6 BULLETIN 242, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



sand. There is very little difference in the productivity of these two 

 types of soil, but they demand different treatment to produce the 

 best results. 



Generally speaking, the sandy soils give more trouble from blow- 

 ing and drifting than do the heavier soils. On the other hand, they 

 have the advantage of being more receptive of rainfall. On the 

 sandy soils tillage implements which do not pulverize the surface 

 but leave it in a rough condition should be used. At Garden City 

 and Dalhart much difficulty has been experienced in handling this 

 class of soils so as to prevent blowing. The soil at Amarillo is heavy, 

 and little difficulty is there experienced from this source. 



EXPERIMENTAL WORK. 



Work was started at the Garden City station and the first crop 

 produced in 1907. The Dalhart station was started in 1907 and the 

 first crop was produced in 1908. The first crop was produced at 

 Amarillo in 1906. In the fall of 1909 this station was moved to a 

 new location and the first crop at the new location was produced 

 in 1910. In preparing the tables covering these studies the yield 

 of the crop for the first year at each of the stations has not been 

 used, because the land was uniform in its preparation. The yield 

 of the 1910 crop at Amarillo has not been included on account of 

 the station being moved. 



At all of these stations an attempt has been made to produce all 

 of the farm crops that cOuld reasonably be expected to grow suc- 

 cessfully in this region. Not only has this practice been rigidly 

 adhered to, but an effort has also been made to grow these crops 

 under as many different methods of tillage as would be met with 

 in ordinary farm practice. In other words, the range of preparation 

 and cultivation has been from the extensive to the intensive system 

 of farming. 



SMALL GRAIN. 



Spring wheat, winter wheat, oats, and barley will be considered 

 in this study under this heading. The greatest disadvantages attend- 

 ing the growth of small grains in the southern portion of the Great 

 Plains are the unfavorable climatic conditions prior to and imme- 

 diately after seeding. The precipitation table shows that the rain- 

 fall from September 1 to May 1 is usually very light. The soil is 

 very dry at the time for seeding small-grain crops. This is especially 

 true if a crop has been grown on the land the previous summer. It 

 is difficult to secure a stand of small grain when seeded under these 

 conditions. As a result of the scant rainfall and the dry soil at 

 seeding time the growth of the young plants is so retarded that 

 they do not make a sufficient growth to protect themselves from soil 



