THE DRY FARMING CONGRESS. 



133 



ture which is in the soil and present it to his growing crop laden with 

 the elements of fertility made soluble and assimilable through chemical 

 and bacterial actions carried on during this period of conservation, it 

 is reasonable to decide that the supply of moisture provided by irri- 

 gation may also be conserved through the surface mulch and its value 

 increased through continued association in the soil with the forces which 

 make soil fertility available. Furthermore, if through cultivation the 

 quantity of water to be applied can be decreased, indirect results of 

 benefit to the soil may be secured. As a general rule, the water of irri- 

 gation i's colder than the soil to which it is applied, and with each ap- 

 plication of the cold water, the temperature of the soil is reduced to 

 nearly that of the water applied, thus checking the growth and even 

 stopping it entirely for a short period. The soil is further cooled through 

 the evaporation at the surface of water thus applied. 



Sub-Irrigation. 



"It is generally conceded that the benefits of sub-irrigation are due 

 very largely to the fact that this method eliminates the cooling effect 

 of surface irrigation. The irrigator, after water has been once applied, 

 will find that his soil has been encrusted, and here again he must apply 

 the practice of the dry farmer, who cultivates immediately after each 

 fall of rain to restore his blanket of protecting mulch. 



Cultivating Growing Crops 



"It is one of the more progressive ideas in dry land farming that 

 cereal crops, such as wheat, oats and barley, should be cultivated even 

 after the crop has attained considerable height. This cultivation tends 

 to destroy weeds and serves its primary purpose of preventing the 

 escape of moisture. The quality and yield of many of the cereal crops 

 are often seriously injured through the mis-application of water at 

 critical periods in the growth of the crop. As a rule, cultivation with 

 the light harrow or weeder will serve the same purpose as one irriga- 

 tion, and the benefits derived therefrom will be equal to the water ap- 

 plication, and will ward off the dangers which follow the application 

 of irrigation water at a delicate period in the growth of the cereal crop. 

 Permanent Meadows. 



"The dry land farmer has found that fields of alfalfa, brome grass, 

 and other perennial crops are greatly benefited through the practice of 

 thorough cultivation, such as disking or harrowing with sword tooth 

 harrows. This operation serves to create a surface mulch, to disorganize 

 the sod-bound condition that often maintains, and at the same time to 

 provide a means of ventilating the soil. 

 Soil Treatment. 



"While the irrigation farmer may apply water and thus compensate 

 for the lack of moisture suffered by the dry farmer, he can obtain 

 equally valuable results by the application of the cultivation methods 

 employed by the dry land farmer. The trouble is not always a lack of 

 moisture which the irrigationist usually believes in, but the fact that 



