DRY FARM CROPPING PRACTICES 95 



60. Winter Rye. — This is a promising crop for grain, 

 hay and pasture. The relatively low price of rye grain 

 prevents it competing successfully with wheat where the 

 latter can be grown satisfactorily. On some types of 

 soil and in some seasons, however, the larger yield of 

 rye is more than sufficient to offset this disadvantage. 



61. Spring Rye. — This crop is earlier, hardier and 

 more drought resistant than wheat, but like winter rye 

 the price is relatively low as compared with that of 

 wheat. On some of the lighter soil types in the dry 

 areas this crop deserves more extensive use. 



62. Flax. — As a dry land crop flax deserves greater 

 consideration than it has received in the past, particu- 

 larly on breaking or sod land, and on heavy land that 

 does not blow. Care should be taken to secure clean 

 seed, free from disease and to sow thinly on firm soil. 



63. — Two-Row Barley. — Most agronomists have hereto- 

 fore recommended only six-row barleys for Western 

 Canada. The results of careful tests at Saskatoon and 

 at points in western North Dakota and Montana indi- 

 cate, however, that some of the two-row sorts are prob- 

 ably to be preferred in the southern parts of western 

 Saskatchewan and eastern Alberta. Hannchen, a two- 

 row but short-strawed variety, has averaged over fifteen 

 per cent, more than the highest yielding six-row variety 

 at Saskatoon, White Smyrna, a two-row, short-strawed 

 variety is highly recommended in Montana. 



64. Eramer. — ^^This is a wheat the seed of which retains 

 the hull when threshed. It is used in the dry parts of 

 some of the states for horse feed but has not so far been 

 grown much in Western Canada. Its usefulness is, 

 therefore, still in doubt. Where oats do not do well on 

 account of dry weather it should be carefully tested. At 



