DRY FARMING 179 



this rainfall is carried into the soil and there stored, the 

 crop can be saved and a bountiful harvest made, although 

 there be little rain during the growing season. 



Dry farming, or any system akin to water-saving, is 

 nothing more than good farming. Its real meaning is 

 good tillage ; it means water-saving by good plowing and 

 frequent, effective cultivation ; it means crop rotation for 

 its sanitary effect ; it means humus for the soil for its 

 many-sided benefits. Dry farming means especially these 

 things : water is to be absorbed, water is to be saved, and 

 plants are to be adapted to their mode of life. 



It is a fact beyond controversy that the average farmer 

 rarely comprehends just what land management means. 

 He plows, of course, but he usually stops there. Mere 

 plowing may mean tremendous moisture loss, unless 

 cultivation be given the mulch-making kind so that the 

 capillary tubes of the top and under soil may be discon- 

 nected, that the water in the reservoir beneath may not 

 get out into the atmosphere above. 



Since the soil has been studied in the laboratory and 

 field, many of the secrets, heretofore hidden and unintelli- 

 gible, have been revealed. This revelation tells us that 

 many old methods employed in the management of 

 lands of tillage and of cultivation are poor methods, 

 indeed. Good farming aims to hold onto the best of the 

 old methods and to adopt every good idea or method that 

 is provided and tried. 



Managing stubble lands. Now, in the summer time we 

 find the greatest difficulty, and especially is this true of 

 the water supply. \Yeeds, grass, and growing crops are 

 at work pumping water out of the soil The winds lick 

 water from the surface as fast as it comes to the top. The 

 air, so frequently hot and thirsty, pulls into its kingdom 

 every bit of vapor or moisture that peeps above the sur- 



