,| ilnwn. 'fhis last point 

 Is one of imiioitani-e, since wceiU, by the moisture they 

 I iaii>|iirc, rob the soil of a considerable animuit of water, 

 llairowing is e.sj)ecially important after rainfall, in oiiler to 

 prevent the surface from raking as it beconu^s dry, a condi- 

 tion es))eeia]ly favourable lo lapid evaiinration. 



Although it is inipoi-lant, in tlii> >ysli'ni ot thy farming, 

 that the soil should not be in too loose a stiUe, yet, in tu-der 

 to retain as umch moisture as |)o,s.sible, it ise.sseiitial tliat it be 

 hiosi'ued to a good depth, in order that the rainfall received may 

 readily soak into the land. At least one deep |i|oughing is 

 therefore uecessaiy early in the period of fallowing. This 

 ploughing should never be less than 7 inches deep, and on 

 iirn-i land of good depth, tliu jiloughing may reach to '.) or 10 

 inches. The best tinu- for this ploughing is when the land is 

 ilamp, but not Met. If rain has fi>l!o\vcd the |)reliniiiiary 

 light di.scing given when the croji was taken off, it readily 

 soaks in, the subsoil is nioist, and conditions are then very 

 favourable for the deep i)loughiug to be given at once. 



fineness ami closeness of grain is as es.sential as depth 

 in soils which are utilized for dry-l'arming purjio.scs, for these 

 projicrtii'S are among the chief [loints wdiich determine the 

 water holding cajiacity of the land. 'l"o be retentive the .soil 

 must be tiuely pulverized, and in a liini condition. If there 

 i.s any tendency lo be loo.se, therefore, the soil must be 



' packed.' The best means of bringing about this condition 

 is liy the use of a heavy weighted harrow, or a roller followed; 

 by a light harrow. 



The l>est seed only should be sown in a dry country, and 

 this should preferably be the produce of a crop grown in 

 a sindlarly dry climate. E.xperience has .shown that thin 

 ■sowing is the best under the conditions ; thick .sowing has. 

 [iroved unsuci'cssful in dry climates. 



THE VALUE OF RECORDS. 



The value of keeping accurate records in connexion 

 with the various operations of estate work, was discussed 

 in the editorial article of the A</riruliur<il iVeww of 

 (October :} last. Reference is made to this (piestion in 

 a recent number of the /y('('/'sy'a/!" Planter, and sonifr 

 of the ideas suirsrested in the above-mentioned article 

 are followed up, more especially from the point of view 

 of sugar planters in Louisiana. 



The fact that the practice of purchasing canes by weight 

 is a recent introduction, is referred to, and the benefits that 

 have followed this introduction are enumerated. With the 

 weighing of the sugar-cane, there came the knowledge of the 

 relative yields of plant canes, of first ratoons, and of .second 

 ratoons, all of which are ordinarily produced in Louisiana. 

 There came also a tlirect knowledge of the relative yiekis (jf 

 loamy lands, and of stiff land.s, as well as of the relative 

 yields of lands at higher and lower levels. 



As an illustiation in point it is mentioned that a success- 

 ful sugar plantei-, who has only latel}' started weighing his 

 cane.s, was surpri--ed to find, on beginning the practice, that 

 one section of his estate was giving cjuite inadecpiate returns, 

 although this had been masked by the average of profit 

 obtained over the whole property. Special attention has since 

 been paid to the ui profitable area. 



Reference is made to certain problems lately presented 

 by cane roller nulls, which can only be solved by careful 

 acciunulation and comparison of data. The relatively protil- 

 able nature of six-roller, nine-roller, and twelve-roller nulls 

 are among the [jroblems that await solution. Some .studies 

 niailc in Hawaii show no very great increase in the profit 

 when the results from twelve-roller nulls were compared with 

 tliosi' from niue-roUer mills. 



Many seedling and other new varu-tii's of i-aneha\e been 

 introduced into Louisiana, and their merits compared with 

 the other standard kinds. Trials carried out on every estate 

 to determine the weight of produce per acre and the 

 (piality of the .juice, arc methods of comparison which at once 

 suggest Iheni.selves, and may be readily put into practice. 

 The influence of climatic conditions on the growth of the.se 

 canes is believeil by some to be vi'ry considerable, ami here 

 again is a question which can only be .satisfactorily disposed 

 of by observation and i-arefid record kee[iing. 



.\notlier inqiortant phase of thi' sugar-cam' industry 

 which can best be studied by the weighing of canes and the 

 kee])ingof records, is that of ratooiung. In .lava, local condi- 

 tions (chiefly the danger of root disease) have led to the 

 cultivation of plant canes only, ratooning having been entirely 

 given up. In some parts of the West Indies, annual re|ilant- 

 ing is also practised, while in t'uba a crop of plant canes 

 is followed by three or tour crops of ratoons. 



in Louisiana, under general coiulition.s, the crop of plant 

 canes is the heavii'St. The crop of tirst ratoons will .scarcely 

 iiverage three-fourths by weight of the plant cane yield, and 

 the second ratoons scarcely weigh two-thirds as nuich as the 

 first ratoons. These facts have been brought out by weigh- 

 ing canes and keeping records. 



