98 DRY LAND FARMING 



breaking to lie fallow the first season, whether the land 

 is plowed in the autumn or in the spring. The surface 

 soil is kept in condition for the easy access of water 

 when it is subjected to the summer-fallowing process, 

 or when a cultivated crop is grown upon it. The use 

 of the disc on stubble land after harvest aids materially 

 in the storage of water in the soil. When land is 

 being fallowed or a cultivated crop is being grown upon 

 it, the forming of a crust a few inches below the surface 

 should be guarded against. If present it should be 

 broken up by deep cultivation. When alfalfa comes fre- 

 quently in the rotation the spaces occupied by the de- 

 cayed roots form ready channels for the easy descent of 

 water into the subsoil. If the farmer persists in growing 

 small grains on the land year after year where the pre- 

 cipitation is light, the soil moisture will be drawn upon 

 to such an extent that none will be left to enter the sub- 

 soil. The run off waters may be partially held until 

 they enter the soil, but loss from this source may not 

 be wholly prevented in all instances. Loss from this 

 source only occurs when moisture accumulates within 

 short periods of time, as when rain comes in downpours 

 or snows melt suddenly. The plowing, discing and har- 

 rowing of sloping land along the slope will lessen the 

 loss. Keeping surfaces from baking will do the same. 

 Stubbles also are helpful. It is not possible under any 

 conditions to save all the water that enters the soil, 

 but much of it may be saved. When the subsoil is 

 moistened to low depths, the roots will feed deeply save 

 where there is an excess of water in the lower soil. 



In humid areas the question is not usually how to 

 retain subsoil moisture, but how to get rid of the excess. 

 In dry areas the former will always be a burning ques- 

 tion. The subsoil moisture, like the soil moisture, is 

 drawn upon from two sources. One is the needs of the 

 crops that are grown. The other is the influences con- 



