WHEAT, OATS, AND BARLEY IN SOUTH DAKOTA. 5 
At Highmore the average seasonal rainfall from April 1 to Au- 
gust 31 during the 10 years under consideration, as shown in Table I, 
has been 12.24 inches, or 71 per cent of the total annual rainfall, 
with the heaviest precipitation in May. There have been four sea- 
sons of drought, three of which, 1910, 1911, and 1912, have occurred 
in sequence, thus rendering dry-farming methods of little avail in 
the production of cereals during 1911 and 1912. The rainfall has 
approximated the average during three seasons, while in three seasons 
it has been much heavier than the average. In brief, there were 
eight seasons when fair to good crops could be obtained by good 
farming methods, one season of partial failure, and one season of 
total failure. Thus, during two of the four dry seasons good crops 
were obtained and in a third a partial crop was obtained by good 
farming methods. In all four of the dry seasons the crops were a 
total failure where poor farming methods were employed. 
The record for Eureka covers but four years and is therefore not 
at all conclusive. It shows that the average seasonal rainfall during 
this period was 9.6 inches, or 60 per cent of the annual precipitation. 
During the last three years the same drought conditions as were 
noted at Highmore have prevailed, though they were not as severe. 
The record for three years at Cottonwood shows that the same 
drought conditions occurred there as prevailed at Highmore and 
Eureka from 1910 to 1912. The lack of rainfall in June during these 
seasons has made the raising of wheat, barley, and oats unprofitable. 
The seasonal rainfall has been 59 per cent of the total. 
The summary of Table I shows that Brookings has received an 
average of 2.75 inches more seasonal rainfall than Highmore. Ap- 
parently, Cottonwood and Eureka do not differ essentially from 
Highmore in the matter of average annual precipitation. 
The climatic conditions as a whole are favorable to the produc- 
tion of small cereals as well as other crops at Brookings. At High- 
more such cultivated crops as corn, sorghum, and potatoes have not 
failed during the 10 years. The noncultivated cereals have been a 
total failure one year and a partial failure another year, even where 
the best moisture-conservation methods have been employed, that is, 
where the small grain has followed an intertilled crop. Where small 
grain has followed small grain there have been four failures — one 
total and three partial. Thus, there was a net gain of 2 crops in 10 
due to good farming, besides the increased yields in normal years. 
SOIL CONDITIONS. 
The soils of South Dakota east of the Missouri River are nearly 
all of glacial origin, consisting usually of rich dark-colored loams 
containing varying proportions of sand, underlain by " bowlder " 
