332 ' EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 



9-10 EDWARD VII., A. 1910 

 PEEPARING LAND FOR GRAIN CROPS IN SASKATCHEWAN. 



During the growing season of 1908, almost the entire western portion of the pro 

 vince suffered from dry weather, and the majority of the new settlers, either from 

 unfamiliarity with the methods of cultivation for the conservation of moisture, or 

 through a desire to bring the greatest possible area under cultivation, naturally 

 suffered a severe disappointment. 



In some districts, where in former years moisture had been abundant and proper 

 cultivation had in consequence been neglected in the effort to * get rich quick,' the 

 partial failure of the crop proved an expensive lesson. 



For many years, commencing in 1888, the methods of conserving moisture by 

 * breaking and backsetting ' and by ' summer-fallowing ' — now called ' dry-farming ' 

 for a change — have been recommended and universally adopted by the older settlers 

 but to very many of the new settlers they are unknown. The latter, I trust, may be 

 benefited by the following explanation of the methods which, for a great many years, 

 have proved uniformly successful for every district in the province of Saskatchewan. 



BREAKING PRAIRIE SOD. 



The success or failure of a new settler often depends on the method employed in 

 the preparation of the land for his first crop, and it is, therefore, of the utmost 

 importance that the question of ' breaking ' or ' breaking and backsetting ' be given 

 the consideration it deserves. 



For some years past, the general practice throughout the country has been to 

 continue breaking three or more inches deep so long as the teams can turn over the 

 sod; then, in the fall, to disk the topsoil, and sow grain on the spring following. From 

 the breaking so done before the end of June, a good crop of wheat, oats or barley is 

 usually obtained, but no amount of cultivation will ensure even a fair crop on this 

 land in the next succeeding year. After the first crop has been cut the soil is usually 

 in a perfectly dry state, and remains so, in spite of any known method of cultivation, 

 until the rains come in the following spring. If they are insufiicient or late, as is 

 frequently the case, failure of the crop must be the result. 



BREAKING AND BACKSETTING. 



Breaking and backsetting is the true way of laying the foundation of future 

 su-ccess in the greater number of districts throughout the province, and while this 

 method does not permit of as large an acreage being brought under cultivation in a 

 year, it does permit of more thorough work and ensures better results in the long run. 

 The anxiety of nearly all settlers to sow every acre possible, regardless of how or 

 when the work on the land has been accomplished, may be given as the reason for 

 breaking and disking to a large extent superseding the older, better and safer plan. 



Breaking and backsetting means the ploughing of the prairie sod as shallow as 

 possible before the June or early July rains are over, and, in August or September, 

 when the sod will have become thoroughly rotted by the rains and hot sun, ploughing 

 two or three inches deeper in the same direction, and then harrowing to make a fine 

 and firm seed-bed. From land prepared in this way, two good crops of wheat may be 

 expected. The first crop will be heavy, and the stubble, if cut high at harvest time, 

 will retain sufficient snow to produce the moisture required, even in the driest spring, 

 to germinate the seed for the next crop. The stubble land can readily be burned on 

 a day in the spring with a hot, steady wind, and the seed may be sown with or without 

 further cultivation. In a case where the grass roots have not been entirely killed by 

 the backsetting, a shallow cultivation before seeding will be found advantageous, but 

 as a rule the harrowing of the land with a drag-harrow after seeding will be sufficient. 



