DRY-FARMING 



even a normal crop. Numerous experi- 

 ments have shown that from 300 to over 

 500 tons of water are required on the 

 average to produce one ton of dry vege- 

 table matter. In Wisconsin, King found 

 that a two-ton crop of oat-hay re- 

 quired over 1000 tons of water per acre, 

 which is equal to about nine inches of 

 rainfall. 



Again, the amount of water which a 

 soil can hold depends chiefly upon the 

 depth of the soil reservoir and the fine- 

 ness of the soil particles. That is to say, 

 deep plowing and the thorough pulver- 

 izing of the soil are the two factors which 

 enable any soil to hold the maximum 

 amount of moisture. Most farmers are 

 well aware of the advantages of deep 

 plowing, more particularly in dry sea- 

 sons; but some do not yet fully com- 

 prehend the benefit of "fining" or 

 pulverizing the soil. Now, since each 

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