WATER STOEING AND PLOWING 129 



the soil will thereby be conserved, and whatever 

 water may fall during the spring months will be con- 

 served also. This is of especial importance in the 

 Great Plains region and in any district where the 

 precipitation comes in the spring and winter months. 



Likewise, after fall plowing, the land must be well 

 stirred in the early spring with the disk harrow or a 

 similar implement, to enable the spring rains to enter 

 the soil easily and to prevent the evaporation of the 

 water already stored. Where the rainfall is quite 

 abundant and the plowed land has been beaten down 

 by the frequent rains, the land should be plowed 

 again in the spring. Where such conditions do not 

 exist, the treatment of the soil with the disk and har- 

 row in the spring is usually sufficient. 



In recent dry-farm experience it has been fairly 

 completely demonstrated that, providing the soil is 

 well stored with water, crops wih mature even if no 

 rain falls during the growing season. Naturally, 

 under most circumstances, any rains that may fall 

 on a well-prepared soil during the season of crop 

 growth will tend to increase the crop yield, but some 

 profitable yield is assured, in spite of the season, 

 if the soil is well stored with water at seed time. 

 This is an important principle in the system of dry- 

 farming. 



