256 



THIRD ANNUAL SESSIONS 



They also roll and pack to some extent, rotate their crops, and have 

 cultivated small grain since the sixteenth century with implements 

 made on purpose. 



Summer Fallow. 



"It did not take long to discover that clean fallowing between 

 crops, besides keeping the weeds out, was also the very best way to 

 accumulate moisture, and that deep plowing was vastly superior to 

 the ordinary shallow plowing of the West, for catching that moisture, 

 in the first place. 



"On my present ranch I commenced operations with 160 acres. 

 With the help of twenty cows, some pigs, bees and chickens, count- 

 ing what we used up on the ranch, our income amounted to about 

 three dollars a day. 



Live Stock and Forage. 



"Since 1890 I have beeu continually adding to my ranch and now 

 own about 1,200 acres, and make my money out of steers, selling fifty 

 every fall, — alfalfa, corn and fruit. I also raise winter wheat and all 

 the chicken, horse feed and garden stuff used on the ranch. 



Conservation of Water. 



"My formula for raising crops has always been, 'Get your mois 

 ture first, then raise a crop on it' The most practical way of doing 

 this, is to take no chances from the start, but figure that every year 

 is going to be a dry year with the minimum precipitation during the 

 growing season. 



Precipitation. 



"In my part of Colorado the minimum precipitation during the 

 growing season in thirty years has been about two to two and a half 

 inches. To meet this and raise a crop without fear of failure, I find 

 we need to start out at planting time with at least three feet of mois- 

 ture in the ground from the surface down, about twelve to fifteen per 

 cent, wet, or over. 



Summer Fallow. 



"Failing this amount of moisture, it is best to lay off the whole 

 patch for a season, or part of a season, and clean fallow it, until the 

 necessary amount has accumulated. But as a matter of fact, I seldom 

 have to do this perhaps not once in five or six years for by keeping 

 the crust broken, summer and winter, we usually find that we have 

 in the spring the necessary moisture to commence operations, 



Deep Plowing. 



"The most profitable way of operating is naturally to raise crops 

 as often and continuously as possible, which necessitates obtaining 

 the greatest amount of moisture in the smallest amount of time. This 

 can best be done by deep plowing, followed of course by fallowing. 



