308 DRY FARMING 



is limited it is not advisable to sow grain too thick, other- 

 wise the supply of mbisture may be exhausted before the 

 crop is matured. The quantity to sow will depend upon 

 the character of the soil, and the time of seeding. On 

 well prepared summerfallowed ground, one-half bushel 

 of winter wheat is sufficient seed to sow in western Kan- 

 sas. On ground less well prepared, a bushel of seed is 

 often necessary. When wheat is sown very late in the 

 season, more seed should be used for it will tiller less 

 and therefore, should be sown thicker. 



DRY FARMING IN NEBRASKA 



BY W. W. BURR, PROFESSOR OF AGRONOMY, 



AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION, 



LINCOLN, NEB. 



A large portion of the cultivated' land west of the 

 hundredth meridian in Nebraska is under what is com- 

 monly called dry farming. The conditions that deter- 

 mine dry farming are a dry subsoil and a limited rain- 

 fall. Within the area mentioned in western Nebraska 

 are sub-irrigated areas where sheet water comes close to 

 the surface, and there we could not say that dry farming 

 is practised. Obviously, where water is applied by irri- 

 gation, it is not dry farming. 



The early experiences of farmers in western Nebraska 

 were far from,' satisfactory, and many failures resulted. 

 There were several causes for this, ,aside from the uncer- 

 tainty of the weather, lack of experience in dry regions, 

 poorly adapted crops, and lack of w-orking capital prob- 

 ably being the main ones. The conditions have changed 

 considerably in the last 15 years. Out of the experiences 

 of the farmers have crvstallized some verv sound and 



