THE FALLOW YEAR 203 



fallowing for the purpose of storing moisture in the 

 soil is unnecessary; the only value of the fallow 

 year under such conditions would be to set free fer- 

 tility. In the Great Plains area the rainfall is some- 

 what higher than elsewhere in the dry-farm territory 

 and most of it comes in summer; and the summer 

 precipitation is probably enough in average years to 

 mature crops, providing soil conditions are favorable. 

 The main considerations, then, are to keep the soils 

 open for the reception of water and to maintain the 

 soils in a sufficiently fertile condition to produce, as 

 explained in Chapter IX, plants with a minimum 

 amount of water. This is accomplished very largely 

 by the year of hoed crop, when the soil is as well 

 stirred as under a clean fallow. 



The dry-farmer must never forget that the critical 

 element in dry-farming is water and that the annual 

 rainfall will in the very nature of things vary from 

 year to year, with the result that the dry year, or the 

 year with a precipitation below the average, is sure to 

 come. In somewhat wet years the moisture stored 

 in the soil is of comparatively little consequence, but 

 in a year of drouth it will be the main dependence of 

 the farmer. Now, whether a crop be hoed or not, it 

 requires water for its growth, and land which is con- 

 tinuously cropped even with a variety of crops is 

 likely to be so largely depleted of its moisture that, 

 when the year of drouth comes, failure will probably 

 result. 



