28 
sive practice is that of allowing a great amount of overflow or waste 
water to leave the fields and return to the river or lower ditches. 
Much fertility necessarily goes with it and is forever lost. 
Every farmer should practice economy in saving and applying 
to his land all matter that will eventually decay. The soil, though 
rich m mineral fertility, is poor in vegetable matter, due to the 
barrenness of the country before the advent of agriculture. The 
litter of the farm is slow to decay in a dry climate like ours unless 
the process is assisted by artificial methods. In view of this fact a 
pit was recently dug on the farm of this Station, into which all that 
will make manure is systematically hauled. Here the process of 
decay is hastened. The pit is conveniently located where water 
can be turned into it at any time from a ditch near by. 
It may be well to describe here the construction of this excava- 
tion for saving fertility. One man and team finished the work in 
a little more than a day by means of plow and scraper. The pit Is 
30x7 0 feet and four feet deep at the center. The sides and ends 
were left sloping toward the center to allow easy access with team 
and wagon for hauling in and out. The usefulness of this arrange¬ 
ment has been so well proven that a companion pit will be dugln 
the same manner near by, thus rendering more convenient the 
process of handling the varying stages of decay. 
WHEAT CULTURE. 
A gieatei acreage is devoted to wheat culture in this section of 
country than to any other grain. Both winter and spring varieties 
are produced with equal success when seasons are equally favorable, 
mt as a rule winter grains have superior advantages in respect to 
climatic conditions. The year 1892 proved an exceptionally good 
one lor spring grains, by reason of an abundance of early moisture. 
uimg t c spiing months of 1893 but very little precipitation 
occurred and the irrigating waters were unusually late; all of which 
resu ted more favorably to fall-sown seed. Within these two years 
yields per acre at this Station have been as follows • Winter varie¬ 
ties—Clawson, 29 bushels; Turkish, 28} bushels; Bed Russian, 28 
bushels. Spring varieties—Sonora, 29 bushels; Amethyst 29 
bushels; Defiance, 24 bushels; Australian Club, 17} bushels; and 
Improved life, 13} bushels. 
There is usually some speculation going on relative to the cost 
of producing wheat, but the most convincing arguments that can 
be advanced are downright facts. Through the last season we kept 
a careful expense account on raising a field of four and one-half 
acres of Clawson winter wheat, as given in the following sum- 
marv: 
