DRY FARMING 4 i 9 



deterioration in the soil under dry farming is therefore likely to be mainly in the loss 

 of the organic matter. In most virgin dry farming soils the organic matter is low in 

 quantity but high in nitrogen content, and it may be rapidly destroyed under faulty 

 methods of farming, particularly where bare fallow is frequently practiced, and where 

 the amount of organic matter which is restored by plowing under some portion of the 

 crops grown is small. Here occurs another contrast between dry farming and humid 

 farming. The main object usually sought in increasing the organic matter in soils 

 of the humid regions is to provide nitrogen, while under dry farming the main purpose 

 is to improve the physical condition of the soil in its relation to water, with the addi- 

 tion of nitrogen as a secondary consideration. 



Many attempts have been made to elaborate some general system of dry farming 

 that would meet all conditions. Such attempts could be made only by those with 

 an entirely inadequate conception of the magnitude and complexity of the problems 

 involved and the diversity of soil and climatic conditions to be encountered, or by 

 those having some ulterior motives in promulgating such theories. The soils of the 

 dry farming regions range from the lightest sands and silts to the heaviest clays, and 

 the annual precipitation from severe drought to humid conditions. Even in years 

 of normal precipitation the daily distribution of the rainfall in relation to the stage of 

 development of the crop and the character of the soil may under some combinations 

 of these factors result in the production of an abundant crop, and in others a total 

 failure. Practically every detail of dry farming practice must be predicated upon the 

 particular combination of soil, climatic and economic conditions with which the farmer 

 is confronted at the time, nor can he disregard the conditions that are likely to exist 

 at some future time. For instance, some have advocated early deep fall plowing as 

 an invariable practice. Some soils under some climatic conditions are in such condi- 

 tions at that time of year as to make deep plowing, and in some instances even shallow 

 plowing, utterly impracticable. The dry farmer must then look forward and attempt 

 to form an opinion as to what combination of conditions is likely to exist during the 

 following spring, and to calculate how much spring plowing he can do with his avail- 

 able teams before seeding time. He may come to the conclusion that he must disk 

 some of his land without plowing at all, and it is not impossible that he may get his 

 best crop on his disked land. A few years ago the " dust mulch " was recommended 

 by many as the only proper means of conserving moisture. Practical farmers, how- 

 ever, soon discovered that on some soils the heavy winds would remove the entire 

 " dust mulch " and not only ruin the field from which it was blown but in some in- 

 stances the adjoining fields upon which it was deposited. Such have been the results 

 of many attempts to maintain a dust mulch on the wind-swept prairies of the Great 

 Plains. At Nephi, Utah, during the summer of 1900 a different result was obtained 

 on a summer tilled field which was supposed to be in ideal condition, being covered 

 with a fine " dust mulch." A heavy, beating rain of 2.5 inches occurred and it quickly 

 reduced the dust mulch to a pasty impervious covering, which allowed but 20% of the 

 rainfall to be absorbed, while on an adjacent stubble field 40% of the rainfall was ab- 

 sorbed. Similar results have been noted in many other instances. It has been found 

 that both of the above mentioned difficulties can usually be avoided either by leaving 

 the land unplowed and protected by the stubble of the previous crop during the fall 

 and winter, or, if plowed, by keeping the surface, until seeded, in an uneven or cloddy 

 condition. Subsoiling or very deep plowing is now being very strongly recommended 

 by some, but many experiments on a great variety of soils and under varying climatic 

 conditions have shown that frequently as good and sometimes better crops can be 

 grown on shallow plowing, or even on land that has been disked but not plowed since 

 the previous crop was harvested. This practice is particularly applicable where small 

 grain is to follow a crop of corn. Alternate cropping and summer tillage is a favorite 

 practice in some dry farming districts, especially in Utah and Eastern Oregon and 

 Washington and in some of the Canadian provinces, but dry farmers are learning 

 that a properly planned system of crop rotation in which corn or some other inter- 



