50 



yet the total yield was heavier than the average yield of the neighbourhoods 

 in this rotation of wheat and bare-fallow* the ground was frequently and 

 deeply stirred. This system is practically the same as that advocated by 

 Campbell, and so successfully practised by the dry-farmer of Utah, and 

 which I earnestly hope will be widely adopted throughout the Transvaal. 



Two arguments are sometimes urged against the use of moisture- 

 saving fallows. Firstly, that the increased crop does not pay for the 

 trouble involved in tilling the land so frequently, and, secondly, that 

 constant cultivation is apt to exhaust the soil of its nitrogen content as 

 has happened notably in the orchards of California. The first objection 

 usually comes from the farmer, the second from the agricultural chemist. 

 This is therefore one of these matters which each individual must deter- 

 mine for himself ; but the writer does not hesitate to state in the strongest 

 terms that since the conservation of moisture is the alpha and omega of 

 dry-farming, the use of the moisture-saving fallow is absolutely essential 

 lor the best results. Moreover, a soil might be full of plant food, but 

 without sufficient moisture it would be useless for all practical purposes. 

 Again, there are few soils in South Africa that will not yield their hundred 

 fold if supplied with sufficient moisture. But perhaps the chief argument 

 in support of tne moisture fallow is that it teaches, as nothing else can, the 

 value of good tillage and the inherent fertility of land properly treated. 

 The most fatal error in modern farming is the careless preparation of the 

 ground. Poor shallow ploughing and the lack of after-cultivation of the 

 soil are the two factors to which crop failure is largely due. It i& 

 impossible for any plant to withstand a severe drought when its roots lie 

 in hard, dry soil. But put the same seed in deep, mellow earth, with a 

 moisture-saving mantle, and it remains green after weeks of rainless 

 weather. In the past the great mistake in South African agriculture has 

 been over-irrigation, with little or no cultivation, and the soil soon becomes- 

 stagnant with a surplus supply of water. Sunshine and air are excluded, 

 the fertility of the land impaired, and the root system of the crop often 

 permanently injured. When farmers realise that most crops can be- 

 successfully grown on dry-lands merely with good cultivation, they will 

 hesitate before embarking upon expensive irrigation schemes and will 

 seriously study the problem of better tillage. 



Turn now for a moment to the question of fertility. It is not hard 

 to repair an exhausted soil by means of green manures or better still by 

 the natural manure of the farm (kraal manure). The reason why the 

 addition of humus (i.e. vegetable or animal matter) to any soil is so 

 valuable in dry-farming is that land well supplied with this constituent 

 more readily absorbs and retains moisture than that which lacks nitro- 

 genous matter — the so-called vegetable mould. In America the most 

 successful dry-land farmers are those who are engaged in mixed farming — 

 that is, growing grain and raising stock at the same time. When crops 

 are fed to stock on the farm, and the manure and refuse, such as maize 

 stalks, returned to the land, the loss of soil fertility is comparatively 

 small. The feeding of cattle, sheep, and pigs on the dry-farm will bring 

 in to the energetic farmer ready money, while the manure will help to 

 improve his soils and sustain his crops in seasons of drought. But the 

 dry-farmer should never lose sight of the fact that the problem of moisture 

 is far more important than the question of fertility. 



A word now in regard to drought-resistant crops. These can be- 

 obtained by selection, by breeding, ,and by exploration. The most notable 



[u place of the old term bare fallow the writer prefers to speak of '•moisture-saving'" 

 or " moist uro-fallows." 



