76 DRY LAND FARMING 



tendency to puddling and baking. It also aids in sup- 

 plying, the young plants with plant food when the alkali 

 soil alone would not do so. The third step is to grow 

 such plants as will aid in removing the alkali and will 

 at the same time give a profitable return. Sugar beets 

 will absorb more of the salts probably than any other 

 crop, but it may not be easy to secure a stand of the 

 young plants. Among the small grains oats have the 

 highest adaptation for such soils. Sweet clover may also 

 be used in removing alkali from these soils. 



Production as an index of soils. If a soil is to pro- 

 duce well in dry areas it must be possessed of certain 

 physical and chemical characteristics. The former in- 

 clude: (1) much depth of soil and subsoil; (2) much 

 uniformity in the character of the soil grains in both 

 soil and subsoil; (3) much power to absorb and hold 

 moisture, and (4) that blending of sand and clay ele- 

 ments which favors easy tillage. The latter include: (1) 

 the large inherent storage of the elements of plant food ; 

 (2) the elements of plant food held in proper balance, 

 and (3) the absence in excess of such elements as may 

 lead to what is termed an alkali condition of the soil 

 In the absence of physical examination much may be 

 determined by the character of the vegetation found 

 growing on the soil. Such vegetation includes: (1) the 

 growth of sage brush in one or the other of its forms ; 

 (2) greasewood and rabbit brush in varying degrees of 

 vigor and plentifulness ; (3) sparse vegetation, and (4) 

 the presence of various grasses. 



Sage brush is essentially a product of semi-arid soils 

 in dry areas. It is of several types which cannot be 

 dwelt upon in a work of this nature. It would seem 

 correct to say, however, that the character of the sage 

 brush is a measure of the fertility of semi-arid soils. 

 Where the brush is abundant and of large growth, the 

 ability of the soil to produce well under proper condi- 



