October, 1921 



merits of the Kansas station afford an il- 

 lustration of the effectiveness of this means 

 of conserving soil moisture. 



One of the station fields which contained 

 in round numbers 26 per cent of water in 

 the first foot of soil, had one portion 

 plowed, another disk harrowed, and a por- 

 tion left untreated. The ensuing dry 

 weather in the course of four weeks, not- 

 withstanding several light r.Tins, reduced 

 the moisture of the untreated part to 1 S 

 per cent and that of the disked land to 18 

 per cent, the plowed ground containing 21 

 per cent. The last two were in excellent 

 condition for seeding, while the first would 

 plow up lumpy and unsatisfactory. 



In the experiments at the Kansas station 

 plowing proved as effective as any form 

 of tillage tested. If time does not permit 

 plowing, the speedv work of the disk har- 

 row compares favorably in efficiency. In 

 either case, if rain sufficient to start the 

 weeds, follows, kill them with a harrow. 

 This will at the same time break up any 

 crust and preserve the soil mulch. 



Whether the best results in preventing 

 loss of moisture from the soil in humid 

 regions will be obtained by subsoiling, shal- 

 low cultivation, or deep cultivation will de- 

 pend very largely upon the character of 

 the soil and subsoil. The Kansas station 

 found no essential difference in the mois- 

 ture content at the different depths of soil 

 that had been prepared in the spring by 

 the shallow plowing, by deep plowing and 

 bv subsoiling. In experiments at the North 

 Dakota station on different methods of pre- 

 paring soil and tillage for wheat the largest 

 yield was obtained from land subsoiled 

 eight inches below a six-inch furrow. A 

 surface mulch of well tilled soil three or 

 four inches thick is usually considered suf- 

 ficient to afford effective protection against 

 evaporation in humid regions. In regions 

 of deficient rainfall, however, twice this 

 depth is considered necessary. 



In humid regions there is danger of seri- 

 ous loss of nitrates in subjecting bare 

 plowed land to the long continued leaching 

 action of abundant rains, as is done in sum- 

 mer fallowing and fall plowing; neverthe- 

 less, the Kansas station has found that the 

 plowing of stubble as soon as possible after 

 the removal of the previous crop, with fre- 

 quent stirring of the soil, as described 

 above, "not onlv insures a perfect seed bed 

 for wheat in respect to moisture, but the 

 soil has time to settle to the firm condition 

 so advantageous to wheat, and the bareness, 

 warmth and moisture are most favorable to 

 the formation of nitrates from organic mat- 

 ter." In regions of deficient rainfall loss 

 by leaching need not be feared. Under 

 such conditions both summer fallowing and 

 fall plowing may prove of great value in 

 conserving moisture. 



Fall plowing wherever the land is not 

 naturally adequately absorbent, and is not 

 thereby rendered liable to washing away, 

 is a very effectual mode of utilization of 

 the winter's moisture to the utmost, so as to 

 bring about the junction of the season's 



BETTER FRUIT 



moisture with that of the previous season, 

 which is generally considered as being a 

 condition precedent for crop production in 

 dry years. The same, of course, holds true 

 of winter Irrigation, the frequent omission 

 of which in presence of plentiful water 

 supply at that season is a prolific cause of 

 avoidable crop failures. Moistening the 

 ground to a considerable depth by winter 

 irrigation Is a very effective mode of pro- 

 moting deep rooting, and will thus stand 

 in lieu of later irrigations, which, being 

 more scant, tend to keep the roots near the 

 surface. 



Moisture escapes from soils bearing crops 

 much more rapidly than from bare soils. 

 This fact has been very fairly and clearly 

 demonstrated by investigations by the Iowa, 

 ansas, Wisconsin and other stations. These 

 investigations show that sod land and sol! 

 bearing different crops always maintain 

 less moisture than uncultivated soil of the 

 same character. It is undoubtedly true that 

 the injurious effect of weeds is due fully 

 di much to the moisture which they with- 

 draw' from the soil as to the plant food 

 which thev consume. The poor growth of 

 crops near hedgerows and woods is due 

 largeh- to withdrawal from the soil of 

 moisture required for the proper growth 

 of the crops. It is a well known fact that 

 the culture of crops In the orchards may 

 prove injurious to fruit trees, especially In 

 the dry seasons. This is due mainly to the 



Page 21 



withdrawal of moisture needed by the trees. 

 The danger from this source is especially 

 great If the fruit trees are very shallow 

 rooted. 



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