DRY FARM CROPPING PRACTICES 103 



larly in dry seasons the short-strawed varieties of crops 

 are often found to yield less than longer-strawed ones. 

 It is possible that the actual production may not be less 

 but the amount harvested and threshed frequently is. 

 This is probably due to the inefficiency of our harvesting 

 machinery; the result however is the same. The longer 

 and heavier-strawed varieties probably as a rule use 

 more moisture in manufacturing straw than do the 

 others ; nevertheless, it is a fact that in some seasons and 

 on some soils varieties like Red Fife which have a long 

 straw are preferred to varieties like Marquis which 

 have a short straw. 



