METHODS OF CULTIVATION. 15 
crust is allowed to form. I saw dust blankets on prairie 
where no tool had ever tickled the earth. 
Once, when crossing a sandy stretch of country, I saw 
some fields of corn which were looking healthy, notwith¬ 
standing the fact that no rain had fallen for several weeks. 
The corn had not been cultivated for at least a month; so I 
examined the soil in the corn. I found a light crust, then a 
dust mulch from two to three inches thick and below that, 
moist soil. I then turned to the unbroken prairie and found 
practically the same conditions. I afterwards examined 
dozens of cornfields and found the same conditions wherever 
the cultivation had been thoroughly done, even if it had 
been several weeks since the soil had been stirred. 
Millet —Methods of planting differ widely. Practically 
all seeding is done broadcast. Some plow shallow, some do 
not plow at all, but broadcast the seed and cover with the 
disc harrow afterwards. Results reported to be about the 
same from all methods. 
Small Grain —It is generally agreed that small grain 
does best when sown on ground which has been cultivated 
the year before in some hoed crop. The most generally 
used method is to broadcast the seed on unprepared land 
(not plowed or disced but the sod broken, of course) and 
cover with disc harrow or cultivator. Some use disc press 
drills and some use the other kind of drills. There are men 
who hold to each of the methods. 
Some claim that they have always harvested heavy 
crops when enough rain fell at the right time, no matter how 
the grain was put in; and that they never got anything when 
the season was against them no matter what method they 
had used. 
Pests —The two pests which do the most damage to crops 
in the region investigated are potato beetles ( Meloidae ) 
and grasshoppers. There are few years when the settlers 
could not raise enough potatoes to supply the local markets 
if the crop could be protected from the potato beetles and 
grasshoppers. 
In 1896, one man had to move his cattle to another 
range on account of the ravages of a variety of grasshopper 
which ate grass exclusively. This year I saw many fields of 
grain which were badly damaged by grasshoppers. They 
reduced the yield harvested, by cutting the heads off 
the wheat and oats before the grain was ripe enough to 
cut. 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
Natural conditions seem to have fitted this region for a 
