234 MISCELLANEOUS FARM SUBJECTS 



more comfortable and greatly improved in appearance by the free 

 use of shrubs and trees. The same care, however, must be exercised 

 in the selection of the kinds to plant and in their care as is used 

 with field crops. The first two or three years, until they become 

 deeply rooted, is the most critical period in the life of a tree or 

 ornamental shrub. Cultivation during that period should be con- 

 stant and thorough. 



Crops. The dry farmer, more than the humid land or irriga- 

 tion farmer, must select and grow crops adapted to his local condi- 

 tions. The developing of varieties capable of contending with aridity 

 is progressing rapidly. Rotating of crops, conserving and utilizing 

 of farm manures, and maintaining a full complement of livestock 

 are essentials to the highest degree of success in dry land farming. 



Earliness. The two principal reasons for desiring early varie- 

 ties are, first, to extend the range of grain sorghums into dry regions 

 having a short growing season; and, second, to obtain the fullest 

 possible benefit from the seasonal rainfall, which comes largely dur- 

 ing the early summer months in parts of the grain-sorghum belt. 

 This second reason is thus connected with the problem of drought 

 resistance, though, as pointed out, earliness is a means of drought 

 evasion, not of resistance. 



Late varieties of milo do not mature. At lower elevations their 

 present range extends northward into southwestern Nebraska. In 

 northern Nebraska, the Dakotas, Montana, and Idaho the increasing 

 latitude and shorter growing season prevent their successful matur- 

 ing. It seems certain, also, that the soil, especially at night, is too 

 cool to permit vigorous growth, thus retarding the maturing of the 

 plant even where the season is otherwise long enough. 



Improvement in earliness will need to be continued for a long 

 time if varieties are to be perfected for the needs of all the dry- 

 farming regions. 



Early Varieties. The milos are much earlier varieties than 

 the kafirs, and are very promising material on which to work. In 

 the Panhandle of Texas, at elevations of 3,000 to 4,000 feet, they 

 now mature in ninety to one hundred days when sown May 15 to 

 20. At present they are grown successfully at altitudes between, 

 4,000 and 5,000 feet in Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado. 



Earliness can be developed only by continuous selection. Such 

 selections can be made either at heading time or at the time of ripen- 

 ing, but are preferably the results of records made at both periods. 

 When the field or seed plat of the variety begins to head, a number 

 of the earliest heads which are otherwise suitable for selection should 

 be marked by means of tags on which is recorded the date of heading. 

 When the heads on these selected stalks begin to show the charac- 

 teristic colors and texture of the hard dough, or ripening stage, the 

 date of ripening should be added to the tags. Other things being 

 equal, those heads for which 'the shortest time has elapsed between 

 heading and ripening are to be considered the earliest These heads 

 should be carefully saved separately and used for continuing the 

 work another season. 



