288 CAMPBELL'S SOIL CULTURE MANUAL 



The Campbell method has fought its way to acceptance 

 through its results only. Its- first victory was won in 1894 

 in Brown county, S. D., when Mr. Campbell grew 142 

 bushels of potatoes per acre in competition with his uncon- 

 verted neighbors, who undertook by old methods to sur- 

 pass the new way, and met failure from severe drought. 

 In the autumn Mr. Campbell's field was moist to a depth 

 of six feet, though all others were dry as dust to an inde- 

 finite depth. In October, 1895, the same field showed ten 

 feet of moisture a clear evidence of gain on the drouth. 



Mr. Campbell was testing his system patiently, and by 

 true scientific methods, and this year sent many test tubes 

 of earth to the department of Agriculture at Washington 

 for moisture tests. The following table shows the re- 

 sults of these tests from two fields: No. 1, under the 

 Campbell method; No. 2, under ordinary tillage. Similar 

 results are found in all these tests. The table covers the 

 first ten tests of July, at the Hastings, Neb., station. 



Date Ins. rainfall 



No. 1 No. 2 



July 1st, None, 18.49 9.71 



" 3d, " 18.30 9.68 



" 4th, " 18.30 10.25 



" 5th, " 19.89 9.16 



" 6th, " 19.19 10.33 



" 7th, " 17.04 9.85 



" 8th, 1-16 inch, 18.85 10.00 



" 9th, None, 18.37 8.62 



11 10th, " 17.36 8.90 



" llth, " 16.29 8.23 



The significant thing shown in this table is the uniform 

 moisture of the Campbell fields, at the level most favorable 



