32 FIELD OPERATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF SOILS, 1919. 



root. Of the cultivated crops, wheat ranks first in acreage and is the 

 chief cash crop. Spring wheat is planted most extensively and the 

 durum wheats are the leading varieties. Turkey is the principal 

 winter wheat. It has come into prominence within the last . few 

 years, as it gives a higher yield and usually sells for more on the 

 market than the spring varieties. Rye, oats, corn, and potatoes rank 

 in acreage in the order named. Most of the rye is sold outside the 

 county, though some is used for feeding purposes. Corn and oats 

 are fed to work stock and cattle. Only the earliest maturing crops 

 are grown, on account of the shortness of the growing season. 

 Potatoes are generally consumed on the farms where produced, 

 though a few farmers grow them on a commercial scale. The quality 

 of the crop is as good as that obtained on any other soil in the High 

 Plains region. Early Ohio and Trimuph are the principal varieties. 

 A small amount of alfalfa is grown, but the crop does not seem to 

 thrive on this soil, probably on account of insufficient soil moisture, 

 3 cuttings are obtained only in the most favorable years. Millet, 

 sorghum, and kafir are planted on a few farms for winter feed. 

 These crops do well and seldom fail to furnish forage. 



As on most of the soil in this county live stock is the principal 

 source of farm income. Beef cattle are raised almost exclusively, 

 although nearly every farmer owns a few milk cows and sells his 

 surplus dairy products. Many farms have a small herd of horses. 

 The beef cattle are usually shipped in the fall after coming off 

 summer pasture, though a small number are run on the range 

 throughout the year, hay being fed during severe weather. The 

 principal breeds are grade Herefords and Shorthorns. 



The yields of all crops show wide variations from year to year, 

 depending mainly upon the amount and distribution of the rainfall. 

 The average yield of wheat is 15 bushels; r5'e, 20 bushels; oats, 30 

 bushels; corn, 15 bushels; and potatoes, 75 bushels per acre. When 

 cut for fodder, corn yields from 1 to 5 tons per acre. 



The sod land is usually broken to a depth of 3 or 4 inches with 

 plows or tractors, and as soon as possible thereafter it is disked or 

 harrowed to fill up the space between the furrow slices, a practice 

 necessary to prevent excessive loss of moisture. The soil under cul- 

 tivation is plowed only every 2 or 3 years, but is well disked each 

 year before planting to grain. Most of the corn is listed in, though 

 some is planted on sod breaking. Small grain is planted with a 

 press drill. Many tractors are in use on the type and the plowing, 

 disking, and seeding is sometimes done in one operation. 



The small grain is cut with a binder or header and stacked for 

 later thrashing. A few farmers own " combines " and do their own 

 thrashing. Crop rotation is not practiced, and little or no manure 

 is applied to the land. 



