FARMING 



75 



the land for sowing" and in some instances to cover the seed when sown. 

 In dry-land farniino- it has another and a very important mission that is 



two-fold in character. It is used to aid in conserving" moisture, 

 The Mis- and at various times, it is used with great profit on the summer 

 sion of the fallow in forming and maintaining a dust mulch and in keep- 

 Harrow, ing down weeds on the same. No sooner is the fallow land 



plowed and packed that it should be harrowed. The harrow^ 

 makes a soil mulch, that is, a covering of fine soil wdiich dries to the depth 

 of a couple of inches. This prevents the escape of moisture from below. 

 But should rain fall sufficiently to wet through the soil moisture, the 

 surface in drying, will form cracks or openings, and through these the 



An Irrigated Field of White Navtj Beans Near Miles City Which Yielded the Grower 



$61.00 Per Acre. 



moisture will escape from below. To prevent this the harrow should be run 

 over the land as soon as it has dried sufficiently to renew the dust mulch, 

 and it ought to be renewed as frequently as rail destroys it. The use of 

 the harrow thus frequently will go far to maintain cleanness in the land. 

 When breaking is thus managed in an ordinary season the moisture at the 

 end thereof will be down 30 to 36 inches. In land not broken, beside it, 

 there will be litte or no mioisture. It is usually better not to harrow 

 autumn plowed lands the same autumn, as such lands do mot hold any snow. 

 The harrow may also render great ser^'ice when used judiciously on 

 grain crops in dry areas. This claim has been disputed, but our experience, 



— Brains pay on a Montana farm. 



