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DRY-FARMING CONGRESS, WICHITA, 1914 



Growing a Pasture Crop on the Fallow Decreased the Yield. 



Growing a thin crop of oats on the fallow for pasture decreased the 

 yield of wheat 11 bushels, 20 pounds, and the yield of oats 19 bushels, 29 

 pounds; while rape sown in rows for pasture on the fallow decreased the 

 yield of wheat 8 bushels and the yield of oats 6 bushels, 6 pounds per acre. 



Once Plowing of the Fallow Preferable to Twice Plowing. 



On land free from grass, once plowing in the middle of June with 

 later surface cultivation with disc and harrows increased the yield of wheat 

 2 bushels, 3 pounds; oats, 3 bushels, 11 pounds; and barley, 4 bushels, 34 

 pounds over land plowed in the middle of June and harrowed and plowed 

 again in August and packed and harrowed. Deep plowing of the fallow 

 is also desirable in dry regions, but on new land a depth of seven or eight 

 inches should generally be reached gradually and not at the time of the 

 first fallow. 



"Grassy" Stubble Should be Plowed. 



Stubble land containing some creeping-rooted grasses yielded, when 

 plowed, disced, packed and harrowed in the fall, an increase of 3 bushels, 

 15 pounds of wheat and 13 bushels 6 pounds of oats more than adjoining 

 unplowed stubble that was disced, packed and harrowed in the fall and 

 grassy stubble plowed, disced, packed and harrowed in the spring, returned 

 5 bushels, 56 pounds more wheat and 10 bushels, SV2 pounds more oats than 

 unplowed land that was disced, packed and harrowed in the spring. 



Plow Stubble Land in Early Fall in Preference to Later. 



Fall plowing done early after harvest increased the yield of wheat 2 

 bushels, 10 pounds and the yield of oats 7 bushels, 49 pounds over fall 

 plowing done three weeks later, but otherwise similarly treated. 



Harrow Plowing Immediately. 



It should be mentioned here that all fall or spring plowing, particularly 

 the former, should be well worked down immediately after the operation. 

 If it is not done soon, the moisture evaporates quickly, and if it is not done 

 at all, the yields are often less than if left unplowed. The average in- 

 crease in the yield of wheat over a period of four years from harrowing 

 immediately after the operation, was on shallow plowing 1 bushel, 44 

 pounds, and on deep plowing, 2 bushels, 13 pounds. 



Packing. 



The average increase during four years from packing deep plowing 

 was 1 bushel, 43 pounds of wheat; from packing shallow plowing, 45 

 pounds of wheat, while packing unplowed land decreased the yield slightly 

 in three of the four years, but increased it in the fourth, a year when the' 

 frost came early in the fall. 



Soil Conditions Important. 



Our observations based on four years work incline us to the opinion 

 that the "condition" of the soil and the presence of grass are the principal 

 factors that determine the best depth and the best time to plow stubble 

 land. Spring plowing, fall plowing, shallow plowing and deep plowing 



