LOCAL CONDITIONS WHICH AFFECT DRY FARMING. 



23 



using steam and animals for plowing. The steam outfit requires a 

 large initial investment, and can hardly compete Avith animals 

 except wliere there is so much land under cultivation that it can be 

 used a large part of the time. 



Aside from the ordinary moldboard plow, the disk plow is exten- 

 sively used in dry farming in Utah. The disk plow can be emplo3'ed 

 in plowing land when it is dry and hard, which is highly important, 

 and it also pulverizes the furrow slice when the land is dry rather 

 better than the moldboard plow. The disk plow can also be used 

 in large gangs, and thus works very well behind a traction engine. 

 For summer fallow ploAving a light disk plow in gangs is very 

 popular. Such a plow is about half way between an ordinary disk 

 plow and a disk harrow. It cuts about 4 or 5 inches deep and turns 

 the furrow sufficiently to cover any weeds or trash. 



Pavant Mrs. /o^ooo f^et 



Pa/NB£ARIN6 W/ND 



F/LLMO^£ 5 J 00 re £T 



yQv£HA6£ ANNU/il f^AI^ /3.8 MCM£S. 



D£ser£:t 



4;600F£ET 



/IV£/fAG£ /JnNUM ff/IlN 7. 7 //\/CH£S 



/Horizontal Sc/fi£: 



B/fS£: '4;0O0 F££T. 



l/£Rr/c/>i Scale: 



/.OOO.OOO 60.000 



Fig. 8.— Profile sketch showing the relative positions of Deseret, Fillmore, and Richfield, Utah. 



Where subsoiling is practiced, the use of a subsoiling attachment 

 in a gang plow is found to be not only practicable but pref- 

 erable. One very satisfactory disk gang plow that is made for use 

 wdth five or six horses has tAvo large disks for general use, but when 

 subsoiling is to be done the front disk can be removed and a subsoiler 

 attached in its place. This position of the subsoiler has several 

 advantages. It leaves a smooth-bottomed furrow for the furrow 

 horses to walk in and it also immediately covers the subsoil that is 

 loosened by the subsoil plow, thus preventing a considerable loss of 

 moisture that might result from leaving this loosened subsoil exposed 

 to the air until the next round of the plow. There is some question 

 as to whether subsoil plowing is worth what it costs, and many 

 farmers are of the opinion that deep plowing without subsoiling is 

 the better practice. 



The ordinary disk harrow is, of course, in very general use, not 

 only for pulverizing the soil in preparing a seed bed but also to main- 

 tain the clean fallow wdiich is so essential to success in this type of 

 farming 



103 



