APPENDIX 181 



avoid any possible mixture. Last spring I sowed 

 this seed in the garden and after the plants were 

 headed, I weeded out any heads not true to the 

 type I desired. As soon as the grain was ripe I 

 selected a sack full of heads conforming to my 

 ideal. These will be threshed and sown next 

 year. I shall continue improving my wheat if 

 such is possible. 



I FOLLOW THE CAMPBELL SYSTEM 



"Now as to how I till the soil. My main effort 

 is to conserve moisture, in this I try to follow the 

 Campbell system of soil culture, (Campbell Soil 

 Culture Co., Lincoln, Nebraska). Our soil is a 

 moderately heavy chocolate clay loam and works 

 up nicely if done at the proper time. In preparing 

 summer fallow, I prefer starting the year before, 

 by following the binder with a disk harrow, disking 

 the stubble as soon as the grain is cut, keeping 

 far enough away from the standing grain to permit 

 the large wheel of the binder to travel on solid 

 ground. As long as the straw is standing it acts as 

 a blanket on the earth preventing evaporation to 

 a large extent. As soon as the straw is removed 

 the protection is gone and sun and wind soon 

 dry out the surface. By disking as stated, I 

 gain in various ways. First, I break up the cap- 

 illarity of the surface soil to prevent the loss of 

 moisture through evaporation. Second, the soil 

 is in splendid shape to receive a rain and permit 

 the water to enter the soil quickly and to 

 escape through evaporation very slowly. Third, 

 by thoroughly mixing stubble, weeds, roots, 



