DKY-LAND GRAINS IN THE GREAT BASIN. 



29 



least on cla}' soils, it may be of considerable advantage. On a light 

 or sandy soil it is less likely to produce profitable returns. 



Whether harrowing is necessary and the time at which it should be 

 done must be determined by each farmer for his own concHtions. If 

 the soil is hard and ])aked on the surface or if the wheat plants are 

 unable to get through the crust, harrowing is advisable. Sometimes 

 the crust is of such extreme depth that there is danger of killing the 

 wheat plants in tearing tlie crust to pieces. This is true, however, 

 only in extreme cases and in such cases the crust has been successfully 

 broken without injury to the plants by the use of a corrugated roller. 

 If this method is followed and the roller leaves the surface soil packed, 

 the land should be immediately harrowed. In most cases the work 

 can be very successfully done with a common spike-tooth harrow. In 

 breaking a crust of ordinary thickness and solidity there is absolutely 

 no (huiger of seriously injuring the plants. Wheat plants can stand 

 an amount of harrowing tliat is surprising to persons who have never 

 harrowed the crop. The spring cultivation may be done any time 

 before the wdieat is " in boot." The sooner it is done after the surface 

 soil is thoroughly dry the better, but the farmer need have no fear of 

 injuring his wheat plants at any time before June 1. 



FREQUENCY OF CROPPING AND CROP DIVERSITY. 



Continuous cropping and fallowing. — The common practice on the 

 dry lands of the Great Basin area is to fallow^ the wheat fields every 

 other year. The primary object of this method is the conservation 

 of two years' precipitation for the use of each wheat crop. In order 

 to determine wdiether alternate fallowing is more profitable than fal- 

 lowing one year in three, or two years in three, or whether it is profit- 

 able to fallow at all, a "continuous cropping and fallowing test" is 

 carried on at the substation. The test includes nine plats; one pro- 

 duces a crop of wheat each year; two produce wheat alternately; 

 three are devoted to tlie test of growing wheat tW'O years followed 

 by one year's fallow, one plat of the three being fallow^ each year; of 

 the remaining tbree plats one is cropped to wheat each year, the 

 other two lying fallow each year, thus testing the effect of cropping 

 one yeai- in three. The outHne given below shows the method 

 followed : 



[Cir. 61] 



