6 BULLETIN 242, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
sand. There is very little difference in the productivity of these two 
types of soil, but they demand different treatment to produce the 
best results. 
Generally speaking, the sandy soils give more trouble from blow- 
ing and drifting than do the heavier soils. On the other hand, they 
have the advantage of being more receptive of rainfall. On the 
sandy soils tillage implements which do not pulverize the surface 
but leave it in a rough condition should be used. At Garden City 
and Dalhart much difficulty has been experienced in handling this 
class of soils so as to prevent blowing. The soil at Amarillo is heavy, 
and little difficulty is there experienced from this source. 
EXPERIMENTAL WORK. 
Work was started at the Garden City station and the first crop 
produced in 1907. The Dalhart station was started in 190T and the 
first crop was produced in 1908. The first crop was produced at 
Amarillo in 1906. In the fall of 1909 this station was moved to a 
new location and the first crop at the new location was produced 
in 1910. In preparing the tables covering these studies the yield 
of the crop for the first year at each of the stations has not been 
used, because the land was uniform in its preparation. The yield 
of the 1910 crop at Amarillo has not been included on account of 
the station being moved. 
At all of these stations an attempt has been made to produce all 
of the farm crops that could reasonably be expected to grow suc- 
cessfully in this region. Not only has this practice been rigidly 
adhered to, but an effort has also been made to grow these crops 
under as many different methods of tillage as would be met with 
in ordinary farm practice. In other words, the range of preparation 
and cultivation has been from the extensive to the intensive system 
of farming. 
SMALL GRAIN. 
Spring wheat, winter wheat, oats, and barley will be considered 
in this studj^ under this heading. The greatest disadvantages attend- 
ing the growth of small grains in the southern portion of the Great 
Plains are the unfavorable climatic conditions prior to and imme- 
diately after seeding. The precipitation table shows that the rain- 
fall from September 1 to May 1 is usually very light. The soil is 
very dry at the time for seeding small-grain crops. This is especially 
true if a crop has been grown on the land the previous summer. It 
is difficult to secure a stand of small grain when seeded under these 
conditions. As a result of the scant rainfall and the dry soil at 
seeding time the growth of the young plants is so retarded that 
thev do not make a sufficient growth to protect themselves from soil 
