53 



Maintaining the Soil Mulch. 



The soil mulch is one of the most important factors in our success- 

 as dry-farmers. It is by the soil mulch that we are able to conserve 

 the moisture, prevent its loss by evaporation and absorbing all that comes 

 to the soil by precipitation or from dews or other moisture in the air. 

 The summer-fallowed ground should be in a granular form of small 

 lumps, but care should be taken not to get it too fine. The object of 

 cultivating the summer-fallowed soil is to prevent the formation of a 

 crust ; to allow the proper action of the sun and air ; to break up the 

 capillaries and prevent the moisture rising to the surface and evaporating,, 

 and to intercept the growth of weeds. The moisture in the soil goes up 

 and down by capillary movement, and we keep our soil cultivated to 

 break the upper connection and to prevent this loss of moisture. 



Sowing the Crop. 



Winter grain should be sown early, say not later than the end of 

 August or beginning of September. This will give the grain a good 

 start and it will be in better condition to stand the winter. Spring 

 grain should be sown as early in the spring as the ground can be put in 

 good condition and danger of hard freezing of the soil is past. It has 

 become a recognised fact that we have been in the habit of making the 

 very serious mistake of sowing too much seed per acre. The experience- 

 of the most intelligent and up-to-date farmers shows that by sowing 

 thirty to forty pounds of wheat per acre in the fall, better results will be 

 obtained than with more seed. One of the advantages of sowing a mini- 

 mum amount of good seed on summer-fallowed ground and sowing 

 it early in the fall is, that we make a long season of a short one, and, 

 other things being equal, the earlier the grain is sown the greater is its 

 chance of s tooling. For the same reason we should sow a larger pro- 

 portion of seed when we are late with the work iii the spring. If the 

 season is well advanced and the ground moist and warm, the grain starts 

 and grows so rapidly that it does not take time to stool. Another thing 

 of vital importance in any kind of farming is to see that the seeds are 

 planted properly, and, in the opinion of the writer, there is no greater 

 mistake made than to practise broad-casting, either by hand or by a 

 machine. When broad-casted the ground is harrowed or cultivated 

 unevenly — some of it is too deep, some of it is not deep enough — and 

 no doubt many failures are due to this method of sowing. The press 

 drill is one of the essential implements for the dry-farmer. It puts the 

 grain in in proper shape and to the right depth, pressing the soil around! 

 the seed, which insures moisture to cause it to germinate, and there is 

 much satisfaction in knowing that our work is done properly. We gain,, 

 in this way, a week or ten days by putting the grain into moist ground" 

 at a uniform depth. There is a large saving of seed also, and, where we 

 are farming extensively, this is quite an important item, especially when 

 we consider what first-class seed costs. The man who sows alfalfa 

 (lucerne) broadcast generally puts in from twenty to forty pounds of seed 

 per acre, when if he uses a press drill, ten to twelve pounds of seed will 

 be sufficient, either under irrigation or dry-farm practice. 



Seed to Use. 



There is no greater mistake made, and one for which there is 110- 

 excuse, by the man who wants results (and that is what we are all after) 

 than to use any but the best seed obtainable. Like produces like. Be 



