IN WESTERN STATES 49 



is accomplished by what is known as summer fallowing, 

 The process consists of plowing the ground as if for 

 immediate planting, and then keeping it well cultivated 

 without a crop during the season, thus conserving most of 

 the moisture that falls. 



Fallowing is usually practised every second year in re- 

 gions having less than fifteen inches of rainfall. Where 

 the rainfall is from fifteen to twenty inches the fallowing 

 may be limited to every third or even every fourth year. 

 The fallowed soil should be kept wholly free from weeds 

 as they use up moisture, encourage insects, and make the 

 ground foul. In various regions of the Great Plains in- 

 creased frequency of cultivation has been found to take 

 in some degree the place of fallowing. Wherever this 

 system can be successfully used it should, of course, be 

 adopted, as it saves the loss from idle land during the fal- 

 lowing period. Fallow fields also often lose fertility through 

 the blowing of loose soil in high winds. 



4. Management of the Dry-Farm 



Dry-farm crops. A great degree of the success of 

 dry-farming depends on the selection of crops that are 

 capable of growing with a minimum supply of moisture. 

 While many of the crops grown under humid conditions 

 can be successfully produced by dry-farming methods, yet 

 certain varieties are better adapted to resist drought than 

 others and should therefore be used. 



A second factor to be taken into account is that plants 

 have the power of adapting themselves to the conditions 

 under which they grow. Varieties that have become accus- 

 tomed to dry-farming regions and methods of cultivation 

 should be selected. This also suggests that home grown 

 seed should generally be used rather than seed brought 

 from humid territory. 



