DRY-FARMING 



even a normal crop. Numerous experi- 

 ments have shown that from 300 to over 

 500 tons of water are required on the 

 average to produce one ton of dry vege- 

 table matter. In Wisconsin, King f oimd 

 that a two-ton crop of oat-hay re- 

 quired over 1000 tons of water per acre, 

 which is equal to about nine inches of 

 rainfall. 



Again, the amount of water which a 

 soil can hold depends chiefly upon the 

 depth of the soil reservoir and the fine- 

 ^ness of the soil particles. That is to say, 

 deep plowing and the thorough pulver- 

 izing of the soil are the two factors which 

 enable any soil to hold the maximum 

 amoim^t of moisture. Most farmers are 

 well aware of the advantages of deep 

 plowing, more particularly in dry sea- 

 sons; but some do not yet fully com- 

 prehend the benefit of "fining" or 

 pulverizing the soil. Now, since each 



