DRY FARMING CONGRESS. 



105 



the farm, and to that end advise raising crops which can be turned into 

 nieat. or other animal products with the least handling. 



Among the fodders, corn, kaffir corn, millet and sorghum are quite 

 profitable where the altitude and other conditions are favorable, but the 

 small grains are and will be more generally raised in this country. All 

 the small grains, rye. wheat, spelts, oats and beardless barley, I feel 

 sure can be raised in the arid and semi-arid regions with far less moisture 

 than we imagine, provided we do our part. We have the soil, climate, and 

 reall}' more moisture than many of us have an}^ conception of; nature 

 has been far more kind than we realize. 



Spelts' should be threshed before fed to stock, but wheat may be 

 headed and fed in the straw. 'The grain I hold in high esteem is the 

 six-rowed beardless barley, which retains its hull. This grain should be 

 cut in the stiff dough, and fed either alone or in conjunction with alfalfa. 

 I have fed this combination to fatten sheep with the very best success. 

 In my opinion the two greatest stock foods for production with minimum 

 amounts of moisture are alfalfa and the Canadian field pea. These crops 

 are of first importance for two reasons: First, they are stock foods 

 par excellence, and second, the}' gather nitrogen from the air. so im- 

 proving the fertility of the soil that they are essential in our systems 

 of rotation. In places where there is little winter snow the field pea can 

 be pastured by stock instead of harvested, saving an important item of 

 expense. Pea fed lambs finished in this manner have become famous, 

 and pea fed pork is unexcelled. Peas are excellent feed for either 

 horses or cattle, fed as ha}', or the peas may be threshed and ground. 

 I have raised excellent crops and last year secured good results with 

 them, where the rainfall in twelve months amounted to only ten inches. 

 Alfalfa is an important dry farming crop both for hay and seed pro- 

 duction. It takes time and the right method to get a stand, and on many 

 of our soils, no doubt, inoculation will be necessary. jMost of us are 

 in too great a hurry to sow alfalfa. We do it before we have properly 

 prepared our seed bed. or have sufficient moisture stored up. 



There are several crops of importance for green pasture and hay, 

 and this brings me to a consideration of the use of winter grains. There 

 IS perhaps no plant miore sure to produce where the rainfall is scanty 

 than winter rye, and it may be used for green pasture both in fall and 

 spring, after which -it may be allowed to gi-ow up and either be cut for 

 ha}', or allowed to get ripe for its grain. Rye grain is one of the most 

 valuable foods for hogs. Winter wheat should be grown wherever it 

 can be made successful as it gives the farmer a long season instead of 

 a short one in which to do his work, and our spring moisture is usually 

 sufficient to mature a good crop. Winter wheat will be generally suc- 

 cessful where there is either winter rain or snow, or the previous sea- 

 son's moisture has been properh' conserved, and my demonstrations 

 make me believe it will succeed practically anywhere if proper methods 

 are carried out. AA'inter emmer, which is now being grown for general 

 introduction by the Wyoming Plant & Seed Breeding Company, Wyoming, 



