CROPS ON ALKALI LAND, HUNTLEY PROJECT, MONTANA. 3 



manure treatment. Sugar beets yielded at the rate of 11 tons 

 per acre, and a satisfactory stand of alfalfa was secured, although 

 the success of this crop will, of course, not be known until next 

 season. 



It appeared that the leaching out of the salts might be hastened 

 by frequent light applications of irrigation water followed by culti- 

 vation after each irrigation. The purpose of this cultivation was 

 to keep the soil opened and to cause the water to move downward 

 through the soil to the underlying gravel. 



This irrigation was done by means of the bordered check system 

 in which small plats were bordered and made as nearly level as pos- 

 sible, so that the drying of the soil after irrigation would be uniform, 

 in order that the cultivation would not be delayed. This method 

 was practiced on a series of plats on which one green-manure crop 

 had been plowed under and was continued during a part of the season 

 of 1911 and all of the season of 1912. Determinations made at 

 different times indicated that the total salt content of the soil was 

 at first materially reduced by this method, but that it increased 

 slightly in the lower depths during the latter part of 1913, owing 

 to the rapid rise of the ground water. This land was cropped in 

 1913 to alfalfa and oats, one plat to each crop. A good stand of 

 alfalfa was secured, and the oats yielded at the rate of 51.6 bushels 

 per acre. 



On another series of plats on which the flooding and cultivation 

 treatment was practiced, manure was applied at the rate of 20 loads 

 per acre each year during 1911 and 1912. Determinations of the total 

 salt content of the soil indicate that this method was only slightly 

 more effective in reducing the salt in the soil than the irrigation and 

 cultivation treatment without the use of barnyard manure. The 

 crops grown on this land in 1913 were spring wheat, oats, and sugar 

 beets. Wheat yielded at the rate of 36 bushels, oats at the rate of 

 68.9 bushels, and beets at the rate of 7.9 tons per acre. 



The method of plowing under green manure has apparently been 

 more effective in reducing the salt content of the soil, as indicated 

 by determinations made in 1913, than has either of the other methods 

 tried. 



During the latter part of the season of 1912 and during 1913 there 

 has been a rapid rise of the ground water over this area. The average 

 depth during 1913 was about 3 feet, and it is apparent that under- 

 ground drainage will be required before the benefits of soil treat- 

 ment can be expected to be permanent. 



The experimental work, begun on this tract in 1910, has been 

 continued during three seasons and is still in progress. While the 

 reclamation of the tract is not yet completed, substantial progress 

 has been made, and it seems desirable to publish an account of the 



