118 DRY-FARMING 
the soil to a depth of 8 feet or more. The larger 
the quantity of water in the soil in the fall, the more 
readily and quickly will the water that falls on the 
land during the resting period of fall, winter, and 
early spring sink into the soil and move away from 
the topsoil. The top or first foot will always con- 
tain the largest percentage of water because it is the 
chief receptacle of the water that falls as rain or snow, 
but when the subsoil is properly moist, the water 
will more completely leave the topsoil. Further, 
crops planted on a soil saturated with water to a 
depth of 8 feet are almost certain to mature and 
yield well. 
If the field-water capacity has not been filled, 
there is always the danger that an unusually dry 
season or a series of hot winds or other like circum- 
stances may either seriously injure the crop or cause. 
a complete failure. The dry-farmer should keep a 
surplus of moisture in the soil to be carried over 
from year to year, just as the wise business man 
maintains a sufficient working capital for the needs 
of his business. In fact, it is often safe to advise 
the prospective dry-farmer to plow his newly cleared 
or broken land carefully and then to grow no crop 
on it the first year, so that, when crop production 
begins, the soil will have stored in it an amount of 
water sufficient to carry a crop over periods of drouth. 
Especially in districts of very low rainfall is this 
practice to be recommended. In the Great Plains 
