266 Twe;nty-seventh Annual Report 



SULPHUR SPRING VALLEY DRY FARM 



The work on the Sulphur Spring Valley Dry Farm proved suc- 

 cessful this year in demonstrating that feed can be produced in sufficient 

 quantities to carry on a system of livestock farming. This success was 

 due largely to the use of selected varieties of crops which have been 

 proven adapted to this region, and to the copious rainfalls which were 

 well distributed during the entire growing season. 



WATER SUPPLY 



The farm is operated so as to take advantage of any flood waters 

 that may come upon it. It is also supplied with a small pumping plant 

 which to a limited extent can be used to supplement dry farming 

 operations. 



Nine inches of rain fell on the place during the months of July, 

 August, and September. The greater portion of this water fell during 

 July and August in eight or ten showers, which thoroughly distributed 

 it over these two growing months. 



CROPS 



Small grains: During the fall of 1915 sixteen varieties of wheat, 

 and one each of oats, barle}^, spelt, emmer, vetch, and rye were planted 

 on one-quarter acre plats. Nearly all of these varieties with the ex- 

 ception of vetch came through the winter with a rather imperfect stand 

 and showed promise of making grain, but upon the advent of warm 

 Vv'eather the lesser migratory locusts appeared and completely destroyed 

 the crops. 



Grain sorghums: The work with the grain sorghums — kafir, 

 feterita. Dwarf and Standard milo — was largely a test to determine the 

 proper date of planting. The best results from these tests were ob- 

 tained with the March 17 planting of Dwarf Black Hulled White kafir. 

 This crop produced 10,530 pounds of green silage per acre on a two-acre 

 plat. Weights for the quantity of grain gave an estimate of 4001 

 pounds of grain in the head per acre. This was more than any of the 

 other grain sorghums planted at any date. Feterita gave fairly good re- 

 s>dts with the July planting. This crop harvested 9504 pounds of green 

 silage and an estimated yield of 2052 pounds of grain in the head per 

 acre. The size of the feterita plat that gave these results was one-third 

 of an acre. None of the plantings made on April 17 and May 18 

 produced a crop of sufficient amount to make those dates of planting 

 practicable. With Dwarf kafir for March planting and feterita for 



