14 
BULLETIN 1310, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGKICULTTTRE 
Table §.— Percentage of water in the first 3 feet of soil at the beginning and end of 
the fallow period, increase in percentage, the precipitation, and the percentage of 
the total precipitation stored in the soil for five fallow periods 
Depth 
Weight 
of soil 
per 
cubic 
foot 
Harvest 
Seeding 
Total 
Precipitation 
Plat 
Date 
Water 
in soil 
Date 
Water 
in soil 
Increase 
water 
stored 
Total 
Stored 
D_.__ 
C 
D.___ 
C 
D___. 
Feet 
f 1 
\ 2 
I 3 
f 1 
1 2 
I 3 
( 1 
1 2 
I 3 
f 1 
1 2 
I 3 
f 1 
1 2 
I 3 
Founds 
62 
86 
93 
62 
86 
93 
62 
86 
93 
62 
86 
93 
62 
86 
93 
Aug. 11,1917 
do 
do 
Dec. 6, 1918 
.....do 
do 
July 17,1919 
do 
do 
Aug. 2,1920 
do 
do 
July 25,1921 
do 
do 
Per 
cent 
7.3 
7.3 
10.0 
12.0 
8.0 
8.4 
6.2 
7.1 
9.3 
6.1 
7.4 
7.8 
6.6 
7.9 
8.5 
May 1, 1919 
do 
do 
May 18,1920 
do 
do 
May 17,1921 
do 
do 
May 22, 1922 
do 
do 
May 21, 1923 
do 
do 
Per 
cent 
12.0 
12.8 
11.7 
19.1 
16.1 
10.9 
17.3 
18.8 
12.6 
17.3 
18.5 
13.8 
15.3 
16.0 
10.9 
Per 
cent 
4.7 
5.5 
1.7 
7.1 
8.1 
2.5 
11.1 
11.7 
3.3 
11.2 
11.1 
6.0 
8.7 
8.1 
2.4 
Inches 
0.56 
.91 
.30 
.85 
1.34 
.45 
1.32 
1.94 
.59 
1.34 
1.84 
1.07 
1.04 
1.34 
.43 
Inches 
i 1.77 
[ 2.64 
I 3.85 
\ 4.25 
t 2.81 
Inches 
17.58 
11.60 
18.46 
20.46 
16.46 
Per 
cent 
10.1 
22.8 
20.9 
20.8 
17.1 
SUMMARY 
This is a report of progress of experiments that are being continued 
with fallow and other methods of cultivation at the Assinniboine 
Field Station, near Havre, Mont. It covers a series of unfavorable 
seasons, and the yields reported are probably the lowest rather than 
the averages to be expected from this section. 
The precipitation for the 7 years covered by this report was below 
normal. The 44-year normal precipitation for the 5 months from 
April to August, inclusive, is 8.58 inches, whereas the average pre- 
cipitation for these months for the 7 years from 1917 to 1923, inclu- 
sive, was 7.17 inches. The precipitation in 1923, which is included 
in this average, was much above normal, but the advantage that 
might have been gained from the heavy rains of June and July was 
offset by the very unfavorable conditions of April and May. The 
precipitation in June, which is a very critical month for small grains, 
was below the 44-year normal in 6 years of the 7. 
The yields of small grain averaged higher on fallow than on disked 
corn ground or with continuous cropping to small grain. The average 
yields from disked cornland were approximately intermediate between 
those from continuous small grain and those from fallow. Yields 
on corn ground were higher than those on fallow in 1919, which was 
the year of lowest yields. Yields of wheat in 1922 and of oats in 1918 
on continuous cropping were slightly higher than on disked corn 
ground. 
The total yields of corn (stover and grain) from fallow were approx- 
imately 1,000 pounds more than with any one of the three best 
methods of continuous corn growing, but corn grown continuously 
on spring plowing, fall plowing, or subsoiling was produced more 
economically than that grown on fallow. Spring listing for contin- 
uous corn was the lowest yielding method under trial. 
