132 



THIRD ANNUAL SESSIONS 



ing of the upturned soil — ^benefits which accrue from the practice of 

 fall plowing in the humid districts, the exact nature of which is not 

 fully understood — evidently has a bearing on the growing of crops on 

 irrigated land. At the Wyoming Experiment Station the average of two 

 experiments tried last year to compare fall with spring plowing on irri- 

 gated land, gave an increase in the crop of 20.5 per cent. We are all 

 agreed that rain water and melted snow usually bring to the soil ele- 

 ments of fertility and conditions which seem to favor plant growth; that 

 the old adage that *A coating of snow is as good as a coating of manure,' 

 holds true with irrigated land as well as other soils, and the fall plowed 

 land left rough will have a tendency to utilize, through more rapid melt- 

 ing and holding of greater quantity of snow from drifting, a larger quan- 

 tity of water than would otherwise be conserved for the land on which 

 it falls. All of the advantages of fall plowing, such as forwarding the 

 work in the spring and permitting of early planting, as well as providing 

 a better physical condition of the soil, will apply to the irrigator as well 

 as to the dry farmer. 



Sub-Surface Packer. 



"With the exceptions of soils which are very heavy and more or 

 less devoid of humus, there is a universal belief in the use of the land 

 roller. The dry farmer's sub-surface packer is nothing more nor less 

 than an improved roller, and there are few places in any kind of agri- 

 cultural practice where the sub-surface packer, if sufficiently weighted, 

 would not be an improvement upon the old fashioned roller inasmuch 

 as it packs the ground and tends to re-unite the furrow slices with the 

 subsoil beneath, at the same time leaving a roughened surface, which is 

 important in the cultivation of soils for whatever purpose. The cor- 

 rugated roller, or any implement which will serve to pack the soil and 

 at the same time leave it rough, is one of the valuable implements of 

 modern agricultural practice, and the irrigator will do well to add this 

 to his list of farm machinery. 



The Press Drill. 



"All of the points in favor of this implement for seeding on dry 

 land apply with equal force to the iTrigationist. The compacting of the 

 soil about the seed prevents the wind from uncovering the seed and 

 provides a degree of solidity in the soil next to the germ which pro- 

 motes prompt growth and a healthy condition. 



Surface Mulch. 



"While all the other principles enumerated have an important bear- 

 on the practices which will insure success to the arid land farmer, the 

 great principle on which the entire matter is based is that of pre- 

 venting the escape of moisture through the agency of a layer of loose 

 soil maintained at the surface of the ground on all cultivated crops as 

 well as cereal grains wherever the plan may be exercised. The surface 

 mulch serves as a blanket to prevent the escape of moisture through 

 evaroration, and if the dry farmer can conserve for months the mois- 



