Campbells Soil Culture Manual

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Campbell's 1907
soil culture
manual; a co
3 1924 000 346 167
Campbell's 1907
Soil Culture
Manual
Complete Guide
to
Scientific Agriculture as
Adapted
to
the
Semi-Arid Regions.
The
bjr
proper
fitting of the Soil for the
Conservation
and Control of Moisture and the Development

of Soil Fertility;
How
Moisture Moves in the Soil
Capillary Attraction, Percolation and Evaporation; the Relation of Water and Air to Plant Growth, an.d how this may be Regulated by
Cultivation.
:;::::::::::
H.
W. CAMPBELL,
Author and Publisher
Lincoln, Nebr.
U.
S.
A.
Copyrighted 1907 by H.
W. Campbell
Lincoln, Neb.
The
Woodruff-Collins Press
Lincoln, Neb,
Printers and Binders
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Introduction How to Use the Manual The Ideal Farmer True Basis of Prosperity Small Farms; Better Farming A Look Into the Future
5 15 19
The Disk Harrow

Plowing Sub-Surface Packing Summer Culture of the Soil Physical Condition of the Soil
Soil Fertility
Water Holding Capacity of the

Importance of Air
in the Soil
Soil
.'
24 28 32 37 44 58 75 91 99 107
Ill
Percolation, or Getting
Water
into the Subsoil
Evaporation Advantages of the Semi-Arid Region

Cultivation of the Soil Barnyard Maniu-es
Corn Growing Growing Wheat Growing Potatoes Trees on the Farm Sugar Beet Growing
Alfalfa
Seeking
New Arid
.-
Plants
Irrigation.
Arboriculture Soil Mulch or Dust Blanket Getting Most out of the Farm Practical Results of the Campbell System
Wmter
Killing of
Gram
Stooling of Grain Quantity of Seed per Acre The Inevitable Dry Seasons
117 123 130 137 148 156 175 197 204 218 226 232 235 241 247 251 255 263 266
Domain
Progress
of Scientific Soil Culture in. Agricultural Science
and Prices World-Wide fame of this Work Good Farming and Good Morals Dry Farming Congress Correspondence and Comment
Crops, Markets
Farm Some History of the Movement

Tools for the
270 273 276 279 282 286 293 296 298 302 305
311
Correspondence Course in Soil Culture
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
H. W. CampbeU Montana Wheat Field Near Great
Frontispiece
Falls
Burlington Model Farm near Holdrege Feasting Time, Colorado Melons Com in Colorado 90 Miles East of Denver -Campbell System Vêtables
Montana Wbeat Without
Irrigation
12 16 2l 25 29 34
Following Harvester with the Disk Showing Soil as the Plow Leaves It Surface of Soil Harrowed without Sub-packing Showing Soil as the Packer Leaves It Showing Soil After Packing and Harrowing The Sub-Surface Packer
39 46 47 60
63 64 65 67 68 76
108 113
Development of Roots
in
Firm
Soil
-Root Development in Loose Soil Germination of Wheat in Different Soils Summer Culture vs. Summer Fallow Water Holding Capacity of Soils Illustrated
Heavy Rain
Crust,
and
How
Broken
Up
Effect of Shutting
Out
the Air
Capillary Attraction Illustrated How Water is Stored in the Soil
115 118
119 154 165 167
171
A Modem
Manure Spreader Development of Corn Roots Comfield by Campbell System in North Dakota Pomeroy Farm Com in very Hot Season Wheat in Three Stages of Growth
Seeding with Different Kinds of Drills
179 182
184
Growth
of Listed
Wheat
Depths of Seeding Harvesting Wheat Fifty Years Ago

Effect of Different
185 188 190

191
Eastern Colorado
Wheat
Wyoming Wheat in the Dry Country Pomeroy Farm 1904 Wheat Crop Germination of Wheat in Different Soils Root Development with Shallow Cultivation Deep Cultivation and Root Development Magnified Roots and Soil Peach Tree Five Months Old, Pomeroy Farm Peach Tree 17 Months After setting White Ehn 17 Months After Planting
.
193 194
198
200
201
207 210 215 218 219

221
Thinning Sugar Beets Forty Acre Beet Field Modem Beet Sugar Factory Sugar Beets in North Dakota by CampbeU Method J. Sterling Morton, Father of Arbor Day
223 242 243

-
A Prairie Park, .Arbor Lodge

Arbor Lodge, Home o^ Secretary Morton Arbor Lodge Trees. Soil Mulch and Dust Blanket Before Rain Soil Mulch and Dust Blanket After Rain Sorghum by Thorough Cultivation Qirowth and Stooling of Grain
244 245 248

249 257
287
H.
W. CAMPBELL
CHAPTER
I.
INTRODUCTION.
Agricultural industry
is
undergoing in these opening
years of the Twentieth century a most wonderful develop-
ment
in the direction of that perfection of
method and
practical application of scientific principles
which has been
the hope
and
inspiration of thoughtful students of agri-
culture through ages.
dents,
That which is being wrought out by workers, by stuby thinkers, by investigators in all branches of ag-
riculture
in plant breeding, in domestic animal industry,

and harvesting, and
in crop diversification, in planting,
marketing ^goes directly to the final solution of the essential problems connected with production.
Farming methods of the past century were those of preceding years; the methods of our century are to be
those of the next thousand years.
This does not mean that our forefathers did not know anything about farming, nor that what they did was all wrong, nor that they failed to solve the problems of their day and age. It does not mean we are on the verge of
revolution
and are about to overturn old methods and adopt entirely new ones all round. But with the more varied needs of mankind as civilization becomes more
complicated, and the proportionate narrowing of our
fields
as
we approach the
limit of tillable area, the
new and com-
plicated problems are to be
gether of
many
met only by the putting toheads and the accumulation of much
Campbell's soil culture manual
wisdom.
The
strides
we
are
making
just
now
are beyond
those of other days.
We
are in position to take advan-
tage of the accumulation of evidence truth that shall endure.

ture
and
to discover the
The reader will not find in the pages Manual a universal guide to success
if
of this Soil Culin farming.
he
to
will find
him
But something here that will be of immense value he but has the patience and industry to master
the principles and is willing to give a fair trial to the methods which are here described for the treatment of
soils.
It is
investigation
presented with a confidence born of years of and experiment, and of success in many
seasons of adverse conditions spread out over
many
states
with soil and climate as different as it is possible to have. This Soil Culture Manual has to do with just one subject, or rather one branch of agriculture, but it so happens that this lies at the very foundation of all agriculProduction is the end and aim of all farming. Proture. duction is possible only where soil conditions are right,
for
no matter what
soil.
may
be the climate or the extent

if
of
cultivation, there cannot be crops
there
is
not
fertility
available in the
Available fertility
may
exist, under
most favored conditions, where there has been no cultivation; but it is more often true that fertility comes from conditions brought about by cultivation done intelligently. This handling of the soil with a view to the devel-
opment
It is
of available fertility
is
Scientific Soil culture.
purpose to present in this Manual the results of years of labor in this field. I desire to treat a complicated subject with plainness and frankness. Here is material for a discourse filled with scientific terms, but I shall try to be so plain that everyone may know all about it. I shall give something of the history of the develop-
my
CAMPBELL'S SOIL CULTURE MANUAL
what has come to be known in a dozen or more Campbell system of soil culture; shall tell why and how I came to make the investigations which led up to this; shall discuss freely the principles which lie at the foundation; shall tell what has been accomplished and what may be expected; and I shall give here
ment
of
states as the
instructions as to
how to apply these principles as nearly complete as possible. In previous editions of the Manual, and in various
other publications and in public addresses, commencing

a dozen years ago, I have insisted that science in soil cul-
and the more perfect adaptation of scientific methods farming would result in doubling the crops in the great semi-arid belt of America. In later years I have made the statement still stronger and have declared, to the
ture
to
amazement
region.
of some of the doubting ones, that crops have not been one-fourth what they should have been in this It is because I have had faith in this region and have been confident that crops could be made as certain here as elsewhere, that I have pursued investigations, often under the most discouraging conditions and in the face of fierce opposition, and it is in the hope that I may convince others, not a few but thousands, that I publish this Manual. While the investigations which have resulted in the development of this system of soil culture have been carried on in the semi-arid belt, or that region where the rainfall is too small for successful farming in the ordinary way, it should be understood at the outset that the principles are applicable anywhere and in any climate, and that even where there is an excess of moisture, those who make use of the system will achieve results of great value. The diflSculties to be overcome by the farmer in assuring
good crops are so pronounced in this semi-arid region that it seems specially fitted for development of the very highest type of agricultural science; but everywhere the problems are much the same, and having shown the way to success There is here, the way will be much easier elsewhere. hardly a section of the United States that can be said to
irregular
be free from the danger of crop failure by reason of the The season of distribution of the rainfall.
drouth, or weeks of dryness perhaps sandwiched between other weeks of excessive rainfall, are common to all regions.
is
In showing how to overcome the danger which ever present in the semi-arid region we have also shown how to avoid the danger which comes occasionally in any
farming country.
application.
The system
therefore
is
of universal
If in discussing it solely in relation to the
problems of the semi-arid region I seem to ignore this larger truth, it is not because it is not well understood. I also admonish the reader not to take fright of the subject because it appears to be ponderous and uninteresting.
The term,
I
"scientific
soil
culture,"
may seem
heavy, but
assure you that
when once you have grasped

of,
the principles here

riculture are
made
use
the study will become
the most fascinating imaginable.
Other branches of agConsider
attractive to intelligent persons.
what has been achieved
in stock breeding, in adaptation
of breeds to certain purposes, in bringing
about perfec-
tion in the domestic animals; then observe
what has been
done
in the
production of the improved varieties of vege-
tables
and
fruits,
and
in creation of
marvelously beautiful
flowers; all the result of applying the genius of

intelligent
man
to
in
direction of the resources of nature
and
the special line of scientific treatment of the soil to secure

a variety of results there
original research.
is
9
for
all
just as
much opportunity
The
flower garden does not contain
the wonders
I
present this Manual to the public with greater con-
fidence than its
predecessors, because the evidence has been accumulating that the secret of success in the semiarid region lies in proper fitting of the soil. To the evidence which has come directly from the numerous exper-
imental farms that have been handled under

direction has been
my
personal
added the testimony of scores of farmers who have followed more or less imperfectly the directions contained in previous editions of the Soil Culture Manual. Along with this is the more important fact that everywhere in the states most affected there has come to be general recognition of the vital truths of the system and there is such a unamimous interest in the whole subject that it is no longer necessary to beg for a hearing. I have greater confidence also from the fact that all the time I have been learning more and more about the subject, have been developing my own ideas and dissipating my own doubts, until I feel sure that what I am here to present has far greater merit than anvthing which has preceded. I have not done with experiments nor have I satisfied myself that I have reached the very best possible results, but I do know that I have gone a long way toward perfecting a system through which the forces of nature may be
made
to serve
man
at
all
times.
not intended that this Soil Culture Manual shall contain any simple code of imperative rules to govern 3very act of the farmer in his culture of the soil. The
It is
nature of the subject forbids this.

is
What must be done
to give the inquirer a clear statement of general prin-
ciples,
with simple directions for applying the same under
10
varied conditions, and to explain the reason for doing certain things then to leave it to the intelligent These general direction of the farmer to do the rest. soil physics, to the character of the principles relate to
many
soil,
the texture of the
soil,
the
movement
of moisture
in the soil, the development of soil fertility or those elements essential to plant growth, and what can be done
and must be done by cultivation to affect the quantity and quality of the crop. One who comprehends clearly these principles and labors with the knowledge that is in
him, will find the way to profitable agriculture. There can be no universal rule for the cultivation of Conditions are so different that there must be the soil.
Everyone knows that drainage is necessary some climates. It is not so well understood that where the rainfall is insufficient there can be conservation of the moisture by cultivation. Neither is it generally known that by and through cultivation of the soil there is brought about great changes in the physical condition so that soils having but little available fertility may be strengthened and others burdened with Some important general plant elements are modified.
variation.
to
some
soils in
rules
so that they
be applied, however, in the semi-arid region, may be followed with assurance that there will be conservation of moisture and development of plant elements and the consequent growth of crops equal to
those
It
may
grown
in the
more humid regions
of the country.
ought not to be difficult for any one to recall facts and incidents which have come under his personal observation tending to prove the main arguments in support of our position. Take, for instance, the very common incident of a large plant growth occurring right where there had been the previous winter a large drift of snow
Campbell's soil culture manuai
11
lodged behind a windbreak in the field. The average farmer will readily explain it all by a statement that
where the snow piled up on the ground

protection to the grain, and that
to preserve the grain
it
it
gave a certain
acted like a blanket
from harm, thus assuring a better
stand of the grain. But this explanation fails to explain. But investigation will It does not get at the real truth. show that the snow melted gradually in the spring, and by
this
slow melting process the water was able to percolate

this
into the soil so that the moisture reached a great depth,
and that
reservoir, that later in the season,
moisture was stored deep in the soil as in a when the hot days came
and evaporation was rapid from the surface, this stored moisture was supplied to the roots of the plants so that
kept on growing at a time when other plants in by the drouth. The soil conditions were different beneath the snow drifts. There
they
the field were checked in growth
was an abundance
of moisture
and
it
was deep
in the soil.
By
capillary
movement
of the water at the right time,
and
having an inexhaustible supply of water at the source, the plants were supplied with what they needed, and growth was perfect, regardless of the climatic conditions which prevailed.
The incident
is
a valuable lesson in the storage and

soil,
conservation of moisture in the

soil to
and the matter
of
the production of the proper physical condition in the secure best results.
it will
be shown ibat the development of proper soil conditions may be duplicated on whole fields and that what was done by the chance piling up of the snow behind a fence or hedgerow has shown us what can be done in a larger way by cultivation in the right way
In the pages of this Manual
results
which followed
this
accidental
12

It will
be shown that it is absowhere the rainfall is scant, that there shall be this storage of the water in the soil and conservation of the water so that there is no waste. The greater amount of water that can be stored in such a way that it will be used when needed, not only storage before the crops are planted but storage during the grow-
and at the right time.
lutely necessary, in regions
MONTANA WHEAT
Field forty-five miles foutheast of Great FaUs.
Wheat
grown Without
ing season,
Irrigation.
in so cultivating moisture for the use of the plant while growing, the better will be the results. But aside from mere storage of the water there must be ever kept in mind this fact that both the cultivation
and the greater success had

all this
the ground as to save

and the storage
13
of the water are for the purpose of producing a proper physical condition of the soil. The soil
must be in such condition that there will be the greatest development of roots. There must be development of roots and these roots must be able to take from the soil the elements of plant growth. There must be available fertility. The time comes nearly every season, in almost every climate, when there is severe drouth for a few days; and unless the roots are properly developed in good soil, It is not uncomdisaster comes to the growing plants. mon to find that the apparently fine growth of weeks is withered by a day or two of extremely dry and hot weather. Such could not be the case if the plant was prepared for such an emergency. The essential thing is to have the moisture available, to have the soil condition such as to develop good roots, and then drouths can be defied.
If the reader is interested in irrigation, then let it be borne in mind that the principles which are here applied
are
applicable as well
is
to
irrigated land.
We
have no
doubt that much that
here written will be found especially useful to irrigation farmers the moisture and its
relation to soil fertility, the

soil,
movement
of moisture in the
soil,
the part played by air and other elements in the
and the general principles regarding fertility. This book is offered to the intelligent and progressive farmers of the great west. And this term "the great west" has come to have a new meaning to very many in recent
It is indeed the land of great possibilities. We have never more than half appreciated it in the past. It is a region which, under application of true scientific
years.
principles in the cultivation of the soil,
is destined to be covered with countless homes of happy American fami-
lies,
with
cities
and towns prosperous and growing.
May
14

the day
God speed
when
the people will realize that these
vast plains were not intended to be mere grazing lands for the few cattle companies, but that they will give support to
many
small herds and flocks cared for by

all
many
men, and that

dance.
the grass and cereals of the best agri-
cultural regions of the earth will be
grown here
in abun-
Ours
life.
is
an age of progress
in
many
lines.
We
are
witnessing almost miracles in industrial and commercial
Thoge of us who are devoted to the noblest calling should not be behind our neighbors in taking up with all that is good among the new things of the century.
of all
Campbell's soil cultube manual
.15
CHAPTER
II.
HOW
tific
TO USE THE MANUAL.

of the principles governing scien-
Complete mastery
soil
culture
is
essential to success in practical field
work.
These are the steps likely to be followed by one who achieve highest success: Honest inquiry into the merits of the system, study of the question with mind divested of all prejudice, courage to apply the principles
will
regardless of the influence of

influences,
wrong outside teaching or
study over and over again of all that is here laid down in regard to handling the soil, intelligent application to conditions as they may be found affected
by
local influences.
Manual deeply or even slightly new and disposed to scoff at or criticise all teaching that does not have the recommendation of age, will make no headway. Honest doubts
this
One who takes up
prejudiced against
all
things
will
not stand in the way,
if
the
the truth no matter
who
reveals
it.
mind is free to accept But at a time when
the most eminent students of agriculture throughout the
world
for
are
admitting
that
their
rapid changes,
and when there
new
things,
new
plants,
new
views are undergoing everywhere a passion machinery, new methods

is
no
man
should be found disputing the conclusions of
practical experience.
into the fields
Then there must be not only courage to go right out and do the things which must be done for
16
success,
CAMPBELIi'S SOIL CUi;,TUKE
MANUAL
but a desire to se.e true principles fairly tried. Sometimes the farmer starts out bravely to adopt scientific soil culture, but then he comes up against something
that appears to be contrary to the teachings of his father
BURLINGTON MODEL FARM.

Crop
of
Wheat
at Holdrege. Neb. in 1906, yielding 51J bu. per acre testing 64 lbs.
or grandfather or a neighbor, and he resolves upon such
a variation that he undoes all he has accomplished. But the danger to the novice lies chiefly in his failure to study the method enough. He must know it well. The principles of scientific soil culture must be grounded

deep within him.
It
17
He must be saturated with the subject. must become part of his being, and this can only be accomplished by going over the subject many times and mastering every detail, always guarding against a wrong
understanding of a seemingly minor question. The professional man prepares himself for his vocation by long study of the books in which are laid down the general principles of his profession or science. The lawyer cons the big books which contain nothing but common sense principles. The engineer or architect or draughtsman spends months in special study of very simple principles. So also in this science or profession. The vital point is ability to understand the soil, its relation to air and water and their combined relation
to plant
life,
and the processes
of
development
of
soil
fertility, so
that the farmer
effect of various conditions,
the and the further fact that he

fully
may comprehend
himself can
to
by
cultivation
control these elements;
just
what, when and
guard
work should be done, what against and what to encourage, and what
certain
how
results to reasonably expect.

well. It would be imposput into a whole library detailed instructions as to every phase of soil culture, adapted to every possible condition that might be encountered; but herein is laid down general principles from which the intelligent farmer can gain an understanding of what should be done. The Manual should be studied every month in the year, and while crops are growing it will pay to consult it every sible
The Manual must be studied

to
day.
To
further assist the student in grasping
all
the
many
principles
and
details in scientific soil
culture
we have
prepared a correspondence course of twelve lessons through
18
which a full understanding of all the points may be reached. There is no subject today the full knowledge of which means so much to the farmer as how to get the most out
of his
soil,
for
it is
the key to his prosperity
Anyone
interested in a thorough
and happiness. course can learn all par-
ticulars by addressing H. W. Campbell, at Lincoln, Nebr. There is so much to be made known on the subject that the farmer will not be able to get it all in one book or in one year.
19
CHAPTER
III.
THE IDEAL FARMER.

One
"work
is
of
the
principles
that the
man who
is
long followed in educational well educated with a mind,
under good
life.
discipline, is fitted for almost any sphere in In recent years this theory has received some rude
shocks, and school
men
is
are finding out that the
man
who
is
really educated
is
which he
of
life.
one who has some specialty in better than others. Therefore specialization
all
has become the rule in schools and colleges and in
walks
The man who tries to be a good minister and a good lawyer at the same time is no more found. Neither do men try to be at once a blacksmith, a plumber and a
shoemaker. So it is in agriculture ^men have found that it pays to learn all about the subject. Just because one is schooled in many books or has been successful in trade or a profession is not sufficient to qualify him for farming. He
must know
acter
his subject
basis of his science lies
and know it well. And at the knowledge of the soil and its char-
and possibilities. But the farmer must have a well trained mind. He must be keen of perception and broad-minded. He must be studious and keep abreast with the times. He should take farm magazines and read farm books. He ought also to have the daily papers at hand, and know what is going on in the world. All these things will give him power to reason. But above all else, he must have adaptability.
20
Agriculture
is a science with new problems every year, and where conditions change the application of the prinThe farmer must meet condiciples must change also. With the true principles well tions as he finds them. grounded in him he must be ready to adapt himself to all
conditions that
may come
up.
The problem
arid region
is
of farming in
what
is
known
as the semi-
humid porThe old methods will not get results. The farmer who must readily adapt himself to this fact
quite different from that in the
tions of the country.
will
be quickest to achieve success.
Farming, for instance,
in the lower portions of the Ohio

is
and
Mississippi valleys
comparatively easy. The farmer has water to waste, and he does let it go to waste. Of course he would do better farming if he did not waste his water, or rather if he had it under control perfectly, as he might have, but in fact, he can farm very well and be indifferent to the waste of water. Not so everywhere. As a matter of fact the men who have been making
a success of farm operations in the region between the hubelt and the western mountains are men capable of working out hard problems. They have actually been engaged in solving these hard problems for many years. The early land seekers made the mistake of trying to farm The as they did in the states where they formerly lived. later farmers profited by their experience. As a result ideal homes are springing up all over the western states. All this may be dismissed as intelligence in farming; but it is true that there has been entirely too much farming done without this intelligence. The ideal farmer is first of all a student, then an in-
mid
vestigator,
and
finally
a specialist; ever alert for

free
new
things and
new
ideas,
open-minded and
from
conceit;

a
21
man
familiar with
what
is
going on around him, and yet
intensely devoted to his
own work.
realize
In order that we
may
our fondest hopes as to
the future of our country our farmers must be
men who
are
capable of developing their industry to
its fullest
extent.
FEASTING TIME.
Watermelons Raised
in Lincoln County, Col.,
by the Campbell System.

It
This ability must have a scientific basis.
need not be farm lad may turn away in despair. Science requires only words that we can all understand. But I am sure that if the young men and women of today would throw away that old delusive idea that soils produce just in proportion to the sunshine and rainfall and that these are matters of chance,
wrapped up
in terms so strange that the
22
Campbell's soil cultuee manual
and that the physical condition of the soil has little or nothin;; to do with the crops, there would be a better feeling as to the safeness and sureness of agriculture. Then the farmer should try to comprehend how God has provided the necessary elements for the germination of the
seed and growth of the plant; but it has been left to man to discover what is necessary under all conditions to de-
velop the magnificent crop of cereals or to cause the gardens to glow with the beauty of finest flowers. Man
must prepare the way. He must combine the different elements and give direction to the forces of nature. It is a study worthy of the greatest minds of the world. It
is
a science which the ideal farmer must know.
There has been a good
deal of
tendency in
if
recent
years to follow the cry of back to the farms; but

ture of the science were better understood
the na-
and men were more familiar with what has been accomplished and what
just ahead, I feel sure that public sentiment would change radically and that rural life would be far more popular than it is now. Scientific methods under the guiding hands of the ideal farmers are rapidly eliminating the drudgery of farm life. Our teachers in schools and in literature are not so much teaching a way to avoid work as they are showing how more can be accomplished with a given amount of work. It is being shown how larger crops and surer crops are to be garnered. The men and women of the farm are being awakened to the fact that they are not mere toilers, but important factors in the affairs of the world. It is open to them to make real progress, for if they do all that they should they will discover methods of improvement, and by their investigations show the way to better methods for the production of crops.
lies
CAMPBELLS
More and more
is
SOIL
CULTURE MANUAL
23
becoming recognized everywhere all others depend upon. No other business or profession is so important from a material standpoint. It supplies that from which But it is not what it all other development proceeds. once was. It is not an incidental calling. It is the busit is
that farming
the one business that
of the people of the very best These people have a broader outlook and are facing greater possibilities than ever before. The tendency is now as it must ever be to the small farm as against the "bonanza farm," which has so much characterized the newer portions of the United States, The abolition of the bonanza farm, which is inevitable, The small will change the whole feeling toward farm life. farmer is the one who gets the most out of his work. He is the one who develops. He will follow the more intensive system of farming. He will do the most to develop his state and country. And the -small farmer is the one who makes his farm his home. He seeks comfort for himself and his children.
iness
of
millions
of the earth.
He does not build a shed to shelter him during the crop He becomes a perseason with his family miles away. manent fixture in his country. He builds good houses
and barns, he gets the best cattle and horses and hogs, he has a garden of flowers and he plants trees. He wants the school house to be located not far away and he willingly taxes himself for support of the school.
He
con-
tributes to the erection of a church in the village

is
and he
careful that the rural route and the co-operative telephone do not pass him by. The ideal farmer makes the ideal farm, and in turn there is compensation quite enough.
24
CHAPTER
IV.
BASIS OF PROSPERITY.
Prosperity is a sort of endless chain. The dollar goes Tound on a debt-paying tour and everybody is happy. If the dollar stops somewhere along the line then everybody
is
gloomy.
If
you
set out to explain this
and devise a chain for
the dollar to follow in its rounds, you will invariably include the farmer somewhere in the circle. If you begin with the grocer then you will go on to the miller or the baker or the packer, and soon back to the farmer. You may begin with the lawyer and his fee in court, or the minister and the contribution box, or start down in the "pit" of the stock exchange where gambling goes on daily but you will always follow back to the farmer if you go long enough. The farmer himself is a consumer as well as a producer. The farmer is always buying something. He seldom hoards up the money he gets from his sales of grain or The farmer is a consumer of manufactured goods, steers. and when he has money in abundance he buys freely of the things which are made in factories. Finally the circle is completed, and the money comes back to him in purchase of more of the farm products. If the farmer is prosperous then he is a buyer. But the farmer more than any other person on earth can get along fairly well for a time without any general buying if he is compelled to do so. He can and does economize
campboll's soil culture manual

more than others when
so
his
25
low.
bank account
is
And
when
conditions are such that

is
men
begin to retrench
in expenses the farmer
the chain of prosperity
is
one of the first to do so, and soon broken at avital spot. In like
CORN IN COLORADO.
GroTOH Ninety Miles East of Denver in 1906
by
the Campbell Method.
is spending have something with which The farmer's good times to buy things or to pay debts. means good times for everybody. Now the farmer is prosperous just as he has abundance
it is
manner
certain that as long as the farmer
money
freely then others will
26
Campbell's soil cultuke manual

matters not that the gold probecoming greater each year and prices are
It
of crops of all kinds.
duction
is
advancing F+eadily, unless we are to have good results from agricultural operations. Nobody cares about high We have here prices unless there is something to sell.
United States an era of great prosperity simply because there has been for a number of years a steady increase in farm production, not a spurt one year and
in the
a failure the next, but continuing good crops over large

areas of the country.
This
is
the true basis of prosperity.
It
is
therefore
of real interest to
is
every walk of life to do all that in their power to have continuance of the success of
in
men
the farmers.
Therefore the business or professional
man
helps himself indirectly
prompts the farmer to and scientific soil culture.

It
any manner gain a better knowledge of
when he
in
aids or
his soils
used to be said, and with
much
truth, that the
great safety valve for the whole economic system of the
United States was the free homes of the West.

ever industrial conditions
Whenbecame unsatisfactory in the manufacturing centers the surplus labor was shunted off to the free or cheap land of the west. Now, that
this practically free land
effect
is no longer obtainable, the same comes through increase in the producing power of the farms already occupied. The farmer cannot cure his dissatisfaction by turning quickly to unoccupied land; he can increase his product and output by applying better methods to his farming operations.
cut of the
getting more farming has been :?eveloped in recent years, especially in the middle and
Few
people realize
soil
how
this process of
by means
of scientific
27
western states; much less do they realize what an important factor this has been in furthering the immense ex-
pansion of business in our history. It is no small matter to effect a change so that on a million acres of farm land the yield of grain is doubled in quantity. The farmer who is contented with 15 bushels
of
wheat per acre when he gets a crop, and counts on
missing a few seasons because, as he thinks, the "luck
weather" was against him, immediately becomes a much more importance to himself and the community when he discovers that he can get 30 to 40 bushels of wheat every year on the same land by application of This is just what a little science under modern methods. has been taking place in recent years, especially in that section of our country once set down as of little value for farming, but now recognized as our choicest region. Because of this development upon these western farms, because of the application of scientific farming, because of the steady increase in the output of the farms, there has come to our country unexampled prosperitj' in every line. The towns are growing, the cities are expanding, railroad lines are being built, the banks are busy, the merchants are doing well, the factories are running over-time, the workingmen are getting better wages, everybody is better and happier. The problem of maintaining this prosperity which so much delights us all is, therefore, not one related to the kind of currency we have, the paying of bounties to ship owners, or to the treatment of the tariff; but that of maintaining a steady average of profof the
man
of
itable crop production.
The student
the creation
of social economics
must
fail
entirely
who
underestimates the importance of scientific
soil
culture in
and maintenance
of our prosperity.
28
CHAPTER
Y.
SMALL FARMS; BETTER FARMING.

The struggle
to get that
which
will
all
sustain
life
in
quantities sufficient to always satisfy
the people has
of
been going on since the garden of Eden ceased to yield It seems that there will never its fruit an over-supply. be enough of the good things of life. There can never be permanently any too great production of the things which come from the soil to supply the needs of man. The cry is ever for more. The people of the United States nave, been favored for the century and a quarter of national existence by the fact of their always having near at hand a vast supply of cheap unoccupied land, so that when production fell below requirements some men could move out upon the unused land and rapidly increase production by expansion of the
agricultural
area.
The
statisticians
of the
have done much boasting of how the production of their states has increased; but this increase has generally been because of the enlarged area under cultivation. But the cheap land is about all taken. Attention is turned properly to the problem of how to get more out of the land already under cultivation. Here is a great corn state and a group of men conceive the idea that the average yield per acre of corn can be increased from 30 to 40 bushels or perhaps more. Great idea, and the people are delighted with the missionary work thus done. Another learns of a new variety of wheat more productive than any other and he is hailed as a great benefactor.
states
29
It is the same everywhere. The acres which lie in the so-called semi-arid belt have been utilized for grazing
and they are yet our cheapest land. With the westward tide turned back from the coast and mountains, it has
CAMPBELL SYSTEM VEGETABLES.

Raised without Irrigation by Mr. Rice, ninety miles east of Denver,
on Kansas
Pacific, first season's crop.
necessar}' that something be done to make these cheap acres yield more. And happily that something is being done. The intelligent tilling of the soil on the dry prairies is enabling these farmers to double their crops.
become
30
Instead of 7 to 10 bushels of wheat to the acre they are getting 30 to 40, and getting it every year. Corn
and hay yield
in corresponding
amounts.
The result is new land and increasing

It is all
exactly the same as that of opening up

the acreage under cultivation.
He must farm better and get larger crops or admit that he has
that
is
left for
the American farmer.
reached the limit of his productive capacity.
The profit of the average western farm is not half what it should be or could be if the farmer would utilize Our farming methods all present available knowledge. compare unfavorably with those of other countries. Compared with the amount of land under cultivation, we do not use a sufficient number of teams, nor employ enough labor, nor have the necessary equipment. The estimated
average value per acre of machinery, teams, buildings and
appliances in various countries
is
as follows:
In the United States In England In Germany
$ 9 .00 40 00
.
.from $50 to 100.00
The total is governed to some extent by the special farming followed. The returns per acre from land in these three countries show even a wider difference. The United States has soil equally good and much of it even better than in the other
countries named, yet the wheat crop averages a little over 14 bushels per acre for the whole country, while England averages 32 bushels and Germany 33^ bushels per acre.
The difference is largely due to the more scientific methods of farming in the old world. The western farmer should look carefully into this
31
methods
culture,
ing,
of farming, and especially make a study of soil and determine for himself by intelligent reason-
is
if he can not easily double his crop yield. In the past few years prosperity has abounded. There no question as to the close relationship between general
and the steady production of the farms. When an abundance of farm produce going into the markets of the world all business thrives. That in the United States this constant prosperity covering a period of years has been due largely to the fact that the farmers have been successful in their efforts to greatly increase the per acre yield of their land is also beyond any question. Every farmer should consider what it means to him
prosperity
there
is
individually to double his crops.
He
is
should also consider
how important
culture does.
it is
to
make
be.
sure of good crops no matter
what the conditions may
This
what
scientific soil
But we can never have much better farming until farmers content themselves with fewer acres for each one.
There has been
all
too
man
tills,
or directs
the tillage, of
acres. Land greed has farmer can no more do his best while trying to cultivate a thousand acres than by confining himself to a two-acre lot. He must have enough, but not too much.
much spreading out so that one many thousands of been the curse of farming. The
Better farming means better farms, more comfortable farm homes, happier farm families, better citizenship, more nearly the ideal simple life.
32
CHAPTER
VI.
A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE.

Spread before you a map of the United States, one of the old kind common to the geographies of thirty to fifty You may have to brush the dust from its years ago. Perhaps you can consurface if you find one such. faded On such a map you will recall jure it up in your mind. that there were large regions marked "great forests;" then other areas indicated as "high plateaus;" and others where the dotted surface indicated a desert just like that Then the portions which the map in northern Africa. makers regarded as strictly good were marked with innumerable rivers and lakes. Compare this with a good railroad map of today which can be gotten from any first class agent. Note how the forest regions bave disappeared, and how seldom is there anything to indicate a high plateau. The mountain regions seem to have shrunk. And, behold! the fabled deserts have disappeared entirely. But the transcontinental lines of railway have long stretches with few stations, indicating that in some portions of the country the population is small. All this is being gradually changed, yet the area of small population is still very large. The semi-arid region of the United States lies west of the IMissouri river, presenting first an irregular strip extending from the Canada line to Texas, through portions of the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska,

Colorado,
3S
tions surrounding
Oklahoma and New Mexico; then having secthe Rocky mountains and the Coast
Here
is
ranges, including large areas of Idaho, Washington, Ore-
almost a from 10 to 20 inches annually, where in many places farming by This is the semithe old methods has proved a failure. arid region about which so much has been said. It is the dream of the irrigationist to "reclaim" large portions It has been the hope of the herdsman of this country. that much of it would ever remain public land that he might continue his grazing of large herds. It is a matter of common knowledge that the soil of this region is of a texture admirably adapted to the best farming. The fact of the small precipitation has been the sole reason for the failure to develop this region. For many years it was believed that this was in fact a desert
gon,
third of the United States where the rainfall
is
Utah, Arizona and California.
region.
The gold
seekers
who
followed the trails across
word that the climate was such that this must ever be a worthless land. But as the years wore on, here and there a farmer tried to do more than herd his cattle and sheep on the short grass. A few sucBut the slow cesses were recorded amid many failures.
the plains sent back
of winning success despite all through this semi-arid region are to be found scattered farms where men have accomplished a great deal for themselves. The soil is, in fact, fine and
plodding farmer has a

theories,
way
and today,
all
rich, of loose texture,
and generally
free
from objection-
able traits.
been abundantly demonstrated that if farming operations are carried on in this region under scientific
It has
soil culture, if
care
it,
is
not to waste
if
the
taken to conserve the moisture and soil is so treated that its fertility
34
CAMPBELL
SOIL
CULTURE MANUAL
will be made available, if there is plowing and packing and seeding and cultivation suited to the conditions as they then crops are large and sure, exist in this vast region
and farming becomes akin
And
this
to an exact science. can be done being done be done by

is
will
done by only a few today. years hence and the so-called "plains" or "Great A few American desert" of the map makers will be dotted with
millions where
it is
|e--'
^'
'.-
'.
"
'.
MONTANA WHEAT.
Wheat Crop
of Thirty Bushels, Fifteen Miles South of Great Falls, Montana, Grown without Irrigation.
splendid farm houses and great red barns.
There will be rows of trees for wind-breaks and shade. There will be orchards and gardens. The great fields will be tilled by the very best of modern machinery. Steam and electricity will largely take the place of horse
power
in the heav-
cambpell's soil culture manual

iest
35
work; for this i? possible here much more than in the cramped fields of the older states. Plowing and seeding and harvesting will all be done much more quickly and better than ever before. There are few obstacles to good work. There are no boulders to break the plowshare and no stumps to bend the sickle. It is a country admirably adapted to the ideal farming. And the men who go out to conquer this desert land and to compel success under adverse conditions are just the men to build up
ideal
homes.
is
It is in this vast region that railroad building
going
on now more rapidly than any place else in the world. Nothing could be more significant. Men who invest their millions in railroad enterprises do not do so without consideration of what it means. A few years ago the railroad managers declared that if they could do so, they would pull up some of the tracks they had laid in this country; and today these same tracks mark the pathway of immense commerce. Because there were failures due to misdirected efforts on the part of the farmers is not proof On the contrary it has been that the country is useless. demonstrated, and this is better known by the railroad builders than by any others, that the semi-arid region is destined to be in a few years the richest portion of the United States.
Looking far into the future one may see this region dotted with fine farms, with countless herds of blooded animals grazing, with school houses in every township, with branch lines of railroads, with electric interurban
running in a thousand directions, with telephone systems innumerable, with rural mail routes reachtrolly lines
36

It is
ing to every door.
of another century.
coming just as sure as the coming The key has been found and the
door to the riches has been unlocked. How many millions will be supported upon this region? Nobody knows. But the day will come when those who
tell
of the hesitancy of their forefathers

this region will
subdue
about trying to have to modify the truth if they
are to be believed.
37
CHAPTER
VII.
THE DISK HARROW.

is no tool the farmer can own that can be used many ways and under as many different conditions, and turn him as much profit if judiciously operated, as
There
in as
the
Dislc
Harrow.
It
can be used to great advantage

used.
when the plow could not be

It
is
not, however, a tool that can take the place of
the plow
and secure anything
like fair returns,
except in
exceedingly favorable seasons opportune.
when
rainfall is ideal
and
Thousands
disk
drill,
much
of
of acres of wheat have been put in with a by disking the ground and then drilling, which was never cut, and a still larger percent
or
never paid the expense of growing.

Since spending so
the soils
much time
in scientific research of
and the implements with which to till the soils, we have become very much interested in the disk harrow and its great scope of usefulness. The great value of the disk harrow lies in its adaptability
to the protection of moisture, the preparation of
the surface soil for the encouragement of rapid percolation
and in thoroughly pulverizing a somewhat cloddy plowed field and getting an improved physical or mechanical condition of the soil. It has been used on thousands of acres instead of plowing, when it should have been used to precede the plow. We have quoted, under the heads of "Evaporation" and "Cultiof the rain water,
38
vation," instances where the early use of the disk for the sole purpose of preventing evaporation and preparing the
surface to receive
and
utilize further rains,
has resulted
in giving the farmer increased yields of corn as high as
twenty bushels to the
acre.
Think of twenty bushels
of
corn per acre for only forty cents of extra expense. In, the handling of fields for summer culture there is no tool
that can take the place of the disk harrow, cost of labor
and value of work considered; and while it is not a tool that can be continuously used, we do not see how a man can successfully handle an orchard without it. The disk harrow may be used to prepare a field for a crop, and in connection with the plow, its work is most valuable. The complete pulverizing and thorough separating of the particles one from another in its rotating action, when
proper diameter of disk
is
used,
is
perfect.
WHEN
TO USE THE DISK.
most urgently advise the use of the disk early on all stubble ground or old fields intended The value of this early work with the for spring crops. disk is inestimable, and the more arid the condition, the
in the spring
its early use. No time should be has become sufficiently thawed and dry so that it will not stick to the disk. For best results double disk the ground by lapping one-half, the object being to thoroughly pulverize and loosen the surface for To loosen and form a soil mulch to a two-fold purpose.
We
greater the value of

lost after the soil
prevent the loss of moisture by evaporation as well as to break the hard crusted surface to promote a more rapid
and complete percolation or soaking into the

of the early spring rains.
soil
below
In addition to the subject of conserving and more

effectually storing the moisture,
is
another question not
39^
commonly considered, but of equal importance that of the more ready admission of the air which is in two ways very advantageous, that of more quickly warming the soil and promoting a more ready chemical action necessary
to the
development of
still
fertility.
In
THE DISK AFTER HARVEST. another season of the year we find

is
the disk of
equal value, that
immediately after the small grain
Following Harvester with the Disk, a very profitable part of the Campbell system.
or
any other crop
is
removed.
It
is
advised whenever
possible to follow behind
the harvester and. not allow
the soil to be exposed a single
day
to the sun's rays after
40
the crop is gathered. It is very difficult to explain the value and importance of this work in sufficiently strong terms to permit the reader to grasp its full force and
meaning.
First:
We
will
is
There
endeavor to give it in six reasons. no time in the year when water held
in the soil near the surface in sufficient quantities, will
bring about so many valuable chemical changes as during the months of July and August. This is the season of
the year
when a
vast
amount
of nitrates
and
the
bacteria
may
be developed, in other words, the
fertility,
the very
fall
elements that start your wheat
off early in
with
that dark green color, and has very
do with its stooling, providing, however, your final work of fitting your seed bed is carried out as explained under "plowing" and "sub-packing." The fact that the farmer loses sight of the real sciento
much
or necessary physical condition of the soil in the plowing of his field for another crop, accounts for the failure of so many plowed fields to yield as much in dry seasons as fields that were simply put in with a disk drill and not plowed. How often have we heard farmers say: "I plowed my ground and fitted it thoroughly, and my neighbor hogged his wheat in with a disk and got a better crop than I did." In fact the man with the disk had produced a more scientific condition of the soil. Second: If there is any moisture in the soil below, by preparing this fine mulch of a liberal thickness this moisture will accumulate in the firm soil just beneath.
tific
If
to plow because of the moisture
no more rains come, your ground is in perfect condition you have retained by
the early disking. Third: If you do not wish to plow in the fall this moisture can be carried over until the next spring, when

in case of a
41
dry spring your soil, if properly handled, as can be planted, and the seed will immediately germinate and grow, while your neighbor is worrying about a dry country and may harvest nothing. Fourth: Sometimes you may have teams and time
I will outline later,
to do some fall plowing for spring crops. If your soil is dry it is folly to plow, but if you have held the moisture in the soil, it is wise to fall-plow, providing you follow the plow with the sub-surface packer, firming the lower portion of the furrow slice while the soil is still moist, holding the moisture below instead of allowing the furrow to dry
out, as
it will, if left
by the plow. DO NOT GAMBLE.

loose
Some say that with early plowing the rains will pack and you don't need the Sub-Surface Packer. If you want to gamble the price of a good crop that it will rain enough in the fall to do the necessary packing, then all right. However, let us consider one fact. How would you have come out in the fall of 1903 in western Kansas and Nebraska, the Panhandle of Texas, and all eastern Colorado, with practically no rain for eight months, from late August to early May, 1904? Just as a great many did come out. Better follow business principles and be sure. Gambling wins sometimes, but you can never bank on it. Fifth: In case you wish to sow fall wheat this early disking may mean ten to thirty bushels more per acre. By holding the moisture as shown above, it will be seen that any subsequent rain will percolate more quickly and deeper. If the rain be a heavy one, sufficient to dissolve and pack the loosened surface, the harrow should be thoroughly used as soon as the soil is dry enough not to stick, and by all means wait no longer. When you are ready to plow for fall wheat your soil is moist. By following the
it,
42
plow with the packer, and the packer with the harrow, you will have a fine, firm, moist seedbed and your wheat will come up, stool and grow rapidly, and you need have no fears of winter killing if the seed bed is in proper condition.
Sixth: In our last is found the most important fact of all, namely, that of having your ground in condition to carry your crop throu;h any spring drouth that has ever yet occurred, with a sure good stand of wheat, and an early
rapid growth.
SIZE
OF THE DISK TO USE.
size
disk harrows first came in use the common was fourteen inches in diameter, and this size we still prefer, but the demand seems to be for larger disks, the farmers conceiving the idea that they draw lighter. While
When
this is true, the pulverizing effect of the sixteen-inch is not so good as the fourteen, the eighteen-inch even less, and a twenty-inch we would not have on a farm. Just
a moment's thought on this point, and you will readily

see the reason
The
is
larger the disk the slower

is
the pulverizing effect

increased.
I
it revolves, consequently decreased as the size of the disk have noticed twenty-inch disks rolling
along
slice
when
soil,
the ground was

raising
it
somewhat dry, and simply

little
the
up a
and
letting
it
it fall
back
little
in large clods in exactly the
same
position
was before
the disk passed over.

crevices
The
process simply
made
and actually increased the evaporation of moisture instead of decreasins>; it. A f ourteen-inch disk moving along at the same rate of speed would revolve faster, therefore, pulverize and completely reverse the soil. Don't buy a disk too large in diameter.
43-
Always double disk by lapping one-half. This leaves if you drive so the outside disk will just fill the furrow left by the center of the disk just preceding. Keep the disk sharp. Tt pays Buy as. broad a disk as you have horses to draw. Time is money. Always precede
the surface level
your plowing by thoroughly disking. It helps materially New and improv^sd in obtaining a fine, firm root bed. disk harrows are the next thing in order.
44
CI-IAi'TER VIII.
PLOWING.
In outlining a general plan for the preparation of our fields for the best possible results in crop growing and
grain yields, the plow takes
tool.
first
place as the all-important
The kind of plow used is not so vital as the how it is used, and what the condition of the soil is or should be when used. Many have attempted to fix the time when the plowing should be done, whether early or late,
in regard to
fall
or spring,
which we would assert that there can be no For the purpose fixed rule for time or depth of plowing. of securing the best results the farmer must first take the precaution to prepare the field for plowing as outlined in the chapter headed "The Disk Harrow."
Many experiments have been conducted by
the various
agricultural colleges along the lines of determining a fixed,

rule for plowing, but the wide difference in results one year
the same time of year or the
with another, v/hen the attempts have been made to plow same depth, shows conclusively
fall, late
that the simple fact of plowing three, four, six or eight

inches deep each year, or plowing spring or
early,
or
means but little, and the results shown cannot be taken as any guide whatever unless we consider the condition of the soil when the plowing is done, and what tillage has been done before plowing. If these
questions are not considered, then the final result of the
experimental crop
is
governed more by the
soil
condition

at the time of plowing,
45
and
after plowing than
and the climatic conditions before by the absolute depth or time of

on the
start,
plowing.
We
that
desire to call attention to these facts
we may prepare
the student to more fully grasp the
real scientific principles
The
disking
first
SPBING PLOWING OLD LAND. and all-important work is the early doubleexplained in
the
as
preceding
chapter.
It
is
nothing
This
is
uncommon
to see farmers
double-disk by
first
it.
going over the ground one
way and then
cross-disk
not correct, for
it
results in a series of ridges
and
ex-
trenches, leaving the surface very uneven.

left
The trenches
the
field,
by the center
of the disk each
way over
poses the solid soil in the bottom to the direct rays of the
enormous evaporation resulting in a thick hard crust which breaks into coarse clods when plowed. The proper manner of double-disking is to lap half, which leaves the surface smooth and thoroughly pulverized. In the lapping of the half of the disk the last time over, the last disks revolve at right angles with the disks that
sun, causing an
precede.
We
cannot put too
much
stress
upon
this part
of the proper preparation of the soils.
Bearing in mind
that the all-important element for the successful growth

of our crops
is
water,
we must
fall.
lose
no opportunity of
conserving and storing the water from the earliest part

of the spring to late in the
WHEN
in chapters to follow.
TO PLOW.
Evaporation and percolation are more fully explained After thoroughly pulverizing the surface to stop the evaporation we can do our plowing a little later, regardless of the climatic conditions which may exist, and we shall find the soil in a moist condition.
4fi
is very important that much care and attention be given to the condition of the ground at the time the plow-
It
ing
is
done.
Land should not be plowed when
in
bad
physical condition, for good physical conditions are very
necessary for an abundance of available plant food. This cannot be obtained in the seed and root bed unless this
Cut No.
1.
Showing
Soil as the
Plow Leaves
It.
point
to
is given careful attention. Devote special study what we say with reference to the physical condition of the soil. It is one of the most important subjects in connection with the chapter on the water holding capacity
of the soil.

In cut No.
1,
47
condition
we
illustrate
the
common
of ordinary plowed fields.
Observe the appearance underneath the portion of the furrow that has been thrown over by the mould board on the side of the next furrow. This illustration shows a field that had not been disked
before plowing.
Here
is
the stubble, weeds
and clods that have
rolled
Cut No.
2.
Surface of Soil Harrowed but without Sub-Packing.
from the next furrow, while right at the point where the furrow is tipped over the soil is firm from the bottom up. The usual manner of further preparing this ground is by the use of the harrow. This has a tendency to level, and, if shallow plowed, to work the ground down fairly well at the bottom of the plowing. In deep plowing, of six or more inches, the harrow has but little effect upon these cavities underneath. This is a very serious proposition, and it is the source of many bad conditions which
48

effect
have a direct
of
all, it
upon the
final yield of the crops.
First
cuts off the seed or root bed from the sub-soil,
preventing the
root-bed.
movement
forms
of
any moisture up
into the
spaces or cavities where a volume of air may exist, which aids in drying out the It also prevents the lateral soil immediately adjacent.
It also
air
roots
and
this portion of the soil, leaving
surface soil ing crop.
extending and permeating a large per cent of our in a condition not at all beneficial to the growfeeders
from
In cut No. 3, we show the cross section of the same two furrows shown in cut No. 1. Here the cavities and loose condition of the soil at the bottom of the furrow have all been obliterated by the use of the sub-surface packer, which is illustrated in cut No. 5. These sharp wedge-faced wheels have both a downward and a lateral pressure against the soil in the spaces between them. The soil is moved by the packer in such a manner as to form a firm and evenly packed stratum at the lower portion of the furrow.
EFFECT OF THE DISKING. word about the disk. Had this land been doubledisked before plowing, the stubble, weeds or manure shown in a strip at the bottom would have been scattered
through the lower part of the furrow, the soil made finer and the packer would have made it more uniform and This would firmer, increasing its water-holding capacity. have promoted more general nitrification, facilitated greater and mere uniform root growth and made it possible to have even doubled the yield of the crop, for it is not un-
common that a little more available fertility just at the proper time would have increased the yield fully two
and possibly three times.

physical condition of soil.
49
our farmers grasp the real meaning of the little things just referred to, that is, that a certain physical or mechanical condition of the soil must exist where the roots and rootlets should grow, and that this condition is governed by the time and kind of tillage, and that only a slight
variation from the ideal condition because of unscientific
tillage or fitting
When
may, and often does make,
five,
ten or
twentv-five bushels per acre difference in the yield, then

it is
that
we
shall
know by
results
what the
possibilities
of our great prairies are.
After the packer has been used, by then employing

the
ordinary smoothing harrow,

is
or
any
is
harrow, the surface
pulverized and
made
lower part of the upper portion, which
improved and the shown as loose

late
fine
and coarse
seed bed.
the
in cut No.
1,
is
The lower part main root bed, while cut No. 4 shows field complete. MANY IDEAS AS TO PLOWING. With this general explanation, let us return to the subject of plowing. With the varied experiences of the
made firm, forming a perfect made firm by the packer forms
average farmer throughout the semi-arid west there has arisen a great variety of ideas with reference to depths of plowing, and whether it is advisable even to plow more
than once in two or three years. Some have resorted to double-listing, each farmer believing he has conceived a very plausible reason why he should plow three or five inches or why he should not plow at all. I fully appreciate the honesty and good intentions of the farmer, but the reason there is such a great variety of opinion is because he does not grasp the importance of having a certain physical condition of the soil, one that is favorable to holding the largest amount of moisture to the square inch; one that
50
is

favorable to the most rapid
is
movement
of moisture by
capillary attraction; one that
most favorable
to the de-
velopment of the greatest amount of available fertility, and one that is favorable to the most prolific growth and development of the lateral roots, with their thousands of little feeders. This condition cannot be secured at its best and the largest productive results obtained without thoroughly plowing, pulverizing and packing the soil each and every year.
All of the above mentioned conditions are gained by plowing at a sufficient depth to stir the soil which will later contain the major part of feeding roots.
In further discussing the question of what

physical condition of the soil v.hen plowing
is is
the proper
done, we would call your attention to the furrow as it is turned over by the plow w'hen the soil is simply moist neither very wet nor very dry. How nioeh' each little particle of soil seems to separate, one from the other, when, if too dry, a cloddy condition is observed; and the same is true when
the
soil
is
too wet.
We
to.
should try to secure the most

soil for
uniform, fine condition of our

pose above referred
attention
to
the four-fold pur-
By
close observation
and
careful
important points we may secure a crop result fully one hundred per cent greater than we could obtain if these items were disregarded.
these
PROPER DEPTH OF PLOWING

Let us first consider the simple question of deep, medium, or shallow plowing from its standpoint alone, without considering the condition of the soil at the time, or the kind of tools we are going to use after plowing.
This brings us to the position of the average plowman
51
up
to a very recent date. All he considered in getting ready to plow, was to get his other work out of the way, then go at it and rip it up. Many farmers and experimenters have endeavored under these rules to ascertain the most desirable depth of plowing for best results, and after trying one piece, say, three inches, another five, and another seven inches deep, for three or five years, they have found themselves all at sea. One year the deep plowing gave best results, possibly the next year it gave the poorest; while the medium or shallow came in ahead, and all because the farmer had no conception whatever of the true principles of developing or promoting available fertility. His plan of procedure was a gamble, and left him entirely at the mercy of kind Providence in the doling out of rain and
sunshine.
riods, the
If
the rains
came
at the proper time
and
in
the proper quantity, interspersed with no long, dry pe-
game was his; but if the reverse was true, then deep plowing that did so well the previous year, gave a light crop, or nothing at all. Had this one question alone in Soil Culture been fully understood twenty years ago, the central west would have never felt the pangs of adversity during the panic of the early nineties, nor would hundreds of eastern widhis
ows,
orphans,
ministers,
school
teachers,
and
savings
banks
lost millions of dollars in
western mortgages.
FALL PLOWING OLD LAND.

After discussing the pros and cons of spring plowing,
would seem that we had exhausted the subject. Not in the least. One of the most important questions we have not yet touched, and that is, what may be done
it
so,
to very materially increase the chances of a big crop of
wheat following wheat?
52
The following
of a harvester with a disk as

is
illustration elsewhere,
one of the
little
things that
shown in mean
Especially is this true in the growing of winter much. wheat in the more arid sections. There are two very prominent reasons for this:
First, by repeated experiments we have found it very important in holding up the fertility of the soil to prevent its becoming dry either before the crop is planted, during
its
growth, or after
it is is
harvested, in so far as
this
it
may
be
July and August, during which time the temperature usually runs high and the humidity low, causing an enormous evaporation and rapid
possible.
Especially
true
in
soil upon which the dead stubble of wheat or other small grain is left standing with the surface soil closely compacted by the rains or from irrigation. The stubble itself strongly attracts the sun's rays. By double-disking we are able to mix the stubble and coarser roots among the loosened soil, forming a most ideal mulch to prevent further evaporation, and if you have been careful to conserve all your moisture in previous years, you will soon find the firm soil beneath this mulch quite moist.
drying out of the
INCREASING THE FERTILITY.

This moisture, together with the nitrifying air that
freely
will
permeates your mulch, together with the heat,

less
develop more or
bacteria and nitrates, and really

it,
increases the available fertility in lieu of depleting

is
as
true
when
the
field
is
allowed to dry out under the
more common methods.

Second, by the disking you prevent the loss of moisture, this peculiarly desirable condition causing this moist-
ure to gather in the hard soil just beneath the mulch,

putting your
field in ideal
53
condition to plow, and by using
reasonable caution to harrow or again disk in case of

excessive heavy rains you can plow at any time.
CONSIDEK soil CONDITIONS. The proper depth of plowing, as we have previously attempted to show, must be governed very largely by the
condition of the
soil,
the time of year that the plowing
is
done, the time

of tools
it is
to be seeded or planted,
and the kind
you have for the after work. Take the average prairie soil, e.specially if level with I advise plowing fully seven inches a sand loam formation deep if to be seeded or planted soon after. But to do this and anticipate a fair crop, the soil must be moist and not wet. The surface must be thoroughly disked before plowing, and the sub-surface packer must follow close to the plow. The plowing done before noon should be packed before going to dinner, and that done in the afternoon packed before leaving the field at night, and then follow with the harrow to get the surface in good condi:
tion before the clods get too dry.

fall plowing, for spring crops and you have sufficient team, it will be found profitable to plow eight inches deep, following with a packer and harrow as above mentioned. If you have no sub-surface packer, beg, buy or borrow one. If you have no packer, I would not advise plowing over five inches deep, and use the common harrow with teeth slightly slanting and weighted, the object being to pulverize and firm the under portion of the furrow. But don't figure on getting the same results from the five inch plowing thus fitted. These observations are very important.
In case of early
soil,
if
moist
EVEN FURKOW
SLICES.
Much
care and attention should be given to the furrow
54
slices,

that they
may
be even in width and depth, so that
when you go over the ground with your packer

there
or harrow be no soil spaces left loose and porous. The average farmer must realize the great importance of thoroughly fining and firming the entire plowed portion. In the ordinary conditions as found at the bottom of furrows in plowing left without any further work until it
may
has
the
all
dried out,
shown
in cut
No.
1,
fullj'
one-third of
soil
contributes no nourishment whatever to the growth
or production of the crop.
By
adding a
little
extra pains
and labor that one-third of non-productive soil may be put in condition to do its full share in making a larger and better crop, while the remaining two-thirds will
bring far better results.
Bj-
closely following this rule
you
tity
will
greatly increase the certainty as well as the quanof
and quality
are
your crops of small grain.

to
BREAKING NEW PRAIRIE LANDS.

There
two questions
consider
in
breaking
new
both of which are First, what can or should quickest and most thorough of the sod that is turned over, soil just beneath the sod that in our next plowing.
prairie,
quite vital.
be done to promote the decomposition not only but of that portion of the we expect to turn on top
Second,
how
to get all the rainwater possible to pass

it.
below the sod, and there conserve
When we went
to
Dakota
it lie
prevalent that the sod as
allowed to kink up and
was very was turned over should be This loosely on the surface.
in 1879, the idea
we soon found was a very erroneous

arid sections, a plan that
Illinois
idea for the semiin early
might have originated
home making.
years' farming in Dakota,
With fourteen
we became

very
55
much prejudiced in favor of breaking only when the grass was growing the fastest. Other facts and conditions
have developed
to that degree that
tically lost sight of this idea
we have pracexcept in the more humid

of the big pastures
sections.
The marvelous and rapid change

in the great semi-arid sections of this
country into farm1905 and 1906 has brought forth thousands of inquiries as to how these prairies may be opened up and a crop grown
ing sections through Scientific Soil Culture during
the first year.
Having opened up two farms of this nature in the of Texas, and observing many other fields during the above two years, coupled with our early experience with sod breaking in the Dakotas in 1879 to 1889, we find the best plan, if possible to do so, is to break the
Panhandle
fall
before.
FALL BREAKING.
We are assuming that we have what is commonly known

For best results we would break as early may be consistent, and as to depth of breaking would be governed by the tools we had to operate with and kind of crop we desired to plant.
as buffalo sod.
in the fall as it
If
for spring
wheat or oats break about three and
a half inches deep, using the walking rod breaker, and using Follow with a the greatest possible care to turn it flat.
smooth
to
fill
roller
if
one can be had.
In lieu of
field,
this,
sub-surface packer, going twice over the
use the then harrow
the crevices, and leave until spring.

as conditions will permit,
As early
double-disk, set-
ting the disk levers as far over as possible,
and not turn
o6

the sod from the bottom.
up
Then harrow thoroughly

teeth
with
common smoothing
harrow,
slanted
back
and weighted. FOR POTATOES, VEGETABLES, ETC. Follow same plan as above outlined, except break
about three inches, after treating as above outlined, plow again with stirring or stubble plow about two inches deeper, following the plow with the sub-surface packer, then harrow.
In case
is
fall
breaking
is
impossible and spring breaking
imperative, follow practically the
same plan
fine,
of fitting
for the different crops, but of necessity the breaking
must
be early.
Bear
in
mind the
soil
must be
and
at the
bottom as firm as it may be possible to get it. The disk plow may be used. It is only a question of getting the soil as fine and firm as possible for reasons frequently reiterated all through this volume. Very good Wilo maize and Kaffir corn can be grown in the same manner for feed for teams. When necessary to spring-break sod, we would not
advise sowing oats in a section where the rainfall
is
less
than 20 inches annually. It is by no means a sure crop on sod, no matter how it is fitted. It is not wise to risk any more on sod than necessities demand. BREAKING SOD FOR FALL WHEAT. There is very little prairie sod now unbroken except
in the m.ore arid sections,
and we believe
in turning
it
it
as
quickly as conditions will permit, and so far as
may
as
fall before you wish to crop, any time you have some leisure, curn over some sod as flat as you can. Roll it to make it packer does very lie firmly against the subsoil. The well if you have no roller. Keep the surface worked
be
possible,
will
break tbe
If at*
it
pay.

after
57
heavy
it.
rains.
tool, disk
If you can't loosen it with any other Watch, and so far as possible, harrow when
the surface
is
just moist.
This will prevent the loss of
any moisture, holding it as far as it may be possible beneath the blanket, and in case of heavy rain harrow again. With this blanket properly provided during June and July the
itself will not only be found to be well rotted but the top of the subsoil to a depth of one to three inches also. In August, or as soon as the soil beneath the blanket is rotted, it should be plowed again, this time with the
sod
stirring
or stubble plow, cutting about two
and a
half
inches deeper and following with the sub-surface packer,
the
same
as outlined for ordinary stubble plowing.
The
harrowing should be very thorough. If care has been taken to conserve the rain waters and the work well done, this ground may be planted to
fall
wheat or to spring crops the following spring, after which it should be treated the same as old ground, except to run the plow two inches deeper the next time. There is no economy, but on the other hand, great waste, in trying to economize or minimize the amount
sowing or planting of grain, for the work of thorough preparation is easily and quickly done, and when once done a s\iccessful harvest is assured.
of labor required to thoroughly prepare the soil for the
58
CHAPTER
IX.
SUB-SURFACE PACKmC.
By
sub-surface
packing we mean the packing and

of the open
firming of the soil at the bottom of the ordinary furrow
by a mechanical process and the elimination

spaces between large lumps of the earth.
To
soil
those
plowing, and
is
thing
there
or those
is
who have been drilled in the theory of subwho have been taught that the chief to open up the under soil as much as possible, who are not familiar with the great difference
in soils in different sections of the country, the
suggestion of the necessity for firming the sub-surface
come as a shock. This sub-surface packing of the soil is something that even the professional students of the subject have found
will
hard
to of
understand.
It
is
something
against
which
some
them have
protested, because they have failed
But it is a principle to understand all that is involved. which is making its own way. As we will show elsewhere
the interest in the subject
is
increasing at a great rate.

Practical farmers are learn-
Appliances for accomplishing this result are becoming
more and more

ing that
it
in
demand.
is
is
the thing. a purely mechanical process.
Sub-surface packing
Special tools are on the
market for doing this work, but no matter what tool or implement may be used, the principle is just the same, and results will follow in proportion to the success which has been attained in doing this nee-

essary packing and at the right time.
59
Elsewhere is depacker especially devised for doing this work, a machine which is winning its way because of demonstration that it has a mission to fulfill and is doing it. Sub-surface packing of the soil is a process of following the plow immediately or otherwise with implements which crush down the loose soil of the under portion of the furrow slice, breaking up the large lumps, compacting the whole so that the particles of soil lie closer together and form a perfect connection between the unbroken earth beneath the surface and the loosened soil of the
scribed
more
in detail the sub-surface
furrow.
It
is
not compacting the surface layer as by
a
It
roller, for
that merely invites waste of the land as dust.
lies
has reference solely to that portion of the soil which near the bottom of the cultivated upper soil.
Nature has placed at the disposal
of
man
all
the nec-
essary conditions and elements in the sand loam soils
on the
level prairies of the great semi-arid belt, together
with the properties of air and water, aided by heat and light, to produce large crops every year, but has wisely
to man to work out the manner and method of combining these elements; and it is now apparent that the combining or utilizing of these elements must be upon
left it
strictly
scientific
principles,
or in
plain
English,
there
must be correct and every part
under these ideal conditions of the work must be done precisely at the proper time and in a correct manner. MISSION OF THE PACKER.
principles
form.
The Sub-Surface Packer has a vital mission Its main object is not that of aiding in
soil,
to per-
storing
the moisture in the
but that of controlling or equal-
izing the holding capacity of the soil for
both
air
and water.
60
It
is
not the purpose of this tool to simply hold up the present normal yield, but to greatly increase the present average yield by from 50 to 250 per cent. Experiments repeated over and over again in a variety
of soils in the semi-arid belt,
have proven conclusively
Cut No.
3.
Showing
Soil as the
Packer Leaves
It.
that in promoting or developing plant elements or
fertility
under such conditions that

quantities, there
tity of
it
may
both
air
and too little you cannot secure the best possible
must be in the soil and water. If there be too much water air, or too little water and too much air,
results.
be available in large just the proper quan-
cambpell's soil cultuee manual

In the latter
the
soil is
lies
61
If
the greatest danger, as a rule.

loose,
too coarse and
then the
air exists in
too
large quantities,
and the development
of nitrates
and bac-
teria is proportionately slow.
soil is
to be most ideal when the thoroughly pulverized and closely compacted from the bottom of ihe furrow up to within two to three inches
The condition has proven
of the surface,
while this surface layer of two or three
inches, should be loose
and composed
of fine
and medium
lumps to allow of a
permeation of the air, and to prevent the moisture being depleted below the proper or normal quantity by surface evaporation. Another important advantage is gained by the packing of this lower portion of the furrow slice, and that is, the increasing of the water holding capacity of the soil, enabling us to carry our plants over long dry periods without the least injury. There have been instances where' this one advantage alone has made a difference of fifteen to twenty bushels per acre in the yield. MOVEMENT OF WATER IN SOIL. The movement of the water in the soil under varying conditions of the soil and the surface should be well understood. A discussion of the subject may not seem of interest to the average farmer, yet the well established facts in regard to this subject have great weight when carefully considered in connection with the preparation of the soil for crops. It is a subject altogether too broad and represents too much in dollars and cents to be held back from general use by mere prejudice or the skepticism that usually rises in the face of all new devices or methods. Professor F. H. King, of the University of Wisconsin, undoubtedly one of the most learned men in soil physics
free
62
Campbell's soil culture kanual

in the
we have
lished a
in of
West,
if
not in the country, in 1895 pub-
book entitled "The Soil," which book should be In treating the question the hands of every farmer. the effect of rolling on soil moisture, he says:
"When, however,
heavy
the changes in the water contents
of the surface four feet of soil which follow the use of a

roller are studied, it is
found that we have here a
case of the translocation of soil moisture, a case where
surface
by destroying the many large non-capillary pores in the soil, and bringing its grains more closely together, its water-lifting power is increased and to such an extent
that
often
within
twenty-four
hours
after
rolling
the
upper one or two feet beneath the firm ground have come to contain more moisture than similar and immediately adjacent land does at the same level, while the lower t\vo Water has been lifted from the feet have become dryer. lower into the upper soil. "In the table below will be seen the difference in the water contents of the soils which have been rolled and the immediately adjacent ones not so treated. These results are averages derived from one hundred and fortyseven sets of samples, therefore not a conclusion of theroy, but one of fact, from continued repeated practical results: Per cent of water "Surface 36 to 54 inches, unrolled, contained 19.73 Surface 36 to 54 inches, rolled, contained 18.72
Loss by rolling
1 .01
Surface 24 to 36 inches, unrolled, contained 19.85 Surface 24 to 36 inches, rolled, contained 19.29 Loss by rolling 56
Surface
Surface
2 to 18 inches, rolled, contained
16.85
2 to 18 inches, unrolled, contained 15.64
Gain by rolling
.21"
CAMPBELLS
ROLLING
VS.
SOIL
CULTURE MANUAL
63
SUB-SURFACE PACKING
It is here seen that when samples of soil are taken at a depth exceeding two feet, the rolled ground as a whole is dryer than that not rolled, and that this difference is greater when the samples -are taken at a depth of from three to four or more feet. The data presented also
shows that the two to eighteen surface inches of loose ground recently firmed contains more water than that which has not been so treated. It is a matter we have
Cut No.
4.
Showing
Soil after
Packing and Harrowing.
carefully studied, and in all our experimental work we have observed that the statements of Professor King have been verified fully; thus affording conclusive proof of the truth of all that we have said with reference to the When the extreme sursub-surface packing of the soil. face is packed the effect is to draw the moisture to the By the subsurface where it is lost by evaporation.
64
packing, as
in cut No. 4, we have that firm stratwhere the roots mainly grow, and with our loose mulch on the surface we prevent the loss of our moisture by evaporation.
shown
um
at the point
Cut No.
5.
Sub-surface Packer.
Results obtained by Professor King in these one hundred and forty-seven tests certainly prove very effectually
the
correctness
of
the
conclusion
of
sub-packing.
We
soil
secure a
much deeper
or thicker stratum of packed
than can possibly be secured from a surface roller. This would of itself create a greater force of capillary lifting power. Then again, and don't lose sight of this fact, as the sub-packed soil lifts the moisture it is not lost by evaporation as is the moisture from the surface packed, but is held there beneath the loose surface or soil mulch. This fact causes an accumulation of moisture in the packed portion which further aids in the up^ya^d movement of the moisture from below. This translocation of water brought about by the sub-packing is of the highest importance when we reach the long dry periods so common
midsummer, a condition we rarely fail to get sometime each and every year. We have proven by practical tests, over and over again, that by this increased movein
G5
ment of the moisture the plant is amply supplied, under which conditions the damage so common is not only prevented, but the plant has been able to make a rapid, healthy growth right through, while plants in ordinary manner have suffered and possibly been ruined because
of shortage of moisture.
When we
reach a point in the extreme heated portion
of the last afternoon prior to a
heavy
rain,
where our
supply of moisture
we have
bj'^
beginning to shorten, the fact that this sub-surface packing been able to lift the
is
water stored below a little faster may be the means of doubling or trebling the yield. Another point that has been but slightly touched upon is, that by this fine, firm substratum we are able to carry what might be quite properly termed a balanced quantitj' or ration of both air and water, thus bringing about that
most ideal condition for the development
of fertility.
DEVELOPMENT OF ROOTS.
Cut No.
6.
Development of Roots
in
riini Soil.
In cut No.
6,
we represent the
cross section of a lat-
fab
CAMPBELL
SOIL
CULTURE MANUAL
little little
eral
or branch root very largely magnified. The branches running out from the center represent the
hair roots or feeders which are often so small that they
are scarcely perceptible to the
naked
less
eye.
These
little
feeders are neither
more nor
than
little
tubes, or
elongated cells. You will notice in the outer tier of cells each little feeder practically forms a part of the cell. The soil where this root is located is represented to be that
ideal condition of fineness
to,
a condition that
and firmness previously referred means so much to any plant, not
only to sustain
critical
it in a healthy, growing condition, during drouthy conditions, but to promote a strong, healthy, rapid growth during the ideal climatic condi-
tions.
In cut No.
soil.
7,
we represent
a coarser or less compacted
send out two very serious. We have examined roots many times and found them three, four, and five inches in length, with scarcely a hair root or
little
Here the
lateral root is only able to

is
feeders.
This condition
feeder
the
entire
distance.
the packed soil beneath a horse-foot track,
Then coming, possibly, to we would find
a complete net-work of little feeders running in every direction. The one great reason for this greatly increased
number
of feeders in the
packed
soil
is
the fact of
its
ideal physical condition with its perfectly balanced ration
what the little rootlets go out after from the newly germinated seed. Just keep your mind on this one fact, not only in the study of this Manual, but in your field work and observation. MAKING THE SEED BED. possible to put too much stress upon the It is hardly point of thoroughly pulverizing and packing the seed bed. Probably the strongest or most complete practical
of plant foods, just
when they
start

illustration
67
was brought out
at the
Pomeroy model farm,

and development
of
at Hill City, Kansas, in the growth
the wheat
sown
in the fall of 1901.
This ground had been
prepared with the greatest possible care, having been plowed seven inches deep, with the soil in a moist condition, kept so by the disking and harrowing of the surface. When plowed, the plow was followed closely with the subsurface packer, and the harrow following closely the subsurface packer.
By
endeavoring to do
condition.
the
soil
was
in proper condition,
all the work when we had secured a very
favorable
physical
At the time
of
seeding,
October 8th, 9th, and 10th, there was a
fine loose
mulch
No.
7.
Root Development
in
Loose
Soil.
on
the surface, two and one-half inches deep.
The
soil
immediately beneath was very fine, firm and moist. The wheat was put in with a shoe drill, less than one-half bushel of seed to the acre, from one-half to one inch into this fine, moist soil, just beneath the mulch. Germi-
68
CAMPBELL
SOIL
CULTURE MANUAL
The fourth day,
as
nation and development were rapid.

regular as the days
came
after seeding, the little green
spears could be seen the entire length of the row. the seventh
inches high.
On
day these leaves measured from
three to four
Thus, in seven days, the hard, dry seeds
had become moistened, burst their shells, sent out laterally the little rootlets, and the little stalks had grown to This is not a height of five or six inches from the seed. all. On the sixteenth day of November, this wheat was taller and thicker than a field sown on the sixteenth day of September, with one and one-quarter bushels of seed on
soil fitted
In
cut No.
without sub-packing. 8, we have two
conditions of
soil.
On
Cut No.
8.
Germiniition of \^'heat Influenced

FiiTiincPs of Soil.
by
the right
we have
tlie
more common
sdi-ôwliaf
plan.
Here we
find
soil,
the grain of wheat
in
coarse and loose
69
where the subsurface packer has not been used. It is in kind of a seed bed that the wheat frequently remains all the fall without germinating; again it may sprout because of a shower only to wither and die from later dry windy weather, or perchance may absorb just enough to burst the shell and send the germ out slightly and a few feeble rootlets, then be completely ruined by the
this
winter freezing because of a lack of moisture in the
soil
about the roots to draw the frost in thawing out. All this is because of an unbalanced ration, too much air and
too
little
water.
IDEAL CONDITION OF SOIL. On the left we have the ideal condition, a condition that can easily be attained at a nominal expense. By
the use of the sub-surface packer
condition as previously explained,
when we
the
soil is in
proper
get that
fine,
even
firm condition as shown, to a depth of seven inches; then
with a good harrow we secure the fine, loose mulch about two inches deep; with the closed heel shoe drill we provided that V-shaped opening about one inch in the As it reaches the firm soil into which the grain drops. bottom it is surrounded, except over the top, with fine, The fine dirt that very naturally fills firm moist soil. this opening as the shoe moves along, puts our wheat where all conditions are as nearly perfect to utilize the
greatest quantity of the greatest
of the plant.
number
of nature's pro-
visions or resources for the rapid, healthy prolific
growth
The numerous small moist

in contact with the
particles of soil that
come
wheat conveys the moisture quickly and in ample quantities. This, coupled with the air from above brings about the very remarkable germination and development shown at the extreme left of cut No. 8 in the
short space of five days.
70
Campbell's soil culture manual,

Study well
this illustration
tions.
The
single grain at the right in the left
and note the varied condihand sec-
tion
is
deposited,
right.
simply to show the surrounding condition as it is compared with those in the loose soil to the
Do not simply
look at the illustration, but study
the relative condition and reasonable results that may be anticipated from each, and to aid you in this conclusion, consider well
what has already been
said with ref-
erence to the ideal physical or mechanical condition of

the
soil.
QUICK GERMINATION
This quick germination
fields,
is
always apparent in
all
our
and
is
invariably followed by early and prolific

in the chapter
stooling, as
shown
on wheat growing.
On
the Kilpatrick Brothers' ranch in Chase county,
Nebraska, where we had directed the preparing of some ground for fall wheat in 1903, the wheat was sown Sep-
tember 14th, two weeks after the last rain, the field being on a slope towards Champion, a town two and a half miles away. On the morning of the nineteenth, really but four days from seeding, the shape of the field was discernible from Champion by its green color. This statement may be emphasized from the fact that hundreds of acres of wheat were sown that fall, and not another one showed green that season. Because of over seven months without rain, beginning September 1st, the Kilpatrick wheat was all that was harvested in that county, making over thirty
bushels to the acre, the rest being a total failure.
As a further evidence,
let
us refer to some of the more
common
conditions that have occurred and
many
times
puzzled the farmer in years gone by. In the spring of 1899 a large amount of winter wheat
the semi-arid belt
in
was found
to
have been
killed.
We drove

over
tible
71
many
fields
that spring to investigate and study the

soil
One fact was invariably percepwas light and loose to a considerable depth, the wheat was entirely dead. In the more comcause as far as possible.
where the
pact portions or spots in the
fields,
the condition of the
wheat was found better. For instance, along the sides of the dead furrows almost all of the wheat was found to in a perfectly healthy condition, while on the back furrows Again, at the corners of the it was usually all dead. fields where lands were plowed around, and the horses in turning had tramped and packed the plowed ground, the wheat was found to be in good condition. The horse invariably had a favorable foot and wheel tracks effect. This is a condition and result that is corroborated by all investigators, that if there is plenty of moisture in the ground there is little or no danger of freezing or winter killing, while if the soil is loose and becomes too dry serious The same was fully shown in the quotaresults follow. tion from the Illinois Agricultural college bulletin, portions of which we quote under the heading of "Raising Trees." These conditions bear out all observations, both with reference to the fact that packing the soil will increase the water contents of those portions, and the further fact as stated by the Illinois bulletin, that if there be plenty of moisture about the roots there is practically no injury from freezing. value of healthy root system. One point which we have tried to impress upon our readers at different times, is the fact that plants cannot thrive and produce abundant yields without a perfectly healthy root system and a perfect root system is a phyProfessor King sical impossibility in coarse, loose soils. has shown by practical experiments, and all observation
72

conclusions,
confirms his
that in
soil
that
is
packed the
moisture moves upward from a depth of from one to four feet much more rapidly than in loose soil. It is therefore important to have this packing when a condition of
extreme drouth
is
reached, as
it
may
be the one thing
that will save a crop.
Another very marked advantage of this sub-packing in our work at the Burlington model farm In 1905 a piece of ground was at Holdrege, Nebraska. plowed for corn; a strip was left unpacked but all was well harrowed and the corn planted the same day. Where the packing was done, the stand of corn was perfect, while the strip not packed had hardly a two-thirds stand, and the entire season's growth showed the advantage of pack ing. While the use of the sub-surface packer has been found valuable in Wisconsin and Illinois, the further west
was found
we
its
get into the semi-arid country, the greater
is its
import-
ance, while in the
more
arid portions of the semi-arid belt
use
It
is
practically indispensible.
must be borne in mind that Professor King experimented in packing at the extreme surface, where nearly all the moisture that had moved to this point was lost by evaporation, and that had the packing been done just below the surface the contrast would have been much greater. Professor King's experiments were on the grounds of the Wisconsin college, where soil moisture is invariably found all through the soil down to sheet water. Had
they been made in our semi-arid region, the contrast would have been greater. If we get our soil moistened here to a depth of four or five feet we have exceeded by some
distance the usual conditions, and this depth of soil moist-
ure would be sufficient to carry us any ordinary season

in the successful
growth
of crops.
Had
Professor King's
73
experiments been made with a three inch layer of loose soil mulch above the packed portion, they would have shown a much greater increase of moisture at the point
of
two
to eighteen inches.
EFFECT OF THE SUB-PACKING.

All these facts in connection with the
movement
of
under different conditions of the soil, as indicated in the experiments noted and the teachings of the most eminent students of soil physics, give us the valuable lesson that the packing of the sub-soil, or what may be properly termed the root-bed, aids us in these important points; increasing the water holding capacity of the soil facilitates the movement of the water from below up to this point when it is needed. The last but by no means least of the advantages derived from this sub-packing outside of what has been already mentioned, is that by the increased upward movement of moisture previously explained, we are able to keep up the supply of moisture about the roots to that degree that nitrification and the development of fertility continues though the weather be hot and parching, and the plant is growing rapidly, and yet through this ideal condition we are able to keep up the supply of plant elements in a soluble condition, thus giving to the plant that dark green, healthy, prolific growth without a set-back, which is, by the way, the secret of large yields.
moisture in the
soil,
Now
to exist
let
us take a last look at the field of grain trying

of land the root-bed of
on a piece
which
is
coarse
The excessive heat has caused such a rapid evaporation from the leaf and the upward movement of moisture by capilliary attraction has been so slow that the moisture abouj the roots has become so depleted that nitrification ceases; all fertility has become unavailable.
and
loose.
74
the plant has taken on a pale, unhealthy look, and upon the time in season, and the duration of the period of
drouth, depends the extent of injury to the crop. This is so important that it may be stated again plainly,
so that no reader
may misunderstand. The process of packing the under portion of furrow or plowed ground creates five conditions to aid in carrying the growing crop over long dry periods, namely:
1.
More water
in the soil.
2. 3.
4.
A stronger
capillary
movement
of water.
More prolific growth of roots. A more rapid development of
nitrates
and bacplant
teria.
5. A larger per cent of available fertility or elements during drouthy periods or conditions.
75
CHAPTER
X.
SUMMER CULTURE.
Under
this
caption
we must
of
necessity,
reiterate
bines
it commore ideas of soil tillage into new forms, combinations and uses than any other chapter. In fact, it was during our early experiments along this line that we dis-
much
that has been said in previous chapters, as
covered the marvelous possibilities of the

arid conditions.
It
soils
under semi-
was
also while
working out the most desirable meth-
ods in detail in
Culture that we first became fully convinced that the average yield of all cultivated fields in the more arid sections could be made to produce not
Summer
only two and three times as
much fodder and grain as haa been heretofore produced in good years, but that good yields could be made certain in dry seasons, and it is since we have been proving the correctness of some of our conclusions along these lines, that Scientific Soil Culture has
become recognized
development.
as the great factor in
all
agricultural
While
many
of the ideas
and combination
of ideas of
Summer
in the
it is
Culture are new, and their application and effect

fully proven; yet
will
more humid sections are not yet
prove of great under all conditions and in all farming sections, value but not to the same degree under humid conditions as under more arid conditions.
very apparent that the principles
76
CAMPBELL
SOIL
CULTURE MANUAL
we
In discussing the details in general through this chapter refer almost entirely to the soils and conditions ofthe
section.
more arid
In the development or promotion of many new devices that came into use simply as a matter of convenience
A
Cut No.
9.
B
Culture vs. Summer Fallow, by the Campbell Method, (b) Fallow as Commonly Applied.
Summer
Culture as Applied
Summer (a) Summer
added comfort, great interest and enthuAgain we see books of fiction put upon the market that soon find their waj' into nearly
or pleasure or
is
siasm
all
not uncommon.
homes, simply for amusement or entertainment. Here comes a new science that means dollars to millions of people, not in a commercial way by which one makes a profit from another, but by bringing more wealth out of mother earth and filling increased granaries with but little extra expense beyond learning how and once learning, you are always in position to command bigger incomes and get them.
CAMPBELL'S SOIL CULTURE MAN UAL
77
Summer
Culture has been confounded with
Summer
Fallow, the methods are so different that any conclusion that may have been derived from Summer Fallow exper-
iments by our agricultural experts would not apply to Summer Culture; therefore, many of the objections held
up or against Summer Fallow do not apply at all to Summer Culture, The most prominent is the rotation results. EXPERIMENTS IN ROTATION.
For illustration, take the eight year rotation at the South Dakota Experiment Station under the direction
of E. C. Chilcott
up
to 1906.
We
would
first
call
attention to
some
of the state-
ments made in the bulletin with reference to the handling of the ground. Referring to summer fallow, they say all summer fallowed plats are plowed in July before any weeds have ripened their seeds, and are plowed again with the other plats in the fall. They are given no other
cultivation during the season.
Referring to the corn plats they say corn is drilled in rows one way. It is given good clean cultivation with the drag, weeder and cultivator, each in its proper season.
Referring to the preparation of the ground for the various
plats,
wheat, oats, and barley, they say,

fall,
"The
plats are
plowed in the
usually in September, crosswise of the
series. This necessarily involves plowing the corn ground and potato ground. We have found by other experiments that where the crop has been properly cultivated and kept clean there is on the average very little difference to be seen in the following crop whether the corn ground is plowed or whether it is drilled in without plowing. The ground is plowed at depths varying in different years from five to seven inches. As early as possible the in spring the ground is harrowed twice with an ordinary
steel
harrow."
78
From
field
this
kind of
fitting as stated for
each particular
From a seven the following results were obtained. years' rotation, wheat after corn, the average yield of
summer
wheat was 15.9 bushels. In the rotation of wheat with fallow, same number of years, the average yield In these rotations two sets of of the wheat was 15.8. plats were used so that there was a crop of wheat to harvest each year, making a fair and apparently honest comparison not only with the results between rotating with summer fallow or with corn, but of these yields against wheat continuously.
Seven consecutive crops of wheat on same field showed an average of 13.7 bushels. We wish to call attention
to the fact that the rotation with corn or
summer
fallow
only gave a gain of slightly more than two bushels per

acre,
REAL SUMMER CULTURE.
We
fallow,
tions
would also call attention to the manner of summer and as a comparison, note carefully our instrucunder the heading of summer culture.
98,
Compare the above results as taken from Bulletin No. South Dakota Agricultiiral College, with the Pomeroy
Hill City,
Model Farm at
Kansas, where the results
after
our plan of summer culture in four consecutive years, 1901 to 1904 inclusive, the average was over forty bushels per acre, while wheat in the same locality, grown under
the ordinary methods of tillage averaged less than ten
bushels.
It
will
be noticed that the above four years
included the very unfavorable seasons of 1901 and 1904,
which a large per cent of the wheat in that locality was a total failure. At Holdrege, Nebraska, which is 200 miles west of Omaha, the lowest yield of wheat rotated
in

"with
79
summer
culture for three years has been 51^ bushels,
and
in each case the
wheat tested 62J to 64 pounds per
bushel.
At Trenton, Hitchcock county, Nebraska, in 1904, where 90 per cent of over 20,000 acres of wheat sown was a total failure, a field having been summer tilled according to our plan, yielded 41 bushels of 60 pound wheat.
marked contrasts between the rewheat rotated with summer fallow and wheat rotated with summer culture to show clearly and disrefer to these very sults
We
of
tinctly that there
is
not only a difference in methods, but
a very marked difference in results. BESULTS OF TILLING.
At the North Platte branch station
of the
Nebraska
State Agricultural College a piece of ground was summer tilled in 1904, sowed to wheat that fall with seed ranging from one-half bushel to one bushel per acre. The result
this excessive seeding was an enormous growth of wheat during 1905. The vast amount of fertility that was made available by the careful tillage of this field in 1904 resulted in an unusual amount of stooling, making the wheat altogether too thick, consequently straw was too weak, and before harvest time it all went down flat, and could not be cut with a binder, neither could it be cut with a mower. This crop was left on the ground, until the spring of 1906, when it was burned off and sowed to barley and yielded 62 bushels per acre. This in face of the fact that some plats fitted under the ordinary methods in the immediate vicinity and sowed to barley yielded practically
of
nothing.
We
a
little
could quote
strange
is
this country for
similar results, but what seems we should have been farming in more than a hundred years and yet no
many
that
80
one got onto the fact that by a little different method of handling the soil three and four ttimes as much grain might be produced.
son, other than
do not refer to South Dakota for any special reait is a fair illustration of work done by all the stations and shows very conclusively how easy it is to become wedded to theory and beleive it to be right, though it may be wrong in practice.
We
is one not the most, com_plex science we have, for the reason that we cannot see what is going on in the soil below the surface. A certain thing done under certain soil conditions will produce certain results, while the same mechanical work imder slightly changed conditions v/ill not bring the same results at all.
DIFFICULTY OF EXPERIMENTS. Again we must repeat the fact that soil culture
if
of the most,
Another serious drawback

correct lines
is
to rapid
development along
the fact that twelve long months are required
between each experiment.

follow out the
finds that
Then the experimenter may

and
same
line for three, five or ten years,
just as he begins to think he has established a point he
what he supposed to be the influencing element has practically nothing to do with the result.
We
most a
frequently find experimenters that have spent

lifetime
al-
experiments with confidence in the correctness of their position; then through some chain of circumstances find they are wrong and change their tactics entilel3^ To us it seems almost ridiculous for the average farmer to attempt to conduct any experiment in soil tillage with a hope of new and
lines of
on certain
valuable light.
Let him rather spend his efforts in proving
\vhat those with facilities have worked out.
Theory
is
one thing, a practical demonstrated fact
is
81
quite another. What the farmer wants to know is how he can get the largest profit from his farm in a series of
years.
If he be a stock grower it matters little how scihe may be in the handling and feeding of his stock his crop is short his profits are proportionately short.
entific
if
AVERAGE GRAIN YIELD.

he depends upon the sale of fodders and grains for then his profits are very materially increased byeven a slight increase in yield. For illustration, the averIf
profits,
age yield per acre of wheat for the following states for twelve years, 1893 to to 1904 inclusive, was: Illinois, 13.3
bushels; bushels; bushels;
Minnesota,
14
bushels;
North
South Dakota,
10.2
bushels;
Dakota, 12.6 Nebraska, 13.5
and Kansas, 12.3 bushels.
suppose a farmer raises about the average or 13 from this must come all the expense of raising, threshing, interest on land, investment or rental, wear and tear, or use of teams and tools, and when you figure up as above and balance your account there is practically nothing left for the farmer.
bushels,
is about one-fourth producing powers of any of the good lands in all of the above states, or any other similar lands, and less than one-third of the smallest yield we have gotten following summer tilling, where the work was properly done in any one year during the past seven years. Supposing that the farmer doubles the 13 bushels, the last 13 bushels is nearly all profit, except the cost of threshing and mar-
Now
Thirteen bushels of wheat per acre
of the
keting.
is
All that
is
necessary to get this increased yield

this
to get the soil into a
condition,
and when
fit
more scientific or correct physical same amount of labor that was

the 13 bushel crop
is
required to
the
soil for
applied.
82
not foolishly and recklessly, but at the right time and in the right manner, there is needed but little more extra work. Let us go a little further, and with just a little more extra labor, and only a little, put in scientifically, and we will get three times the 13 bushel yield or 39 bushels,
and yet a and

if
little
more labor and four times the amount,

and over
This has been done yes, in several instances, and the
or 52 bushels can be grown.

as high as 63
60 bushel point can be easily reached in many places,

the principles
of
it
Think
we shall outline are carefully followed. moment four and a-half times as much as
all
the average of
these states for twelve years.
HOW SUMMER
TILLING SHOULD BE DONE.
Begin the work as early in the spring as the frost is sufficiently out of the ground, and the surface dry enough to permit the use of the disk harrow without the soil adhering to the disk, going over the ground twice by lapping the disk one half. This produces a mulch which prevents evaporation; also loosens and opens the surface, so that
the later rains readily and quickly percolate into the
soil,
harrowing the ground after each subsequent rain. If the rain is too heavy so as to dissolve and pack the surface, a second disking may be necessary, especially so if the season is advanced far enough for weeds to start freely. Don't at all hazards permit the weeds to grow or the surace to become crusted. A little carelessness here may and often does make ten or twenty bushels less yield in wheat, and proportionally similar losses to other crops. Bear in mind there are three objects in conducting this work with great care. First, is to retain all the moist-
ure possible that
may
is
tion in early spring
be then in the soil, for the evaporavery great from both the strong rays

of the sun,
83
and
in
most
localities the
high spring winds
take up
that
it
much
moisture.
readily
Second,
rains.
is
to loosen the surface
may more
water from the spring

least, to
and more surely take in all the Third, but by no means
admit the warm spring air that nature's laborabe put early to work preparing the way for large quantities of available fertility or plant elements. Plow Do late in June or early July, seven to eight inches deep. not leave the field at noon until that which has been plowed during the forenoon has been gone over with the sub-surface packer. Then at night the same, and if you use the packer follow it with some kind of a harrow or
tory
may
cultivator that will leave the surface witfe a light loose mulch, breaking the larger clods and leveling, so far as it may be possible, t'ne top of the firm soil beneath. The common lever harrow produces very fair condiThere are, however, three or four much improved tions. devices for this work being perfected, which will doubtless be found on the market very soon.
KEEP AHEAD OF THE WEEDS.

In June and July weeds are quite persistent and great care should be taken not to let them get the start. In fact there is but little danger of weeds if you take care All weeds are easily to lose no water by evaporation. killed when small, but after the tap root has gone down and become firmly imbedded, it is not easy to destroy them. Watch the condition of your field, going over it as soon after a heavy rain as the soil will permit, using the tool which you use to keep your mulch open and loose; care should be taken to keep the mulch from
two and
a-half to three inches deep.
Remember,
it
is
not desirable to have this mulch too fine, and never a dust It will be found very much easier to secure a blanket.
84

of desirable coarseness,
if
mulch
is done has reached the moist condition, not wet, and yet before it gets dry. Continue this persistent care through the season; in case of extreme heat more frequent cultivation is necessary. Our rule is to watch carefully the firm soil just beneath the mulch and gauge our time of cultivation during continued dry periods by the quantity of apparent moisture, observed
the cultivating
after rains
when
the surface
soil
at the top of the firm soil beneath the mulch, or
move
the loose soil
away and
find there
is
the protection
dry, then
it is
is all right.
If the top is time to cultivate again.
if we ample moisture, beginning to show
EARLY SPRING WORK.

put in spring crops, it is a good idea to thoroughly disk the ground as it goes into the winter. This will bring some of the moist firm soil to the top and
If desirable to
better protect from winds, also leaving the surface moê
uneven, to catch the snow, if in a country where snowstorms are looked for. In the early spring, as soon as spring conditions will permit, the ground should be gone over for the purpose of reestablishing the soil mulch. Should the snows and
have been ample to have considerably packed the harrow may of necessity have to be used, although much depends on the kind of a harrow or cultivator you may have. These are points of which the precise how cannot be specified; get the idea, then use good judgment as to the how and when, and the kind of
rains surface, the disk
tool.
In case of
fall
seeding to winter wheat, rye or oats,
care should be taken, especially in the
more
arid sections
where fall rains of any magnitude are less probable, to have at least two inches and a-half of fine loose soil on the

Surface,
85
and
is
outlined, not
of seed
the seed bed is made fine and firm, as above more than one-third of the usual amount necessary. Under these conditions place the
if
seed from a half to one inch into the.fine firm

that,
soil,
not over
and by
all
means
soil.
chase the closed heel

the seed in firm
you are getting a new drill, purshoe dfill or some drill that will leave
if
SECURING ideal CONDITIONS.

Cut No. 16 represents the most ideal soil conditions and shows the effect of depositing the seed in its proper place,
with the closed heel shoe
of
drill, the principal advantages which are set forth in the chapter on wheat growing.
little
While our methods of summer culture involve some extra work over the old or more common methods
fallow or general preparation for crops; yet
fully
of
summer
you must consider

that the object of
and carefully two

culture
is
points.
First,
summer
not only to store
ample moisture below so that we may be able to carry our next crop through to maturity, no matter how dry the season may be without ill effect from the droughty condition, but further to provide and steadily maintain such an ideal physical condition of the soil during the entire spring and summer, as shall permit of a most liberal development of bacteria and nitrate or available fertility, in order that we may grow and mature a very large crop of whatever we plant, no matter what the season may be.
a very large crop is, two and three average farmer has been producmg per acre by the old or more common methods. Can this be done? Yes; and we have proven it by repeated results
times as
What we mean by much as the
each year during seven consecutive years; beginning with
86
the year 1900, increasing the certainty and magnitude of these yields as we learned more of the correct principles
in detail.
CLIMATE NOT RESPONSIBLE.

It
is
altogether too
common an
idea that the quantity

climatic conditions.
and
quality of the crop depends
upon
This does not apply to the semi-arid belt. The success of the farmer depends entirely upon the quantity and
quality of the grains and vegetables he raises. Under the ordinary plan of farming the expense of preparing, planting and cultivating is just the same whether we get fifty
If we probushels of corn or five bushels or none at all. ceed properly the necessary labor may be fifty per cent more, but even if it were double and we succeed in getting
thirty
to
sixty bushels
of
wheat
in
seasons
when our
when
neighbors under ordinary conditions get five or ten, does

it
pay?
If
we
are able to get eighty bushels of corn

it
our neighbor gets thirty, does
pay?
By
holding the moisture near the surface during the
heated portions of the season we succeed in securing a more complete decomposition of the vegetable matter in
our
is
soil,
passing
it
on
to the stage
known
soil.
as
humus, which
The more humus we have the greater amount of moisture we can hold in the ground. This, coupled with the amount of moisture that we are able to store, and the improvement of the physical condition of the soil by the disking, plowing and frequent cultivation in our summer culture, brings about
a most valuable element in the
four conditions
our
soil
will
By the very fine, compact condition, hold more water, consequently our plant is
from a lack
of water during extreme
is also,
less liable to suffer
heat.
This packed condition
from the
fact of the
more minute pores
in the soil, favorable to a
more rapid
87
movement
but not
of moisture
by
capillary attraction,
and
last
conducive to a more prolific growth, and a more general and uniform distribution of the roots. Fourth, and by no means least, is the fact that under this condition of the soil, we are able to carry in the soil
least,
just the proper quantity of both air
and water, which
together with the heat, brings about that certain chemical

action necessary for the development of the large quantities of fertility.
When
the pores in the soil are too large
and
little
soil
coarse and loose, too
much
air is
prevalent and
is
or no development of plant elements
possible.
All
four of these conditions are exceedingly important
in seasons like that of 1901,
when weeks go by with con-
tinuous extreme heat and no rain, and such seasons or
come without warning. THE SEMI-ARID COUNTRY. It is our opinion, based on practical results and observation of conditions similar to those in western Kansas that by the summer culture plan, storing the water the entire season and raising crops the following year, much larger average crops may be grown than the present average in Iowa or Illinois. In fact, we do not believe we overdraw when we say that in the more arid portions of the semi-arid belt, by the summer culture plan, only cropping every other year, we can raise more wheat at less cost in ten years than can be grown in the more humid portions of the belt in ten consecutive crops by the ordinary plan. By our method we have the advantage of only seeding half the land and only harvesting half the land. The great value of work along this line lies in grasping fully the idea of storing and conserving the rain waters, and
conditions always
POSSIBILITIES IN
studying carefully the necessary physical condition of the soil and endeavoring to bring it to the highest degree of
perfection.
88
If water is stored in the soil of our western prairies, nature has formed perfect and complete conditions to bring this moisture back by capillary attraction to that stratum, or one known as the root bed, where it not only plays its part as drink for the plant, but as above stated
up its part in combination with other elements development of available plant elements, upon which the plant not only exists but thrives during prolonged dry periods, causing a prolific growth instead of withering and sometimes total failure under the coarser or more common conditions of the soil.
to keep
in
the
OF UNIVERSAL APPLICATION.
In fact,
when
the conditions are understood and the
necessary labor properly applied, records of phenomenal yields will be numerous as far west as the foot hills of the
Rockies.
The following from E. F. Stevens, of the Crete nursery, shows the value of summer culture, even in the more humid portions of the semi-arid belt. He says: "Regardof carrying moisture conserved one year over into the next season for use for the next crop, we remember that one year we grew a crop of seedlings
ing the possibility
on elevated table lands on a part of the divide between the Blue and Salt creek, just southeast of Crete. Seedlings for their best growth require very frequent cultivation. They are cultivated weekly and oft times twice a week, to secure the best possible growth and the best grade obtainable in a few months. This superior culture conserved moisture, but we did not so understand it then. As a rule a crop of seedlings does not take up all the annual
rainfall,
so quite a portion of this conserved moisture was carried over until the next season. The following
89
year on this plat of ground previously devoted to seedlings, as above stated, we secured 105 bushels and forty pounds of corn per acre."
This marvelous yield referred to by Mr. Stevens
storing a large surplus of moisture,
is
the
rea-
direct result of the careful cultivation which resulted in
and
it is fair
if
and
sonable to conclude that equally as good,
not better, results may be gained in any portion of Nebraska, Kansas, or western Iowa and Missouri, by following our plan of
summer culture. To get the best
results the farmer's mind must be clear on three important points: That the ground must be in proper condition when all his work is done on the soil; that he must have a good, fine and firm root bed or seed
and an abundance of moisture stored below. A EEMARKABLi; ILLUSTRATION.

In closing this chapter
it
may
be very interesting as
well as very conclusive evidence of the correctness of our
claims, to give a few of the very marked conditions that surrounded some of the fields of wheat in the spring of 1904 on the Pomeroy Mode! Farm at Hill City, Kansas, during the long continued early drouth. When most fields under ordinary methods of cultivation were showing no growth and no apparent moisture, the Model farm wheat was making rapid growth carrying a dark green color, while five feet of moisture was found below. Another field near Grainfield, Kansas, was in the same condition; another near Champion, Nebraska, and another near Trenton, Nebraska. The latter yielded forty-one
bushels per acre, while ninety per cent of the entire wheat
crop in that localitv was a total failure.

field in
Every wheat
western Nebraska and Kansas might have yielded

as the Trenton field
as
much
had the land been treated
90
Campbell's soil culture manuai,
soil
by our method and the heavy rains of 1903 stored in the and reserved for the long dry spring of 1904. Do
not confound
summer
culture
with
summer
fallowing.
They are
different.
Summer
season.
culture previous to seeding to alfalfa will infirst
sure a positive and even catch and a fair crop the
culture for the storing of the rain waters in although comparatively new as outlined, is a most important adjunct in farming in the West.
Summer
soil,
the
Begin your summer culture as early in the spring as

the conditions will let you on the ground with your disk
harrow.
Don't
let
the weeds grow, thinking they are
valuable as a fertilizer to turn under. The moisture they take from the ground is worth far more to you in growing
the next crop.
The purposes of summer culture are many, but the most prominent of all that it never fails to bring about to a most marvelous degree is to change a field of very normal crop growing ability to one of almost incomprehensible producing powers in just ordinary seasons. So marked are the results that all sorts of doubting Thomases appear and present many theories, but we urge the student to throw away all skeptical influences. Study well the principles and apply them with as much correctness as possible and draw your own conclusion as to certainty of results and causes of results.
CAMPBELL'S SOIL CULTUKE MANUAL
91
CHAPTER
XI.
PHYSICAL CONDITION OF THE

By
the physical condition of the soil
final
SOIL.
we
refer to the
soil
proper preparation and that
condition of the
its
that
so completely regulates or governs
producing powers.
There is no subject less understood todny and there is no one branch of agricultural science so vital to the success of the farmer as a thorough knowledge of soil physics.
The man who

out
all
delves
down
into the very heart of this
subject and follows every line and branch until he ferrets
the dark secrets of controlling and utilizing na-
ture's
prairies,
now lying dormant in our great do more for suffering humanity than any half dozen men have ever yet done.
great resources
will
our candid opinion that when this is accomplished, produced so much cheaper because of the greatly increased yield per acre, that bread will be provided at much less than the present cost.
It is
grain will be
by the United States governenormous reservoirs and miles of expensive ditches, and millions more in scanning other countries far and wide for improved plants and seeds, but all this combined cannot provide as many prosperous farmers or cheapen the cost of production like the thorough knowledge of soil physics and soil culture.
Millions are being spent
in building
ment
It
is
appalling to think that

all
we have
its tillage,
so
many men
who know
about the
soil
and
or think they
92
do,
and yet so
very
little
has been accomplished in
increasing the average yield of our great and magnificent

prairies.
The average
in 1906
yield of all grains in
was from 15
year
in
to 30 per cent greater than
previous
this
is
the
Nebraska and Kansas any one past twenty years. Many say
due to more favorable climatic conditions, but this is not wholly true. A good portion is due to a better knowledge of the soils and how to till them; and yet it is possible by a still more comprehensive knowledge of these soils and what physical condition it is necessary to reach together with the how, when and where, to attain that degree that we may be able to liberate and utilize all natures' resources.
We
shall
shown
what
is
in the
above states
then see the average yield as in 1906, easily doubled, and

is
true of these states
proportionately true of
all
other similar states.
Why
this subject, so vital to the
the welfare of our country, has been so neglected in the
past v/e cannot comprehend.
There
will
be some
little
seed selection and a
little
gained by seed breeding and by acclimating plants, a little
by crop rotation, but not until rotation is better understood than it is now. Possibly some material gain may be made by the introduction of the so-called drouthresisting plants. But the great and lasting change that is certainly on its way, must come through a broader and more practical knowledge of soil physics.
FORCES THAT AWAIT DEVELOPMENT.
Few
tillers
lie
of
the
soil
realize
how
easily
the silent
forces that
beneath our feet within this inert soil over which we walk and have been taught to almost shun, can by timely direction and control be made to minister unto us by yielding up from mother earth bountiful crops. Sad
CAMPBELL'S BOIL CULTUKE MANUAL

indeed
it is
93
that so
many
through a chain of circumstances

especially the actual
toil,
have been led

ward.
to look
upon farming,
wearisome
tillage of the soil, as
uncertain of
its re-
If they could be only made to see that kind Provi dence has intended that man should have dominion over all things, and set themselves at work to learn how they
may
intelligently
command
nature's resources that certain

toil
obedience
may
be secured, then
would be changed to
healthful, inspiring, agreeable work.
We
all
wish to prove to you that nature has provided
necessary elements on these broad, level prairies of
the semi-arid belt to grow cereals, vegetables, forage and

fruits in
the most sanguine minds marvel,

applied.
such quantities and of such quality as to make when proper tillage is
To do this the tiller of the soil must learn what to do; when to do it, how to do it, and why he works the soil by this method which enables nature to reveal all the posshe stores in this workshop for an unlimited supply of crop material. We will show you that it does not require a vast amount of hard and expensive labor to get large results, but it does require effort with knowledge and judgment. Just as a valuable machine may be
sibilities
made
ment
powerless and useless by the wrong or slack adjustof
some
bolt or nut, so in the mechanical preparation
of the soil success in the highest degree
depends on doing
the right thing at the right time and in the right manner.
You
could not put a valuable machine together unless you knew something of mechanics. You cannot properly till the soil and extract from it all that nature has stored there for your use unless you understand some of the simple rules of soil physics.
94
Much
misleading matter has been printed on the sub-
ject of soil physics
and
in discussing available soil fertility.

soils,
Professor Milton Whitney, chief of the bureau of
United States department of Agriculture, says in Bulletin No. 22, issued by the department, "That there is no apparent relation between the chemical composition of the soil as determined by the methods of analysis used, and the yields of crops; but that the chief factor determining the yield is the physical condition of the soil under suitable
climatic conditions."
It is
our candid opinion, based on more than twenty
years'
of observation
and experience, that

little
it
is
to the
highest interest to the farmer to give

the chemical properties of his
well
soil
attention to
until
he has learned
and
carefully its necessary physical condition in order
that he may utilize nature's many elements and forces found in the soil, also in the air, water, heat and light.
The general
properties of the
component parts
of the
average high level -prairies of the semi-arid belt are all In the cultivation of these soils that could be desired.
every precaution should be taken to prevent at any and all times during the year any loss of moisture by evaporation. It is highly important that these soils never be allowed to dry out. Upon this fact depends much. Roberts in his book on the "Fertility of the Land," says: "The percolation of rain waters not only conserves the plant food but improves the physical condition of the Just as soon as the soil becomes depleted of its land.
moisture
it
becomes dead or dormant and TIME TO WORK THE SOIL.
life
ceases."
In order to secure the best possible physical condition,

the greatest care should be exercised to do the plowing,
packing and cultivating while the
soil is
moist.
When
the

soil is
95
soil
moist, as
all
observing farmers know, the

other.
is
grains
more readily separate one from the

desirable object of plowing
over, but
The
real or
soil
not simply to turn the

is
in addition to turning the soil
the pulverizing
The more thoroughly this is done the better opportunity the heat, air and moisture have to exercise their full power
to
combine
all
the properties into plant foods so that they
may
be available to the plant.
So far as we can grasp the true principles regarding the

necessary physical conditions, they are found in recognizing the following facts, viz:
First
^That
fertility
is
not matter, or a substance,

is
or something that exists in the soil in given quantities
and makes plants grow

less of
if
the seed
put in the
soil,
regard-
how
it is tilled
or fitted.
all
Second
That
the growth of
plants dependsp
uon
the quantity and force or energy of the available fertility,
and
this is great or small just in proportion to the
phys-
ical or
mechanical condition of the
soil.
Third
That
the
soil
is
nature's
the proportion of air and water the proper quantities.

too loose, then there
is
may
laboratory, where be combined in just
If
the soils are too coarse and lie
much air for the water the soil can hold, and with the most ideal climatic conditions only fairly good crops can possibly be grown.
too
is a vital element in all vegetable not the only element that the tiller of the soil must see to. Air is equally important, and in all tillage, air must be recognized and the soil prepared with
Fourth
That water
it is
growth, but
an eye to utilizing a chance and she
demands. Give nature do wonders, but don't expect too much without some intelUgent effort on your part.
it
just as nature
will
96
CAMPBELL'S SOIL CfJLTUBE MANUAL
The plants under proper conditions show a dark, healthy green color, and grows rapidly. Remember that the root growth in all grains is always in excess of the plant above
ground, and that root growth
is
greatest in soil that

all
is fine
and firm
in
which there
is
held
the moisture than can
be carried by capillary force, and that it is apparently impossible by ordinary mechanical work to ^-et the average sand loam soil in the great semi-arid section so firm that it cannot carry at the same time the necessary amount
of air.
PERFECT SOIL CONDITIONS.

Let us assume for further illustration or explanation that we have just the ideal condition for holding and carrying the proper quantity of air and water in the soil. The sun is warming the soils, chemical action is doing its work, the wheat, oats or barley is three or four inches high, a rain comes of some little magnitude which dissolves and packs the soil mulch on the surface, then the sun comes out and the plants improve for a little time, but at this point look out, for we are approaching the danger point, not of the total loss of the crop but of getting the highest possible yield, which should be our aim at all
times.
If by certain more carefully fitted soil conditions, you can get 50 bushels of wheat per acre instead of 10 to 20 bushels per acre, is it not worth digging for?
no visionary or imposible thought, but a stem little careful study and intelligent application, after first stepping away from those old, stubborn prejudices, that theory alone had prompted you
This
is
truth, that only requires a
to cling so tenaciously to.
The packing
of the surface
by the
rain will cause an
97
upward ftiovement
and evaporated.
of moisture
which
is
brought from the
root zone or stratum by capillary attraction to the surface
The warm sun has set the vigorous plant to work pumping water by means of its many little rootlets up through the stalk and out the leaf. With these two forces at work your moisture is soon depleted below the normal, and chemical action becomes slower.
Another dangerous factor
that
is is is
also at work, the moisture
rising to the surface
carrying with
it
the
mag-
nesia, alkalies
and
salts so
prevalent in our prairie soils,
in a soluble or dissolved condition,
and
as they reach the
surface the moisture
is
lost in
vapor.
surface soil grains,
These mineral substances are deposited between the and if this process goes on long enough the surface becomes solid and the air nearly or quite excluded. The moment this condition becomes general practically all growth ceases from a lack of air though there may be plenty of moisture. Therefore the vital importance of harrowing this surface as explained in other
chapters.
The Cut No 9 on page

ideal physical condition as
76 illustrates quite clearly the
compared with the more common haphazard manner. Study the two views carefully, and think of what you have seen in the field and how
were the
results.
different
It is
our opinion that upon this ideal physical condi-
tion of the soil grains as
shown
in the
above
cut, as well
as others
shown
in previous chapters, depends very largely
the magnitude and quality of the crop.

is
This conclusion not based on theory, but upon results obtained in many-
tests following these lines.
98
CAMPBELL'S SOIL CULTUKE MANUAL
have invariably found growth most rapid and the most healthful when the soil was fine and firm plants where the roots were growing, with the surface two inches or more loose and open, and ample moisture stored below to a depth of four or more feet, and this so long as there is the required quantity of air and water in that portion beneath the mulch where the principal feeding roots are
located.
We
By
the aid of heat chemical action being
is
going on
and
fertility is
made
available in large quantities.
the great point is to keep up this kind of condition, can be done through the growing season. Phenomenal results are sure to come, if there is not too much seed, or some fungus or insect pest at hand. Too much seed
if it
Now
is
very commonly the cause of a yield below the possible
result
on
soil ideally fitted
and
especially
is
this true of
oats and wheat.
Campbell's sbil culture manual
99
CHAPTER
XII.
SOIL FERTILITY.
That which every farmer tries to do is to cause his land to bring forth good crops. All his labor leads up His whole reckoning is prelimito the harvest time. nary to market results. So it is that when the farmer or the home seeker goes out to consider whether he shall buy a given tract of
land, the question that
to
mind relates Everyone knows that some soils are better than others and that there are soils which seemingly are not of any use at all Then it is also fairly well known in crop production. that land cultivated in the best possible manner may become better with the years, while land poorly cared for may rapidly lose what little value it had in its wild state. The ordinary or average tiller of the soil has very little knowledge of the scientific principles which are involved
is
uppermost
in his
the
crop producing qualities of the
soil.
in this distinction.
It is not surprising, either, for as a
who have made a specialty of the study of soils, who have spent much time and money in experimental work, and who have been able to collect the information brought out by hundreds of others who have gone before these specialists are not at all agreed as to very many of the essential points in regard
matter of
fact,
those
scientific
to the soil.
ify their
The best
of these are quite
prepared to modlittle
views at any time.

scientific investigations
With the
cern.
It is with results that
we have we have to deal.
coa-
100
This fact must be kept in mind that, speaking in every-day terms, there is a distinction between fertility and available fertility. Perhaps it is better stated that
the only kind of fertility that the farmer cares for
is
that
which
tility
is
available,
is
that
concern for any fersupposed to rest within the soil unless he

little
and he has
possesses the secret of
making
it
useful in increasing his
So it is that in speaking of fertility we wish to bt understood as referring to available fertility,

crop yield.
A CONDITION OF THE SOIL. not something that is a part of the soilA very good soil may have little or no fertility available. It is a thing apart from the soil, to be placed there or to be developed there, through a condition of the soil due And it is just to bring about to a combination of causes. this condition that the farmer tills his land. The purpose we have in scientific soil culture is to develop fertility by and through creating within the soil a condition favorSoil fertility is
able to this development.
The reader will find in this Manual a great deal about the treatment of the soil to conserve the moisture and to give it the proper amount of air, and to guard against drouth, and to keep the soil's physical condition right all looking to development of
soil
fertility.
depends a great deal more upon the than has been commonly believed coming to be accepted by many of those whose is now Prof. L. H. positions entitle them to consideration. Bailey, of the Cornell University experiment station, a man always fair and always in the front rank, has declared that "the texture or physical condition of the soil is nearly always more important than its mere richness in plant food." In explaining why a finely divided, mellow;
That
soil fertility
condition of the soil

friable soil
101
is more productive than a hard and lumpy one of the same chemical composition, he says that "it
holds and retains more moisture; holds more air; presents

greater surface to the roots; promotes nitrifiication
;
has-,
tens the decomposition of the mineral elements; has lesa

variable extremes of temperature; allows a better root-
hold to the plant."
And
as
if
to clinch the matter Prof. Bailey in briefly

is
referring to fertilizers, declares that "it
useless to apply
commercial
fertilizers
to lands which are not in proper
physical condition for the very best growth of crops."
SAVING OUR SOILS.

In a circular issued by the University of
pertinent questions:
Illinois relating
to soil investigation. Prof. Cyril G. Hopkins asks these
"Does not the ultimate position or final destiny of America rest upon the question whether the crop producing power of our soils shall continue gradually to be reduced or whether it shall be increased or at least maintained? We need not ask whether the fertility of the soil can be absoThe fundamental queslutely and completely exhausted. tion is, will the system of farming which we practice or
advise ultimately reduce the productive capacity of the
soil."
And in prefacing a somewhat breezy and certainly very instructive lecture upon the subject Prof. Hopkins
says:
"Surely there
-science
is
no subject pertaining to agricultural
and practice regarding which there is such a diversity of opinion as the subject of soil improvement for Both practical farmers and increased crop production.
even eminent scientific authorities disagree almost absoIndeed these lutely on some fundamental principles.
102
differences of opinion are so

feel
marked and frequent that
compelled to ask, in language which has recently been '' declared grammatical, 'Where are we at?'
Prof.
Hopkins evidently
sees
what
is
ahead, for he
declares that "the agricultural experimental stations are
becoming more and more responsible for the methods of soil management which are being practiced in this country," and he suggests that if leguminous crops, for instance, do not obtain sufficient atmospheric nitrogen, "is it not our business to discover why they do not, and then advocate a system of soil treatment or soil management which shall enable legumes to obtain from the free and absolutely inexhaustible supply of the atmosphere all of the nitrogen which they need for maximum yields?"
We make
these quotations here, in connection with
this subject, largely to
make
it
clear to the average farmer
little
if he realizes how he knows about the mystery of the soil in its relaThere are others in the haze. tion to plant growth. CHANGING THEIH VIEWS.
that he need not
feel at all
discouraged
Turning to Farmer's Bulletin 257, by the U. S. Departof Agriculture, containing an address on "Soil Fertility," by Prof. Milton Whitney, the eminent chief of the Bureau of Soils for the Department, we find him declar-
ment
and crop production are different terms," and that "fertility is a property inherent in the soil; it is what the soil is capable of doing if it is under the best Of course Prof. Whitney presented possible conditions." the matter from a purely scientific standpoint, and his discussion of the soil and its purposes and of the feeding J'' plants by the soil was backed by years of investigation; yet we find him confessing with a frankness that is deciding that "fertility
edly encouraging.
He
says:
103
tions during the last twelve years
"I believe that through the results of our investigawe are beginning to
soil.
understand clearly the chemistry of the

ingly interesting, but
it
is
It is
exceed-
entirely different
from our
former conceptions of it. We are changing our ideas about the chemistry of the soil as we are changing our ideas about the nature of diseases and about physical forces and physical laws which we thought were perfectly understood." It need not be regarded as at all surprising therefore, that practical farmers and experimenters should be changing their views as to the chemistry and the physics of the soil, and in regard to soil management, since those who have had such opportunities for knowing the truth admit now that their views are changing because of modern
investigations.
And
light
this
is
true that investigation
is
giving us
new
and
on the
soil
and on the nature
of soil fertility,
we are
finding out a great
many new
things about the
relationship which a certain physical condition of the soi
through cultivation bears to the fertility of the soil and to plant growth. The soil is not alone the home of the plant and a place for its roots to take hold and keep the plant erect; the soil is the source of food supply for the plant, and the supply
is
there in proportion to the intelligence of the

it.
tiller
of
the soil in his preparation for
Instinctively, almost, the possessor of land that is poor in crop producing qualities turns to fertilizers as his hope. But he often discovers that he has not been able
to secure soil fertility
by the application
of Agriculture
of
fertilizers.
He
is
puzzled, but he does not find any solution to the
puzzle.
The Department
reports experi-
104
ments on a tract of land in Iowa "which with stable manure every time produces a smaller crop than without." No
explanation.
WHAT THE
SOIL
IS.
Now
the soil
is,
in fact, a part of the volcanic matter
'which composes most of the earth. It is broken into minute fragments. These fragments are perfect specimens of rocks and stones or pulverized minerals. But they are so fine that the different minerals readily combine
by chemical
It
is
action.
The plant food
is
organic in nature.
composed
of different mineral substances united
by
chemical action or otherwise. We do not know and we never can know just how and why these combinations
are effected.
We
do know that nitrogen plays a large part in form-
ing these organic substances which are the food of the We know that nitrogen abounds in the air and plants. that
it
may
easily be separated
air.
from the other component

is
parts of the
We know
is
that this chemical action
possible only where there
water,
and we know that
it is
promoted by the rays of light from the sun. We feel sure some way the electricity ever present in the earth and in the air plays a part in this laboratory in
also, that in
developing growth. What we can do by cultivation of the
soil is to bring
is
about the conditions best suited to whatever action
necessary to develop plant food in the soil. The ideal soil condition is one where there is just the right amoimt of
water and
air
and other elements.
We
And
can do a great
this is scientific
deal in assisting nature, or at least in not obstructing

nature, in this laboratory work.
soil culture.
The
scientific investigator does
not go far in making

explanation of the
105
way
It
is
soils
gain fertility until he uses the
term "bacteria." good deal that

is is
a useful term, and has a meaning
fairly well understood,
offered.
but the term is made to cover a simply so mysterious that no explanation It is a fact, however, that the development
bacteria,
of bacteria in the soil bears close relation to its fertility,
and that these
whatever they
may
be in
fact,
it
play a very important part in making the
soil
what
ought to be for the greatest amount of plant food.
ELEMENTS OF FERTILITY.
There are several things in
be regarded as well settled.
1.
this connection that
may
Soil
fertility
is
due to the proper combination

soil
of elements in the soil.

2.
Soil fertility
is
developed in the
by the proper
tilling of
the
soil,
so as to have available the right propor-
tions of air, water,

3.
and other elements.

is
Soil fertility
possible to a high degree in almost

fertilizers
is
every soil, and the addition of of gaining this condition.
only one
way
Again we repeat that

available fertility which
all
the processes of agriculture

soil,
look to development and maintenance in the

is
of this
so essential to plant growth.
The farmer must bear

for a seed bed, or to
this ever in
mind.
He
turns over
the sod or the stubble, not merely to pulverize the surface

kill
the weeds, but he does

soil
it
with
a view to creating a physical condition of the

for
suitable
development
it is
of fertility.
He may
to
never
mineral elements combine just as they do to

food, but
know why the make plant

it,
enough
for
him
know they do
is
then to
do
his part in preparing the
way.
our great desire,
(rood crop results from our fields
106

to this
and
in
soil
culture experiments,
end we have spent nearly a quarter of a century study and general observ-
ation.
In 1891 we became positive of our ability by observing

certain physical conditions of the soil to secure good crops
during drouthy condition, while others failed; a little we were convinced by repeated results that the average yield of the great semi-arid section even in good sealater
sons could easily be doubled, and
now
it is
evident there
can be even a greater increase in the yields and to the development of increased available fertility by utilizing more of nature's abundant resources, such as heat, air, water and light through chemical action which we have found
is
great or small, just in proportion to the ability of the
combine these elements in proper quantities under such ideal conditions as shall cause the most complete chemical action for the production or development of the necessary amount of fertility, and that this all important
soil to
ideal condition of the soil can

soil
be established by scientific
culture.
107
CHAPTER
XIII.
WATER HOLDING CAPACITY OF THE

Among
entific Soil Culture, is that of so
SOIL.
the more important questions involved in Sci-
handling and preparing
the soil that
it
may
carry the largest possible

at the
amount
of
surrounding conditions be such that all free or surplus water may readily percolate down and away. It must be understood that a soil saturated or full of water is as bad as no water at all, so far as plant growth and the development of plant elements or fertility may
of capillary water,
let
and
same time
be concerned.
utilize
not water once thought necessary; in fact, some irrigation experiments have shown that beyond a certain nominal quantity of water, more water does not mean more or better crops. In these experiments and all others every result apparently points to the fact that there must be a certain quantity of water in the soil together with its requisite amount of air properly distributed and mingled, and when this very ideal condition is attained the only needful is Old Sol's persuasive
It
is
now
quite apparent that plants really do
or consume the
amount
of
influence,
when the development of plants and fruits will marvelously pleasing. be It takes no argument to convince the average man that there are many times when, if the soil could have had
a little more available moisture, there would have been one, two or three times as great a yield. To more
just
108
clearly
belt, of
show the
vital importance, in this great serai-arid thoroughly fining and firming that portion of the
soil in
which the roots
of the plants should
grow and
feed,
we have prepared the accompanying
illustration.
''
"'
^
*
"

which
is
109
not held in film form, to drain out into the gradMeasuring carefully the amount from each glass, we find to our surprise that the fine shot retains nearly thirteen times as much water as the coarse shot. Here we have a practical demonstration of how the wateruate.
holding capacity of the

izing
soil is
increased by finely pulvercapillary attraction
and making
it
firm, a condition
the
movement
of moisture
by
most perfect development of roots, jects have been taken up in detail in other chapters. The shot, before it was put into the glasses, was carefully weighed on fine druggists' scales to be sure that we had the same quantity. As j'ou see, both glasses are filled to the same height with the coarse and fine shot and both glasses are of the same size. WATER AND SOIL CONDITIONS. The great question which bears so largely upon the quantity and quality of all crops is that of water in sufficient available quantities at all times. Nothing has more to do with this than the mechanical or physical condition of the soil. The deeper the soil is stirred and yet made fine and firm, the greater is our ability to guard
against the shortaa;e of water at
most favorable for and the both of which sub-
some
critical
time.
To
plow deeply and leave the under portion lumpy and loose is a very objectionable condition with which to approach a dry period, and as experience has shown, no one knows when such a time may occur. Therefore, for safety, the lower portion of the furrow must be made fine and compect, as deep as plowed. Manj' thinking men, from a theoretical standpoint, insist that the soil of the prairies must be loosened up deeply to let the water down. This is not essential in the least, providing the soil is moist a foot or so below the
110
surface

and the surface
in contact
is kept loose. As soon as the rain with the moist earth below it readily through the fine soil. In fact the soil
comes
that
is
percolates
down
moist for three or four feet down will dry off on the surface much quicker than soil that is dry underneath because of more rapid percolation. The slowest soil to take the rain waters is the dry soil with a firm surface. Again considering the water-holding capacity of the
and recognizing a marked difference in the amount water held by the fine shot shown in our illustration, we more clearly grasp the value of adding well rotted manures to the soil of the western prairies and the further importance of having it thoroughly mixed into the soil. The manure when decomposed very materially adds to the number of minute particles and further increases the water-holding capacity. The manure question is fully considered in a chapter by itself, and should be very caresoil,
of the
fully studied for its relation to the moisture question
is
broad; therefore,
arid country.
it is
one that means much to the semi-
111
CHAPTER
XIV.
IMPORTANCE OF AIR IN THE

Not
Neither
the soil
as
SOIL.
to a
much importance has been given

soil as
study of
the part played by air in the

is it is
the subject warrants.

its
very well understood that
availability in
largely regulated
by the mechanical arrangeupper six or eight inches top
ment
of the particles in the

soil.
layer of the
know
Because we have seen it constantly demonstrated we the necessity of water in the soil for plant growth, but it is not so easy to comprehend the material value to We cannot see its effect in the plant of air in the soil. anything like as broad a sense as we do the water, yet its presence in proper quantities in the soil and about the roots
of the plants
is
just as vital to its
life,
health and growth
as water.
Water without
air
-without
to
water and
valueless
crops.
component parts is worthless; component parts is equally the growth and development of all farm
air
and
its
its
we
Consider the subject carefully. How many times have seen a field of wheat, corn or oats, possibly half-grown, and noted that in some depression the crop was ranker in
growth and also a darker green. If a rain of considerable magnitude comes, and the depression fills with water and remains there for several days, the plants that seemed to have the advantage before the rain now begin to lose their dark, healthy green color; if the water remains long
112
enough over the surface a yellow cast becomes apparent, then a brown, and finally it dies. This is because of a
lack of air at the roots.
The great
is
store house of nitrogen

all is
the place where
kept that
is
is the atmosphere. It not in use otherwise. And
is one of the essentials of plant life. The plants do not take their nitrogen directly from the air; but it comes to the plant in an indirect manner through organic substances in the soil. The nitrogen of the air combines with mineral substances in the soil, and then by reason of the action of bacteria certain compounds are formed which contain nitrogen in a soluble form. Then it becomes plant food.
nitrogen
NITROGEN AS PLANT FOOD.

But you cannot have these compounds containing
if the other elements are shut off from contact with nature's great storehouse of nitrogen. Hence the
nitrogen
circulation of air in the soil

in a perfect
is an absolute necessity. Soil dead soil, and can no more become or develop plant food than soil submerged in water or soil
vacuum
is
baked to absolute dryness.

in the
The great danger in handling soil in relation same lies in the possibility of having a
to the air
condition
it.
that will shut out the air without the farmer knowing
heavy rain may produce this undesirable condition. In cut No. 11 is shown what frequently happens and how It shows soil where there has been it may be overcome. a heavy rainfall, beating down the surface which has been softened by the raindrops, and with the result that the upper surface is compacted perfectly. As soon as the
small
amount of water near the surface has disappeared by evaporation the upper crust is hard. It is impenetra-
CAMBPELL'S SOIL CULTUE MANUAL

ble
113
by
air.
It
may
as effectually seal the subsoil
from
the air as does the coat of paraflBne over the jar of jelly in the pantry.
!,
i'
Uihl'.i
'fl;'|M'.!
A
Cut No.
(a)
11.
''WiMtel
B
Showing Heavy Rain Crust and iiow it is Broken up (b) Soil Mulch Soil Mulch Restored by Cultivation, after Heavy Rain, Dissolved and settled down.
When such conditions are found they must be destroyed.

The only thing
put the
soil
is
to
promptly break up
this crust
and
into condition so there will again be a natural
mingling of the air and water with the particles of the soil. This mingling must be in proper quantities of each that is the soil must be of sufficient fineness and firmness below the surface, or that portion properly termed the root bed,
so there
may
not be too
much
air, for
while air
is
most
valuable in the soil in just the proper quantities, riously detrimental in too large quantities.
it is se-
SHUTTING OUT THE
AIE.
In the experiment work we have conducted we have noted some remarkable conditions and results. We have found, for instance, that the air may be shut out by the
114
face or
forming of an almost impervious crust, either on the surbeneath a soil mulch. The most marked effect of this crust was brought out at the Pomeroy model farm, Hill City, Kansas, in 1901, during an extremely long dry
period in
mid-summer when for nearly three months almost the entire country experienced one hundred degrees of heat, at times the thermometer running even higher, without any rain. Because of wheat harvesting and other pressing work the orchard was left from fifteen to eighteen days without cultivation. During this time a crust had formed under the mulch which we had kept fully two and a-half inches in depth. The crust was nearly one inch thick and was so dense that the air was almost completely shut out. This crust was caused by the mulch becoming so heated through the direct rays of the sun that the moisture in the firm soil just beneath formed a vapor and passed off through the pores of the mulch, to a degree moistening the mulch, and allowing enough capillary attraction, which together with the heat, permitted much of the moisture to be lost by evaporation. This resulted in bringing up much magnesia, alkali salts, etc., in a soluble or
this soluble matter reached near the surface, where the moisture was transformed into vapor by the intense heat, it became a solid, and these minute particles gradually filled up the pores in the top of the firm soil.
dissolved condition.
When
the point in the firm
soil
first called to this on returning an absence of four days from the farm, by noting the fact that the foliage of the tree was losing its dark green
Our attention was
after
color.
To
ascertain the reason for this, after finding that
there was ample moisture beneath the crust, the exper-
iment of double disking one-half of the orchard was
tried.
The
disk
was
set to cut as deeply as possible, thus com-

pletely destroying the crust.
115
On
the morning of the fourth
day there was a perceptible
leaves in this half of the orchard.
the In seven days the trees in the disked portion had resumed their healthy dark green color, while the undisked portion had become The balance of the orchard was still lighter in color. then disked. Although the extreme weather continued
difiFerence in the color of
Cut No.
12.
Showing
Effect of Shutting Air
from Roots
four weeks longer, the leaves of the whole orchard resumed

their fine,
deep green, and new growth was apparently
rapid.
Similar conditions have since been noted in wheat.
116
oats
all

and corn, with same
results
from similar treatment,
pointing to the fact that both the growth and yield of crops may be very materially diminished by shutting
the air from the roots of the plants.
To
illustrate
more
fully the effect of shutting the air
from the roots we take the accompanying cut No. 12 from

Goff's book, "Principles of Plant Culture."
To make this test practical, two glasses were filled about half full of soft water, then two slips of the same kind of a plant as near alike as could be selected were placed in the two glasses and then a thin layer of olive oil was put upon the water in one glass to prevent the air reaching
the water, the glasses placed in a
warm
light place; in a
very few days live healthy roots are seen developing from the slip in the glass without the oil, while the oil covered glass not only shows no roots but the leaves soon begin to wither. While it must be remembered that slips from any and all trees or shrubs will not do this, only such as
Yet it demondoubt that the air plays a very important part in the growth and developstrates clearly
willow, nasturtion, or wandering jew, etc.
and beyond a shade
of
ment of roots and plants. One more thought before closing this very important topic. The full and complete knowledge of the relation of air and its utility in the production of all farm crops means the absolute certainty of the greatly increased yields of your fields without any material increase in the
cost of production, because
is
it
is
found
in utilizing
what
actually going to waste, not
by a
specially increased
amount
of labor, but through doing the work commonly done with an eye to bringing about that certain necessary physical condition more through a little different manner
of tilling the soil
when
it
is
in proper condition to work.
117
CHAPTER
XV.
PERCOLATION; OR GETTING WATER INTO THE SUB-SOIL.

the water
DOWN
During the past three years the question of getting
down
into the subsoil has
commanded much
attention and discussion.

ing idea that the soil
'
In the more arid sections there seems to be a prevailmust be broken up or loosened deeply
by subsoiling or otherwise, or the rain waters will not permeate the subsoils of our great prairies to any material depth. Theoretically, this is true, and all general observations so far as the prairies in their natural state
is
con-
cerned, have backed
little
up the theory as a fact or truth. broader and more careful observation shows
to be true in cultivated soils
is
the theory to be a theory only.
What we have found
also largely true of the prairies.
Several trips over por-
of 1906 gave moistened to a depth of one foot or more, that a subsequent rain of any magnitude soon disappears by percolation. This was proven in one instance in November; a quite heavy rain disappeared from the level prairies very quickly, although it remained tions of Eastern Colorado in the
autumn
strong proof that
when the
soil is
cool and cloudy, so that little was lost by evaporation. Four days later showed the prairie soil to be moist nine
inches deeper than before the rain; proving the readiness

of moist soil to take in
There
is
no subject that
more water. is more vital to the
scientific
118

all
farmers in
successfully in
be stored in
thing,
To grow good crops any and all seasons, the moisture must the soils and subsoils below. If it is only a
our arid countries.
soil,
question of getting a living out of the
that
in
is
but
if
it
is
question of living
well
one good
homes and educating a family
of children, then let us
CAMPBELLS
of
SOIL
CULTURE MANUAL
119
light, loose, and dry soil; B represents a stratum of thoroughly pulverized and firm soil, meaning the portion that is cut by the plow and then sub-packed; C represents about eight inches of the subsoil into which water has percolated, and D represents the portion of subsoil still below that is yet dry. In section 2, we find the mulch has been compacted by This mulch in its loose condition a heavy fall of rain. readily takes in the water, and as soon as the water reaches the moist soil found in strata B and H, it immediately
I?
1/
>....
UiM
2
14.
3
is
Cut No.
Showing
How Water
is
Stored in the
Soil.
percolates
down
below, and
shown by the darker
portioo
upper part of stratum D. Here the water has come in contact with dry soil, which resists percolation. Slowly and steadily by gravity the water finds its wai
of soil in the
120

the columns of
soil,
down
which by the way, throughout
the entire semi-arid belt are almost invariably found in
a perpendicular position.
In section 3, we have again reproduced our soil mulch by cultivation to stop the evaporation or loss of our water from the surface, and we find the moisture below has percolated on down until the water is all distributed, each
little
particle taking on its film of water to a given thickit
seems to steadily hold onto while the balits way on down until it is all distributed in like manner. The next rain will result the same as is shown in section 2, only we have six, eight or twelve inches more moist soil for it to pass through before reaching the dry soil. An illustration will make this more clear. In setting out our cabbage or tomato plants in the spring of the year when the surface is dry and fine we usually water them. In our first application of water to this dry surface we notice the water does not seem to percolate,- but for a little time remains dormant on the surface. After a little finds its way down through the dry particles by force it of gravity, leaving each particle it passes covered with a Then we apply a second application thin film of water. of water while the surface is still moist and we notice the water immediately disappears. The reason of non-perconess which
ance of the free water finds
is because of the resistance dry particles to moisture, or repulsion for water. The quick movement of the second application of water into the ground is the result of the attraction of water for
lation of the first application

of the
water, together with gravity.
The following
piece of glass, or a
will illustrate this natural
law: take a
glass,
smooth earthen
plate
and
oil it slightly,
then put drops of water, a half dozen or more^ on the
121
take a narrow piece of ordinary newspaper, about one-
extend from the thumb and finger about two inches, slowly move it down so the end of the paper will come in contact with a single drop of water. If you notice closely you will see a remarkable resistance Very soon the little pores of the paper against the water. begin to absorb the water, and the end of the paper becomes moist. Now slowly raise the paper and notice how persistently the paper hangs to the water. When
half inch wide; let it
it
lets
go there
is
a quick
upward movement, thus show-
ing
the power of attraction of water for water.
Now
steadily
down slowly, watching the paper and you will notice when it gets close to the water there is a sudden movement down, even while there is a little
move
the fingers
space between the moisture on the paper and the water
The power of attraction is made very perby the quick connection of the two moist particles. Now draw the paper across the glass from one drop to the other, you will notice the water all hangs together. You will have a string or train of water two or three inches long trailing on behind your paper.
on the
glass.
ceptible
This illustrates
soil
how
easy
it is
to get moisture into the
loose and open, so soon works its way through the larger pores until it reaches the moist particles in the firm soil, when it immediately percolates on down below. Here again nature has done a great deal for the semi-arid belt. The peculiar formation and size of the usual particle of soil is very favorable for percolation; also for its return upward by capillary attraction to feed the plant during our long dry seasons. Here again we must reiterate. When a heavy rain
by keeping the surface constantly

falls it
that as the rain
comes, the effect
is
to
more or
less dissolve
the
soil
mulch
122
and cause it to settle very firm as shown in the center column of our illustration. The restoring of this mulch is of vital importance, and the question of the proper time in which the condition of the surface soil regarding the per cent of moisture it still has, must be carefully considered, that cultivation may be done at a time when the greatest good may come from it. When we realize that under the conditions we are considering, following a heavy rain, the soil will lose from its surface by evaporation under normal summer climatic conditions from one and a-half to two quarts of water per
square foot each day. We certainly should grasp the importance of quick action, but if we cultivate too quickly we may puddle the soil and leave a very poor mulch, especially if the soil
be close and heavy.
Again
if
the
soil
delay the cultivation too long, and the surface

quite dry, which
it
be slightly or quite sandy and we soil becomes will much quicker than the heavy soil,
then we may have our soil too much on the order of dust which is easily disturbed by high winds. All these things must be watched and duly considered. Just as soon as the soil is dry enough so it will not
stick to
the harrow or cultivator,
it
should be quickly
gone over,
123
CHAPTER
XVI.
EVAPORATION.
In connection with the percolation of the water down through the soil and the capillary movement of the water upwards, there is the all-important topic of evaporation. It is highly important to the farmer living in the semiarid region to know all about evaporation, for it is by evaporation rather than by under drainage that the larger part of his water leaves him. When one understands perfectly the effect of evaporation and how it operates to remove water from the soil he is in a p-osition to better understand why it is that there can be so much conservation of the moisture in the soil that the land of the semi-arid belt becomes in fact better fitted for good crops than the land of the more
humid sections. It is a common remark among those who but little understand the situation that if there was only a little more rainfall in the semi-arid region it would be the ideal farming country. They say that all the country lacks
sary.
is
enough
is
rainfall to
provide
all
the water neces-
This
a superficial view.
It does
not take into
account the main elements.

It is true that
arid country just the right

it
at the right
we could always have here in the semiamount of rainfall, and have time, we would have no trouble in raising
if
would be very nice indeed to have this would have the tropics beat badly, and our people would have time for bull fights and things like that while they were just waiting for the crops to mature.
good crops.
condition.
It
We
124
But
it
is
also true,
and
this needs
no demonstration,
that even in the
humid
from drouth. Down places where there is an average of one rainy day in every three during the growing season and right there you will find the old settlers telling about how they lost a crop by drouth. And if they do not suffer from drouth they are likely to suffer equally as much by having rain when they do not want it. RAPIDITY OF EVAPORATION. It is stated that the best estimate based on experiments as to the extent of evaporation from the soil in the humid regions shows that fully fifty per cent of the rain water which falls is returned to the air directly in vapor. But this is not true of the semi-arid region, where a much
sections of the country they suffer on the Atlantic coast there are many
smaller proportion
is
returned to the air in that way.
And where
is still
there
is
cultivation with a special view to pre-
venting this evaporation from the surface the evaporation

less.
Prof.
Whitney
tells of
an experiment by the
Department
long were
the
soil
of Agriculture to test the rapidity of evapo-
ration under different conditions.

filled
Two
cylinders six feet

in
with
soil
and placed erect
water so that
was kept damp. Then over the exposed end of one tube a draft of air was blown to hasten evaporation, while over the other a similar blast of air was blown, but It was evident that the in this case the air was heated. heated air would of itself take up the water faster than the For a time the evaporation from the tube where cold air. the heated air was operating seemed to be much faster than from the other. But the surface soil was soon dried out and this checked evaporation. During the time the experiment was conducted it was found that the evaporation from the tube with heated air was very much less than from the tube with cold air.
CAMPBELL'S SOIL CULTUEE MANUAL

This illustrates exactly what
is
125
soils o.
done on the
the semi-arid region to check evaporation.
NOT LACK OF RAINFALL.

The
this
real difficulty in the semi-arid belt
is
not a lack
of rainfall, but the loss of too
much by
evaporation, and
can be largely controlled by proper cultivation, at good growth of crops every year. It has been demonstrated by careful laboratory
least sufficiently to secure a
and
others, that seven inches of rainfall
work by Professors King, Whitney, Hilgard, and is ample to grow a good crop of any kind, providing the water is all utilized. Measurements and records by the government weather bureau have shown that in the more westerly portions of the semi-arid belt the average rainfall is more than
field
twice as niuch as
is
is
needed, while a
little
further east
it
three and four times the necessary amount.
this rain does not
if such we may call it, is the fact that always come just at the time the plants most need it. This is the reason crops have failed and the average investigator or observer of the existing con-
The usual
difficulty,
ditions in this great belt has
drawn the conclusion that
not rain enough. We have lived in this belt of country twenty-eight years, and have experienced all the pros and cons, the ups and downs that the country is heir
there
is
to.
Sixteen years of this time has been spent entirely
in the
study of the
soil,
the
movement
of the moisture in
and that all-important question of storing the Our experience in these sixteen years has rain waters. varied, but each and every year some new and been quite important fact has been brought out, all leading to the one
the
soil,
conclusion, that the rainfall can be stored in the ground,
126

its
and
evaporation prevented by a proper manipulation
of the soil, thus enabling us to secure, not only fair, but
remarkably good crops any and every year. The irrigator must consider this question of evaporation. As a matter of fact he has discovered that his great loss of water is from evaporation and he has studied to Placing water on the surface of the ground offset this. simply invites loss of the water at once. What must be done and what is done where irrigation is well understood is to place the water deep in the soil, and store it where it can be made use of at the right time and in the right way. LOSS AT THE SURFACE. The wonderful rapidity with which moisture rises by capillary attraction to the surface and is evaporated is not commonly understood. The most favorable condition
for this rapid,
upward movement
of moisture
is
the natural
the sur-
condition found after irrigation or heavy rains,

face soil particles are dissolved
when
and
settled very closely to-
Professor King has conducted some very extensive experiments in ascertaining the amount of moisture that would evaporate from a square foot of ground in twentv-four This work was accomplished by placing a metallic hours. tube one foot square in a tank of water so protected that there could be no evaporation or loss of water, except through this tube. The tube was five feet long, filled with soil from top to bottom, and submerged into the water four feet, so that the moisture to reach the surface to evaporate had to pass up one foot through the soil by The rate of evaporation for ten concapillary attraction. secutive days was a quart and a-half of water to the square foot. The tube was then lifted one foot higher, making it necessary for the moisture to rise two feet by capillary
gether.

attraction,
127
was a little over one quart. It and then to four feet, and when rising four feet by capillary attraction the loss was a little over a pint to the square foot. This shows clearly why uur crops may suffer so quickly even after we have had
loss
when the
was then
lifted to three
considerable rain.
The experience of the writer in his own work in 1894, demonstrated clearly these two facts: First, that moisture will evaporate very quickly when soil is left in its natural condition; second, that a large per cent of moistIn that year there was ure can be stored in the ground. no rainfall after early May or during the month of June, and the average field was practically dry when the first rain came on July 7. At that time the fields were flooded by a rain of four and a-half inches which came down quickly. In the fields where we were conducting experiments we
had previous to three and a-half
ordinary
field
this
feet,
time got the moisture
down
nearly
and the surface was
in the best of
condition to absorb the fresh rain.
was again practically dry.
In eight days the In such fields,
owing to the great resistance of the dry soil, percolation was very slow, and the extreme heat which naturally followed quickly evaporated all the water which had fallen. But the field we had been carefully cultivating and had prepared for just such an emergency, was found to have a moist soil over two and a-half feet deeper than before, or down to a depth of six feet. During the season of 1901, there were many demonstrations of the remarkable results following extra work done just at the proper time. A farmer near Fairmont cultivated once more after a heavy rain which came about the middle of July, after the farmers in that locality had
"laid their corn by."
This extra cultivation, -which could
128
cambpell's soil culture
manual
not have cost over thirty cents an acre, added fifteen bushels per acre to his yield of corn. James Armstrong/ of Phelps county, double-disked his ground early in the spring, then cultivated his corn once more than his neighbors, at a total cost not exceeding sixty cents an acre,
and got twenty bushels of corn per acre for his extra labor. This may seem like an exaggeration, but the comparison was made between this field and an adjoining field on his own farm not thus treated, as well as a comparison with the crops of his neighbors. Dozens of similar illustrations could be given of the immense value of this principle. If the work is done at the right time results are great.
GREATEST ELEMENT OF WASTE.

The
all
careful tiller of the soil will, then, bear in
mind
at
times the fact that evaporation is the greatest element in the waste of water, that evaporation depends upon the condition of the soil surface and the atmosphere, that it is always immediately folloulng a rain or an irrigation
when the
is
surface is compact and moist that evaporation most rapid, that evaporation is comparitively slow from a broken and dry surface, and that by checking evap-
oration the farmer
literally forces
the water
down
into
his natural store house or reservoir for water beneath
the surface.
Cultivation of the surface of the

kill
soil is
not alone to
weeds or loosen the soil to admit the air but it is for the purpose of stopping the waste of water through evaporation.
Evidence from all over the semi-arid west proves conif every farmer had fully understood the theory and principles of conserving the soil water by proper cultivation, there would have been no short crop of corn
clusively that

in 1901 in that section of country.
129
The
excessive evapo-
ration of the rain water

is
all
over the great plains country
the direct and sole cause of a greater loss to the farmers
of that belt
ers of the semi-arid belt to store, conserve
Educate the farmand utilize the the rain water and we have paved the way for thousands more ideal farm homes and a higher state of prosperity
than this belt ever experienced or the people anticipated. It is by and through knowledge of certain great fundamental principles of agriculture, and application of those
than any other one thing.
principles to conditions which exist in this semi-arid sec-
tion
to
and no place else in our country, that this region is come into its own, and be made, indeed, a veritable
garden.
Evaporation of the rain water on the great plains country has made many a man hopeless and homeless. Prevention of the evaporation of the soil waters by proper
cultivation
means
better
crops,
better
homes, better
people, happier children,
and a better and more prosper-
ous country.
130
CHAPTER
XVII.
ADVANTAGES OF SEMI-ARID REGION.

Don't apologi?ie for being a farmer of the semi-arid It is not advisable to be boastful beyond that which is easily demonstrated; but at least do not feel that in conducting the business of agriculture in a region
region.
where the
true that
rainfall is small you are defying nature. It is you may be defying the traditions of the past and doing violence to the old accepted theories on agriculture, but you need not concern yourself about these
things.
Don't
there as days.
belittle
your own state and your own farm by

fall
bewailing the fact that the rain does not

it
as often
did on the farm where you spent your boyhood
There were seemingly some advantages in having
rainstorms so often and so great that the waste of great

nice thing to
was not seriously felt. It may be a have more water than you know what to do with. But even this has its drawbacks. Perhaps it is Let us better on the whole not to have so much water.
quantities of water
see.
The soil of the semi-arid region is generally of a loose and fine texture. There is nearly always present in the soil sufficient sand to prevent the soil becoming heavy.
In large portions of the humid regions the soil is underlaid with clay in such a way that the storehouse for water is limited, or there is danger of the burning out of the
soil.
But
this is
seldom true in the semi-arid country.

In fact
it is
131
well
known
that by far the larger proportion
of the soils of the semi-arid country
depth and
of
is of almost unlimited uniform texture. This is an advantage. DIFFESENCE IN THE RAINS.
ment some
In Farmer's Bulletin 266, published by the Departof Agriculture, Washington, D. C, we find also
discussion of the difference in the rains of the differ-
ent sections.
The Bulletin
says:
"There
is
an important difference in character between
the rains of the east and those of the west.

rains of the west,
The summer
country,
the soil
If
and
especially of the plains
consist largely of infrequent
heavy showers.
be open and deep, this rain sinks deeply into the ground. As previously mentioned the hot sun and drying winds
of the semi-arid regions rapidly dry the topsoil
and
this
forms a mulch, or covering, which retards evaporation. Light showers in a dry time do very little good. They wet the surface, and if the water extends to the moist soil below, water from below actually flows to the surface over the wet soil grains, and the water of the light shower, as well as some of that previously in the soil, is lost by evaporating into the air. In humid countries, where much of
the precipitation consists of frequent light, slow falling rains, with much cloudy weather, the surface dries more
slowly, giving less protection to the lower
soil,
so that
much more water

would be the case
all
is
if
lost
in less frequent rains,
from the soil as a whole than the same quantity of water came provided, of course, the heavy rains
it
sink into the soil."
Bear in mind that

true that the
soil of
is
practically always
is
and ever
the semi-arid country
in the best
possible condition for soaking
up
dry
all
of the
water rain
which
falls.
If it is perfectly
down
to a great depth
132
it will

not take up water as it should, but if only the surdry and beneath is found comparatively moist a condition which prevails where there is the right
face
soil,
is
then this soil will take up the moisture. The only problem then left is to save this moisture. A DIFFERENCE IN THE SOILS. Farmers' Bulletin 257, of the Department of AgIn riculture, we find Professor Whitney relating an incident
cultivation
which nicely
arid country
illustrates the difference
between the semi-
and the humid regions. He said: "Some years ago I saw some interesting soils in California. In some of the valleys they have soils that will produce a crop without any rainfall during the period of growth. At a point near Los Angeles, which I visited one September, they had a tobacco field which had been planted in April or May and had produced a crop which had been harvested. A sucker crop had been allowed to grow, and in September they were cutting the sucker crop, which had made a fair growth and was then in a very flourishing condition. The tobacco had had no rain since it was planted, but had been cultivated throughout the With my hands season as we do our crops in the east. I could scrape off the surface and get down to moist soil. The wells of that district showed the table water was Such an occurrence appears forty feet below the surface. a very remarkable fact to us here in the east, where we suffer if the rain does not come within two or three weeks. "In trying to find out the reason for those peculiar conditions in some of the western soils, the fact presented
itself
that in those localities they have a very dry

climate,
air,
and usually very strong winds that very hot the surface rapidly. They have about 18 or 20 dry out
inches of rain during the winter.
After the rains stop
in

April,
if
133
soil
they immediately cultivate their surface
and
get
it
completely dried out, they thereby conserve the
moisture,
because any subsequent loss through evapo-
ration will have to
come from evaporation within the

If
soil,
and that
is
very slow, although slow evaporation does take

soil.
place within a
you
fill
a tumbler with moist soil
and put
of the
it
in the
that the heat of
window in the sunshine, you will find the window sill ;vill make the temperature
than the temperatiure of
bottom
;
of the soil higher
the surface you will then get evaporation from the bottom,
and the bottom
soil will
dry out quicker than the top."

is
He
did not explain, however, the direction which the

in
vapor takes which he says

takes place only
the
soil.
Evaporation
of escape water in the form of vapor. There is no evaporation from a hermetically sealed box. It was no doubt a matter of great surprise to Prof. Whitney, as it has been to many others, to find crops grown in the semi-arid country without any rainfall during They had a right to feel surprised the growing season. when they scraped off the surface with their hands and found moist soil just beneath, and this where there had not been rainfall for months. And investigation would have shown exactly why the store house for water still had a supply on hand for the use of the growing plants. We have gone to many of our fields in Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado during similar periods, with doubting Thomases, who were equally as surprised as was Prof. Whitney,
when
there
is
some open avenue
for the
especially in 1894-5,
and
also 1901-2.
DEAWBACKS TO THE HUMID REGION.

The story of the California tobacco crop was told to a company of Maryland farmers, and continuing in response
to questions, Prof.
Whitney further explained:
"Conditions here are rather unfavorable for the con-
134
because of our frequent rains. Strange seem, while we suffer if we do not get rains, we should actually be better off, as they are in the arid regions of the west, if we did not have any rain during the growing season and had a means of providing water when
trol of moisture,
it
as
may
we wanted
ditions
of
it.
There
is
agriculture
no question that the arid conwith water for irrigation permit
the most perfect system of cultivation.

is
much more
efficient
Such a system and crops are under much better
if the conditions are handled intelligently, than they are here in the east. The trouble with us is that we cannot maintain this dry mulch. After a rain we plow or cultivate Just as soon as we can and we get the surface moderately dry; then another rain comes on, and if we
control,
think
dry.
we can
If
afford
it,
we
cultivate again; then
still
an-
other rain comes, and we try again to get the surface
you cultivate your
soil
after a rain just in the
if you have a drouth, cultivate by all means, keep cultivating and you will do much toward saving your crop. The Secretary of Agriculture has told of a very disastrous drouth while he was professor of agriculture in Iowa, when he saved his corn crop and got a normal yield by
right time to catch the moisture in the soil, then
constant cultivation during the dry season, while his neighbors had almost a complete failure. As I told you, it all depends on the skill, the judgment, and the chance which led you to begin operations at the right time. If you knew what was coming you could save your crop
during any ordinary period of drouth." In view of the fact that

it is
no new discovery that
conditions in the semi-arid regions are radically different from those in the more humid regions, and especially the
character of the
soil
and
its
adaptability to the best pos-

sible cultivation, it
135
is somewhat strange that so little has been done in making practical investigation of what should be done in the west to assure good farming operations.
IDEAL FARMING COUNTRY.
The
is
vital truth is that the so-called semi-arid region
almost ideally adapted to best agriculture. The soil is and capable of being handled to the best advantage. The soil has all the elements necessary
of the right texture for the highest degree of soil fertility.
There
is
compar-
by the washing away process. There is no carrying away of the surface bodily so that the subsoil must be transformed. There is practically no loss from drainage. The soil is easily made loose when that is wanted and easily compacted when that is desired. In short, no soil is seemingly more ideal for general farm opatively no loss
erations.
Then the very

rule, is of great
it
fact that the
atmosphere
is
dry, as a
advantage, and yet so
many had supposed

form of a heavy
a detriment.
The
it
rain comes in the

is
shower, and when
a dry atmosphere which quickly takes up the water from the surface, and over there
is
with prompt action with the cultivator the formation of a soil mulch is therefore easily encouraged and of a nature that is very effective. In short it is in the semi-arid region that the farmer can best secure that ideal soil condition that enables him to control the moisture which is needed for the growth of
the plant.
man engaged in farming any excuse for offering apologies. He has the best natural conditions for good farming. It only requires that he apply science and a reasonable amount of well directed labor, and his results are
Therefore
we say again
that no
in the semi-arid sections has
136
more certain than with the farmer who hves in a region where there must be a good deal of guessing as to the soil, the rain, the sunshine, and the wind. The semi-arid section having more sunshine and less rain makes it possible to not only prepare the soil into the most ideal seed and root bed, but it is also possible to keep the soil about the feeding roots constantly supplied with the necessary amount of both air and water. These coupled with heat and light cause nitrification as well as other chemical action through which almost unlimited plant elements are made available, and it is because of these factB and the further fact that such conditions can not be so readily and so continuously sustained in sections of greater rainfall and more cloudy weather, that the semi-arid sections have the advantage of greater average yields at less average cost, when work is scientifically done.
137
CHAPTER
XVIII.
CULTIVATION OF THE
The
SOIL.
cultivation of the soil embraces, in a general way,
about all of farming that relates to crop growing, but in a more restricted sense it relates merely to the treatment of the surface of the soil during the crop growing period.
It is absolutely necessary to good farming that the farmer have a clear understanding of the philosophy of soil cultivation. He must be able to consider why the
surface
is
cultivated,
how
best to cultivate
use, the
it,
why
different
kinds of cultivation are necessary under different conditions, the
implements to
time of cultivation and

to the
the frequency of cultivation.
As already known
followed
these
reader
who has
conscientiously
pages,
no general rule can be laid down for any portion of the work incident to agriculture. The processes nesessary to securing good crops cannot be put on a diagram that The most that can be done and this ought all may read. always to be sufficient is to thoroughly explain the general principles and make clear why each operation is performed and to tell just what effect may be expected from following any given line of work; then the farmer must apply this knowledge intelligently to the problems which come to him from day to day in actual experience in the
fields.
So
it
is
with cultivation, there can be no exact rule
as to depth, or time, or frequency of cultivation.
But
138
it
can be made clear what a certain kind of cultivation will do under certain conditions. Then if the farmer knows what he wants he can adapt his work to his needs.
There has been a great deal of discussion as to the value shallow and deep cultivation. Some persons have undertaken to make entirely too much of one or the other The fault is that they have not always of these systems. kept in mind that much depends on the character of the soil, and still more on the soil and atmospheric conditions which prevail at the time of the cultivation. It is not necessary to make an argument anywhere in the semi-arid region to convince the farmer that the oldstyle of cultivation of growing crops with the long pointed shovels is not proper especially in the light soils of the west. If he has had experience he knows that this method of cultivating his corn or potatoes is as likely to do harm So he has turned to shallow cultivation as to do good. But it is possible he has gone as the natural alternative. too far in that direction, an error easily made and quite
of
common.
Shallow cultivation
are times
is
when
is
it is
just the right thing.
not very well understood. There But take it, for

is
instance, in the drier portions of the west, where the at-
mosphere
ture, it
will get
is
free
from moisture and the altitude
high
so that vaporizing of the water comes at a low tempera-
easy to cultivate too shallow.

it
is
little
deeper
better results, because
necessary to have a
deeper
soil
mulch
to protect the moisture beneath.
SHALLOW
thare will be found
ir
vs.
DEEP.
In the chapter touching on the growth of potatoes,
two illustrations which will bear study connection with this subject of shallow or deep culti-

vation.
139
In cut No. 20 is shown a hill of potatoes which was grown by shallow cultivation. In this case, it is proper to add, the ground was first plowed eight inches deep, having been previously disked, the plow followed with a sub-surface packer, and the whole portion made thoroughly fine and firm. In securing this illustration, the lateral roots of many different hills were washed out. The main roots running from the stock were almost invariably found to have traveled in quite a uniform distance from the surface of moisture; the little branches running out from the main roots taking various directions, some lateral and some down. The illustration quite perfectly shows all these important facts. Notice the two and a-half inch mulch, and the very fine, uniform condition of the balance of the furrow or plowed portion, where may be seen numerous This represents a hill of potatoes taken from a roots. field grown on our farm in Brown county. South Dakota,
in 1894,
when
thirty-two acres of high, level prairie pro-
duced an average of one hundred and forty-two bushels to the acre, and this in a season when almost all the crops throughout the entire semi-arid belt were ruined by the extreme drouth. In Cut No. 21, we give another illustration of potatoes grown under other conditions. This ground was treated practically the same as that shown in cut No. 20, but deep cultivation was applied, and less frequent. The field was cultivated three times, cutting fully four inches deep, which resulted in destroying nearly all the lateral roots, while the other field was cultivated eight times, cutting about two inches. The difference in the result of the two crops was attributed directly to the treatment of the ground after planting.
140
Campbell's soil culturk .manual
time of cultivation. These illustrations show very plainly the difference in results between shallow and deep cultivation, but they also show another thing, and that is that the time of culDeep cultivation will tivation is a very important thing. certainly, under some conditions, facilitate the evaporation and waste of the water, and sometimes very shallow cultivation will have the same effect. The depth of the cultivation may well be varied to meet conditions as you find them.
If
you would secure the greatest possible benefit from

first
the labor given over to cultivation, you should
pro-
vide yourself with some fine-toothed cultivator, so that the soil may be all thoroughly fined, leaving the surface Then, of the firm soil beneath as near level as possible. great care should be taken to catch your ground in proper condition. It is true there is but Httle time after a rain
that the ground
is
is
in the best possible condition.

all
This
the time
soil
is
when
the free water has
percolated below,
and the
tivator,
to the depth which you wish to run your culsimply moist neither --ery wet nor very dry.
In this condition the

rate,
little particles
seem
to readily sepa-
one from the other, then your stirred soil is composed of an innumerable number of little, minute lumps, forming a mulch that gives you the highest degree of
protection.
will
mulch made when
soil is in this
condition
never blow.
If
the soil be too dry it breaks into large lumps, which unfrequently lie in such manner as to conduct the air through the large spaces between them down to the solid and firm soil beneath, causing much loss by evapo-
not
ration.
It
is
needless to mention the difficulty arising

soil
from cultivating
that
is
too wet.
When worked
it
141
becomes what is known as "puddled," and then when dried it becomes hard as brick, and a heavy rain is required to even dissolve the lumps so that they may be pulverized afterwards.
SAVING THE MOISTURE.

There are two vital points in regard to the successThe first ful growing of crops in the western country. is the importance of getting all the water possible into the ground, and second, using every possible means to
conserve or retain
it
there.
The importance, or value, of a little additional water is shown by the effect of snow drifts that may form on the field from any cause. The increased amount of moisture that seems to find its way into the ground when the snow melts invariably makes itself apparent in the growing crop as soon as a dry period begins to affect the crop
in the least. longer,
rain,
At these points the crop always holds out sometimes carrying the crop over to another good which results in maturing an unusually large yield
while
the
on these places,
not
yield
to
balance
to
of
the field
will
exceed
one-half
one-fourth
of
the
probably ten bushels to the acre is the result of perhaps not over onehalf inch of additional water that had percolated into the ground. The enormous evaporation from our fields under favorable conditions is not in the least comprehended by the average farmer because he has no means of readily
in yield of
amount.
Thus a gain
wheat
and proving. EVAPORATION DANGER. The danger to the farmer from evaporation cannot be overestimated. Therein lies the whole secret of good farming in the semi-arid region. If there was no water lost or wasted the deserts would blossom. Under the
testing
142

of
heading of "Evaporation," we have given the results
some experiments by
the soil
Trofessor F. H.
King
i\ill
of Wisconsin
rise
showing the rapidity with which moisture
through
by what is known as capillary attraction, reach the surface and pass off in vapor into the atmosphere in a single day. Not until the farmer begins to grasp the
vital
in his soil
importance of keeping even a little additional water can he be expected to use all diligence due in
preventing this evaporation. This observation of the farmers throughout the semi-arid west, during the grow ing season of 1901, especially Kansas and Nebraska, ought to be amply convincing with reference to the value There were frequent remarks of stored water in the soil. during its prolonged and severe drouth of, the mid-summer with reference to how the corn continued day after day
and week
of drouth;
after
week, contending against this extreme

effect
heat without rain, without showing any apparent
but
this
was simply the
direct result of the
unusually heavy rains in early spring that percolated
down
two
into the
soil, in
many
instances eighteen inches to
feet
deeper than usual, and there acting as a reserve,
continued to return by capillary attraction and feed the corn plants and other grain until it was exhausted. In this same chapter on evaporation we make mention of several instances where the early disking of the ground
resulted
in
retaining
a sufficient amount of additional
water to carry a crop of corn through, increasing its yield in some instances as high as twenty bushels, which was not secured in adjoining fields, not disked, simply because the moisture was allowed to evaporate by leaving the surface hard and compact, as is always the condition after a heavy rain or snow.

soil conditions.
143
To be successful the farmer must grasp the full importance of doing all his work just at a time when the condition of the soil is' best adapted. The idea that by
plowing today we
acre,
may
get ten bushels of wheat to the
when if we plowed
the ground four days later
we would
get fifteen bushels or vice versa seems rather ridiculous.
While this statement and the figures used, may in most it is a fact that the average yield of a field is frequently increased or decreased quite a per cent by a few days variation in the time the work
cases be a little strong, yet
is
done.
is especially true with reference to cultivation. have in mind a case near Fremont, Nebraska, where the phenomenal difference of fifteen to eighteen bushels per acre was made by cultivating a part of the field before a heavy rain of nearly five inches, and the balance of it after this rain. The reason of this remarkable difference was simply what we have been dwelling upon, the result of retaining a large per cent of moisture in the soil mulch by the cultivation after the rain, that was lost from the balance of the field by rapid evaporation. This occurred in July, and was the last cultivation preparatory to what is called laying the corn by. The rain was a very heavy one. The part of the field that was cultivated previous to the rain was left with the thick compacted crust made by the heavy fall of water, which resulted in dissolving the loosened soil and settling it very close, thus leaving
This
We
the surface in the best possible condition for a rapid movement of moisture to the surface and evaporation. Under
another head we have explained this more clearly. The portion not cultivated previous to the rain was gone over
144

would permit, thus
as soon after the drain as conditions
producing a perfect protection to the moisture below, and bringing about the remarkable result referred to.
While these cases cited seem like extreme instances, under similar circumstances you can look for similar results. When the reader begins to understand the direct
eifect of these conditions it will
then be quite clear why
a light crop
was secured when a good crop might have
been harvested.
TIME OF CULTIVATION. The exact time for the cultivation of be fixed by any arbitrary rules. Certain
stated, as for instance
a field cannot things can be
Too moist
soil
will
settle,
so that you have accom-
plished nothing
by
cultivation.
Too dry soil will break up into clods and the surface mulch will be imperfect. Too wet soil will when cultivated, form a connection between the surface and the subsoil, so that moisture
will
be steadily carried to the surface.
Too dry soil will be left by cultivation so that the air goes down into it and carries away moisture. But you should always cultivate immeditaely or as
soon after a rain as the
soil
is
conditions become suitable.

soil
One
of these conditions
that the
does not adhere

soil
to the cultivator or tool used.
Usually
sufficiently
dried so
it will
not stick
will
be such as
will
form the
right
kind of a mulch. We do not mean by this that the

lutely dry
soil
should be absofor that
on the surface.
It is
an error to wait
is
time, for the
moment
the surface
apparently dry the
crust begins to form.

just before this time
It is desirable to catch the
ground
when
all
the
soil
is
simply moist,
CAMPBi;-L,L'S SOIL
CULTURE MANUAL
145
and then there

cles.
is a free and ready separation of all partiIn this condition the cultivator runs the easiest,
the mulch
made the The judgment of
finest
and
lies
up
loose
and
light.
the farmer must be used with great
care at this time.
He must
wants and try

soil.
his best to get just
bear in mind just what he such condition of his
TIME FOR QUICK WORK. no time in the year's round of duties when quick work even at the expense of many long days of labor is so much needed as at the height of the growing season, when advantage must he taken of every rainfall
There
is
that favors us.

It
must be borne
fast.
in
after the soil reaches the proper condition causes

lose
mind that every moment's delay you to

is
water very
It
at the rate of a quart or over
per square foot per day, providing
and even more

tivate.
in case of
it is clear sunny weather, heavy south winds. The more
intense the heat the
more frequent
it is
necessary to cul-
firm soil
very good rule is to watch the condition of the just beneath the loose mulch or cultivated porof this firm soil begins to to
tion, and whenever the surface show dryness it is high time
commence
cultivating
again.
cannot impress this point more fully upon vour referring you to that chapter which tells of the crusting of the orchard on the Pomeroy jModel farm during the extreme dry period of 1901, and its effect
We
mind than by
upon the growth of the trees. We had a simlar experience, but more clearly illustrated, in the cultivation of corn in Pheyenne county,
northwest
Kansas,
in
1898.
This
demonstrates
very
clearly the great importance of being exceedingly cautious.
146
not to let any crust form under the mulch.

opinion that
We
are of the
corn crops have been seriously injured by that condition, when with no more available moisture
many
the crop would have

for this crust.
come out
all
right
had
it
not been
KEEPING MULCH IN CONDITION.

There are many important reasons why great care should be taken to keep the mulch in perfect condition
and prevent the loss as far as possible of any moisture by evaporation from the surface of the soil. The following
paragraph taken from Professor King's book on "The Soil," conveys some important information along this line. We quote this because it bears the figures of his own practical observation at various depths in the soil, showing the effect not only of the surface soil getting too He says: dry, but of light showers.
"When
so the
the surface
soil
has
its
water contents reduced

it is
upper
six to twelve inches are beginning to get

rise of
dry the rate of capillary
water through
if
decreased
and
it
begins to assume the properties of a mulch.

this condition has
soil
But
when
been reached the thickness of the water film on the

causing percolation, the capillary flow
that the surface foot draws
at a
a rain increased
grains without
may
upon the deeper
be so certain soil moisture
more rapid rate than
before, causing a translocation
of the lower soil moisture, the deeper soil
becoming meas-
urably drier soon after such a rain than it was before, while the surface foot is found to contain more water
than has fallen upon
it."
He
ciple.
cites
Some
experiments as proof of this important prinof his experiments were very interesting and

instructive,
147
showing that by wetting the surface capillary
attraction was so increased as to
show that moisture had

below.
tiller
moved up from
the fourth
and
fifth foot
This emphasises the fact that the
of
the soil
should understand these conditions that he just what to do to get the best possible yields.
may know
CONCLUSIONS.
In closing this chapter we venture to repeat that may emphasize some things taughi.
we
Winter wheat
soil,
will
while in loose
soil
not winter kill in firmed, moist it frequently thins out or kills
out entirely.
A fine, firm root bed, with a loose surface or mulch, a condition that will withstand the extreme dry periods longest without any injury to the plant.
is
Study well the question of thoroughly pulverizing and packing the lower portion of the plowing; a full understandmg of its importance means many dollars, because
it
means a
larger crop result.
Subsurface packing increases the moisture in the lower portion of the plowed groimd and induces decomposition of the weeds, stubble, or manures that have been turned under, thereby adding humus, the all important ingredient
for rapid plant growth, as well as enabling the plant to
withstand drouth.
If
and
is
firmness, do
you would get your soil to a condition of fineness all your work to that end when the soil
it
just slightly moist, for
then plows better, packs better,
and cultivates better. Do not go to work on plowed ground that is dried to the bottom, whether plowed in good condition or not, and expect in any way to get the lower portion of the furrow in good condition. You may improve it. The closer you keep to the plow the better you can pack the under portion.
148
CHAPTER XIX.
BAYNYARD MANURES.
The use of barnyard manures in enriching the soil has become so universal that it seems almost strange that
in large areas of the
country but
little
use
is
made
of
it.
In the eastern part of the United States, as well as in other countries, there is no need for argument to convince the farmers of the great value of barnyard manures. They have demonstrated it many times. They
do not waste any.

In the western states, more especially in the semiarid regions, farmers have
come
to
have an entirely
differ-
ent view of the value of the barnyard manures. In the entire belt it is probable that at the present time a large
proportion of the barnyard manures are burned or thrown away. This is all wrong. In no section of the country is the soil of such a character as to respond more quickly and effectively to the use of barnyard manures and in no place will the effect of such manures last longer, or
be of such permanent improvement.
is the best possible reason for this. The soil and naturally rich in the primary elements necesBut it is also well adapted to holding sary to fertility. moisture, and there is in fact, no great drainage of the There is much loss of the value of manures in water.
There
is
light
regions where the rainfall

carries
is
away
the best part of
heavy, for the under drainage it. In the semi-arid belt

there
light
is
149
none
of this loss of fertility

is
by drainage.
The
rainfall
therefore
a distinct advantage in the
treatment of manures.
But there
soil
is
difficulty in
application of manure.
making the best possible The atmosphere is dry and the
dry for a long period, so that the maof the soil. This is not conducive to nitrification or decomposition, and many farmers have failed to get good results. Then it is a fact that in the barnyard manure as it is gathered in this dry country there is much loose and coarse straw in an almost perfect state of preservation, not very well fitted for helping the soil. When the manure is plowed under, as it must be to get the best results, the soil is so loose and light that there is not sufficient weight to press the whole down, and make such a compact mass as best The soil, with the fresh serves to make a good bed. fertilizer mixed in, has retained an open and porous condition down to a considerable depth, which proves a detriment to the soil, with the natural result that the crop burns out and weeds gain the ascendency. The throwing of coarse manure on the top of the ground, leaving it in bunches, then plowing it under without special care in packing is of little value. In fact, this system of applying manure brings about a condition frequently much worse than if none had been applied.
nure
lies
may remain
dormant on top
Especially
is
this
true in the semi-arid region,
where
much
greater care m.ust be ta,ken to get the
manure
perfectly
mixed with the
soil.
MANNER OF APPLYING
The
er,
arid country
best results have always been had in the semiby having the manure applied with a spread-
then using a sharp disk to double-disk the surface,
150
thus mixing the maimre to a considerable extent with the top three inches of soil. We followed this by plowing
six or seven inches deep, using a rod
tur'n
on the beam
to
everything under. This is then followed by the sub-surface packer which treatment results in firmly
and manures firmly at the bottom of The reader should refer back to cuts No. 1, 2, 3, and 4, especially to note what we mean in 1;his The plowing under of manure that has not regard.
packing the
the furrow.
soil
been well distributed is likely to leave the ground as in cut No. 1, which is evidently a condition that will not only waste the natural strength of the soil, but be wasteful to the manure that has been turned untler. By use of the sub-surface packer the mixing is not only made perfect, but the manure is brought into actual contact wth the soil, when the proper processes bring about the development of the humus. Only slight moisture is necessary to develop the decomposition if the mixing is well done; much moisture will hardly suffice if the mixing and packing is not done. The history of our experience in this matter well illusIn 1882 upon trates the common experience of others. a South Dakota farm we gave a liberal coating of barnyard manure, plowed it under, and worked it down as
best
we could
after the
manner usually practiced
in old
Vermont. The rainfall during that season was quite The piece, about five acres, was plantliberal and timely. ed to corn and well cultivated, with such good results, that we decided to treat the manure question with the same care and economy as we were wont to do in the The same plan was followed out in 188&, with a East. total loss of all the crops which were planted on that ôund. A small attempt was made again in 1884, with
151
the same poor results. For several years after this we followed the usual plan of the western farmer, of hauling
it
out and using any possible method to get rid of
it.
REMARKABLE RESULTS
But the remarkable
results
each and every year from
the field where the manure was applied in 1882, was too convincing of its value. For ten successive years this
was put into wheat. Every year growth of the wheat, the shape of this five-acre field, which was in one corner of the one hundred and sixty acres, was perceptible both in the color of the wheat and the development of the stools, and almost invariably at harvest time, the grain on this little piece would be from four to eight and ten inches higher than the balance of the field, and yielded invariably from fifty to one hundred and fifty per cent more. With much study along these lines, and several experiments, to find out why such remarkable results were obtained from this field and why we could not succeed
entire quarter section
in the early stages of the
we were finally able to solve the probsimply a question of mixing the manures into the soil as much as possible, and then firming the under portion of the furrow slice, thoroughly packing manure and soil, followed with careful cultivation, when the sam eresults may practically be attained any year that were secured in the seasons referred to, when we had the unusual amount of rain scattered along at proper periods at just the right time to produce decomposition. The peculiarity of the formation of our soil is such
in later attempts,
lem
fully.
It
is
that manures,
when properly
applied, very materially
aid us in carrying our crops through the dry periods and
preventing the serious effects of the drouth, for the simple reason that the humus, which is decomposed veg-
152
etable matter, very materially increases the water-hold-
ing capacity of our
The more humus we have in number of particles, consequently the greater amount of surface to hold water.
soil.
is
the
soil,
the greater
the
It also aids in the

soil,
movement
of moisture through the of root
and
in the
encouragement and development

of the
growth.
The existence
It est
is
humus
in the soil
we know
to
be absolutely necessary to successful growing of crops.
where this humus abounds that we find the greatdevelopment of nitrates in the soil, not alone because
it,
nitrates are carried into the soil with the fertilizer as a
part of
place in the
but because of the chemical action which takes soil. A good deal is said about the carrying
of nitrates into the soil,
and
in certain crops gathering

it
the nitrogen from the air and storing the fact

soil
is
in the soil, but
that the greater portion of the nitrates in the
are prepared there by the chemical action which is always stimulated by barnyard manures. PERMANENT EFFECTS. There is one great advantage in the practical use of barnyard manures in the semi-arid belt. The effect is more lasting when the manure is properly apphed than in the soils of the more humid regions. In these latter regions the greater rainfall has a tendency to wash out the humus below. This trouble of washing out is
especially perceptible in the gravelly soils of
New York
and the New England
There is another advantage of the semi-arid belt which will be appreciated when these facts are better understood by the masses, for our observations so far clearly show that manures are even more valuable here than in the east, not that our soil is not fertile, but the more humus we have in the soil the
states.
153
more water
will each square inch of soil hold, and consequently our soil is safer and less liable to suffer from drouth. There is but little expense attached to an experiment to ascertain the correctness of our assertions on this subject, and were you to make them, you would find more and surer profit from them than from government bonds. The sub-surface packer is a very valuable tool in securing immediate results from manure. Exam-
ination of the illustrations in this book will
make
this
very clear, and the matter

least.
is
not exaggerated in the
MANURE AND WATER.

Professor Goff in his book on principles of plant culture, says:
"Much
of the benefit of
manuring undoubtit
edly comes from the increased capacity

for holding
gives the soils
and transmitting water." Professor King says in his book on soils, that in three years' experiments with barnyard manures he found "That for manure fallowed ground the surface foot contained eighteen and one-fourth times, or four thousand and eighty-seven gallons more water per acre than adjacent and similar but unmanured land did; while the second foot contained nine and one-fourth tons and the third six and one-third tons more water, making a total difference in favor of the manured ground of thirty-fcui and one-third tons or eighty-five thousand gallons." We would advise, where it is possible, to plow manure uder in summer tilling fields, and in doing this it will he found that far less seed is needed for best results.
ECONOMY IN SEED.
The use
of
manure has such an important bearing
on the proper preparation of the seed bed that its right use may go a long way toward saving in the use of seed
154
grain.
is
The stalk sent up from an imperfect seed bed growth and scant of leaves. The stalk which runs upward from a perfect seed bed spreads out and probably branches, and the leaves are abundant and If there is an abundance of humus in the strong.
of slow
there is stooling out of the stalk so that instead of one upright stem there are two or three or mayhap a dozen stems sent up to bear flowers and grain. It therefore follows that where manure has been used in a mansoil
Modern Manure Spreader.
ner to develop in the

so that plant food
of the plant, a very
is
soil
the greatest
amount
of
humus,
more than
sufficient for the needs
much smaller quantity of seed should be sown per acre than on soil less favorable to growth. If there is too much seed per acre the grain will stool too much and make so heavy a growth that it will stand
up.
down
fiill
stooling results in the weak straw carrying the grain, and in this condition the grain will not and it often happens it cannot be harvested.
Heavy
The
right use of
manure
therefore, partially
compen-

sates itself in the
155
In no one
thing are mistakes
economy in use of seed. more common than this
of the right
amount
of grain for the fields in the semi-arid belt.
THE MANURE SPREADER.

While the manure spreader is a very valuable farm implement from a time saving point, yet its great value lies in the fact that the manure is thoroughly torn into small pieces and very evenly distributed over the surface of the field. It will pay for itself in a short time providing the farmer will use great care in mixing the manure with the soil, plowing it under at a fair depth and then It only takes firming the soil with a sub-surface packer. a little manure per acre and a little intelligent mixing and preparing of the soil to easily double the present average yield.
Barnyard manure must be handled with good tools and be treated as something distinctly valuable. To throw it upon the land and trust to luck, is worse than
time wasted.
156
CHAPTER XX.
CORN GROWING.
Corn is a crop which requires a season a little longer than small grain and the crop does not thrive best where
the nights are cool, so that the northern limit of the corn belt is easily reached. But with care corn may be grown
far north in a satisfactory
manner and
is
a good crop in
a large part of the semi-arid region. The care referred to relates to the preparation of the seed bed, the previous fitting of the soil, the manner of planting, the time and manner of cultivation. No crop is more responsive to good treatment than corn. No crop suffers more from carelessness or ignorance on the part of the farmer.
The
first
thing a farmer must consider

soil.
is
the prepa-
Corn is a crop which demands cultivation during the growing season, put it also demands a preparation quite equal to that of wheat or other grains. Among the hills of New York and New England the
ration of the
farmers give a great deal of care to the preparation of the soil for the corn crop, for the farmers have learned by experience that it is poor economy to put good seed corn into badly prepared ground. It is on the corn fields that they most generally use barnyard manure, and it is not
infrequent that they treat the corn ground to from $2 to $4 worth of fertilizing per acre, there being many
places where this seems to be necessary every year
if
good
crops are to be had.
Professor Bailey, of Cornell university, has well said

that no after cultivation can job of preparation of the soil.
157
for a poor This applies with much more force to the semi-arid belt than it does to the eastern sections of the country. In Illinois and other states of the Mississippi valley
make amends
the soil is more fertile and rain usually ample so that no fertilizers are required and when the rains are ample and timely two or three ordinary cultivations during the growing period produce a good crop of corn, But even there they are beginning to leased the value of conserving the water by more frequent and timely cultivation, because of dry periods that are likely to come at any time. They are also learning that the breaking up of the crust which has formed on the surface after a rain is valuable because it admits the air to the soil and makes the corn grow better. But with us in the semi-arid belt, more attention must be given to the preparation of the ground. We cannot depend upon heavy rains to aid us in dissolving and settling our soil, consequently we must give close attention to every part of the work.
The
first
thing in order in the spring in the preparais
tion of the soil for corn,
the early disking which should
be a double disking in order to thoroughly pulverize the surface, bearing in mind that every act should be with a view to storing and providing the greatest possible
amount
of water in the soil.
Early disking covers the
two important points referred to, that of preventing evaporation and opening up the surface to receive the later This done we simply wait for the proper time rains. for further preparation and planting, always being in readiness, however, to loosen up the surface at any time should we get a rain of any magnitude.
158

USE OF THE LISTER.
what is the prefer the use of the lister over that of the check rower, especially in the higher
is
There
some
diversity of opinion as to
best
way
to plant corn.
We
altitude or in the northern states where the nights are cooler, which results in heavier suckering or stooling.
The additional shoots
are very detrimental to the corn
crops, especially should
humid
sections,
we have a dry season. In the and on the rolling land, we still prefer
the check rower.

is
There is one distinct advantage in the lister which worth a great deal to the farmer in some cases. When
there are
symptoms
of suckering, or the conditions are
such as to cause this, we may, by filling the furrow and covering up the young shoots destroy them completely and with ease. The higher the altitude and the drier the atmosphere, the deeper is it necessary to cultivate in order to produce a deeper mulch to prevent evaporation. In using the lister on ground where the moisture has been carefully preserved by disking and harrowing in the early spring it is quite important to follow the lister with some tool to thoroughly pulverize the moist soil that is thrown up as such soil soon assumes a dry and a very hard condition which is afterwards difficult to manage. There ought always to be enough time so that the surface of the soil can be cared for after planting and before it is necessary to begin the corn cultivation.
The best
is
tool for treating the soil surface at this period
the weeder.
The long and
flexible teeth lap
down on
the side of the furrow or ridge as thrown up between the
rows and quite completely pulverize the large clods that

are
a nice fine
thrown up by the lister, leaving a perfect circle with mulch over the entire surface. This puts

your ground
soils of
159
in magnificent shape, especially in the sand the semi-arid belt, so that you can continue the
use of the weeder by going lengthwise of the ridges and
completely destroy the weeds before they assume any keeping your mulch in perfect condition to prevent evaporation, going over the ground after each rain, as in the cultivation of other crops, watching the condition very closely in order that you may catch the ground just when slightly moist before the crust has begun to form. This does away with the weed cutting idea.
size
THE WEED problem. The importance of getting ahead of the weeds and keeping them down cannot be overstated. It is almost impossible to select words from the English language with sufficient force to impress upon the average farmer
the serious detriment to crops of even the small weeds.
To get a good corn crop the weeds must be kept out. And it is far easier to keep the weeds from growing than An it is to kill them after they have become strong.
illustration of
will be given.
what can be done
in
che semi-arid belt
On
the Kilpatrick ranch, in Chase county, Nebraska,
in 1903,
two hundred and seventy acres of listed corn were handled in this manner. The weeder used was the combination weeder and harrow made in sections the same as the common steel harrow. This is an implement that will be soon on the market generally, and its use will be common. We used enough sections to cover six rows of the corn, and the entire field was gone over four times before any other cultivator was used, and the corn was then about eight to ten inches high. The suckers A or stools were from two to five inches long. two-row riding cultivator with two wide shovels on each
160
side
'
was then used throwing the soil from the ridge over them up and practically leveling the ridges down. A few days later it was with considerable
the suclcers to cover
difficulty that a sucker could
be found, in fact, with care
and catching the corn

all
at proper height the suckrs can
be destroyed.
The
weeder,
corn was
which
practically
cultivator was followed with the leveled the surface. The
now ten to fifteen inches high and scarcely a broken stalk could be found, owing to the fact of the flexibleness of the teeth and that the drag or weeder bars were seven inches high. The field was gone over five times with a weeder, that took m six rows; and this cost less than to have gone over once with a one-row cultivator and twice with a two-row cultivator. This made the
total cost of eight cultivations equivalent to less than
two and a-half times over by the old plan.
The corn
made over
forty bushels to the acre.
Many
other similar
what can be done might be cited in the country just east of the Colorado line. In growing listed corn we do not believe in very deep listing, but in thorough cultivation from early spring until the crop is put in, then consider fully that ample moisture and air must be in the soil and that weeds growing in a corn field live on your best corn. We will never get the high limit in yield by listing corn into the unplowed land. The plowing of the land to a good depth in the autumn, following with the subpacker well weighted, then early spring culture and listIn short, ing shallower, would bring much better results. being perfected for fields thus a three-row lister is now fitted and a three row cultivator will also be ready
illustrations of
CHECK ROW PLANTING.

Early plowing
is
absolutely necessary in making use

of the
161
check row planter. The earlier the ground is plowed the better, provided it is not plowed when too But there must also be the disking process in wet. preparation for the plowing, for the problem of evaporation also comes in very early in the year, and the disking puts the surface in condition to prevent this and to encourage the percolation of the later rains into the soil. of the disk is advisable since you can get onto the ground with the disk and do good work when it would
The use
And you can be too wet to plow at a proper depth. cover the field quicker with a broad gauged disk than
with the plow.
It also enables
much
if
better physical condition than
the ground were allowed to

after,
you to get your soil in would be possible dry out. The plowing
this point
should be followed up soon
but remember
you have been particularly persistent in preventing this evaporation by the disking your ground is in perfect condition to plow, even though you have considerable dry weather later in the spring. The soil will roll up in a moist condition, and is susceptible to the best results with the packer or any other tool. Follow the plow closely with the packer, at least every noon and night. There are few places where the subsurface packer turns the profit it will in following the plow in preparing a field for corn. An experiment on the Burlington farm in Phelps county, Nebraska, in 1904, where a strip of land in a field being prepared for corn was left without
if
packing, the following facts were observed: Germination was four or five days slower; the stand of corn much less
uniform and the
final yield
per acre fully fifteen bushels
WATCHING THE MOISTURE.

Fall plowing
is
preferable at
all
times where the crops
162
can be handled so as to permit. But never plow when soil is dry. It is better to wait until spring and then disk early as indicated above. It is impossible to put
the
too much stress on this point, and some farmers seem never willing to accept the reports of others as to experience. Nothing short of paying the price of forty bushels or more per acre of shortage will convert the average
man.
A most
yield
beautiful illustration of the difference in crop
soil was developed near Verdon, Nebraska, in 1906. The farmer had in the early spring disked a part of a 1905 corn field to raise a new variety of oats, but failing to get the seed, the entire field was again put to corn. All southeastern Nebraska was very dry that spring. By the time the man was ready to plow for corn, he found the undisked portion of his corn field The field was plowed crosswise of the disked quite dry. portion. He was very much surprised to find the disked portion moist when he began plowing, but very much more surprised to get 67 bushels of corn per acre from the disked portion and only 41 bushels per acre from The whole field was treated just the same the undisked.
from moist and dry
after planting.
After your ground is turned over, and the necessary work done to pulverize the surface, watch closely the Whenever any rain comes, even though it condition. only wets through the mulch or loose soil on top, it is necessary to immediately stir it to dry it out. The importance of quick work after the surface has been moistened, even by a slight rain, cannot be too strongly urged. In the use of the check row planter the
difference in the time of germination, the rapidity of the
young plant
in
ground prepared as outlined under the

head
163
of plowing and sub-packing, as compared with corn put into the ground in the ordinary manner, is interThe growth of roots as shown under the topic esting.
of root
development
is
is
also
an interesting matter.
SEED.
AMOUNT OF
Here
another thing about which there is a great diversity of opinion even among the experienced corn growers of the west. Perhaps experiences have been different. Condition of soil and climate have something to do with it. But do not put in too much seed. Better not have all that you think ought to be in the field. There are unquestionably many cases where light crops are due to the presence of too much seed in the ground. Half as many stalks growing would have done better as producers, and the crop would have been two or three times
as great.
The remark is frequently heard: "If you don't put you can't get the crop," indicating the crop was gauged by the quantity of seed. This is another mistake and is beginning to be more generally understood. The strongest evidence along this line is found m some experimental work which we conducted in 1897,
in the seed
where eight ears of corn were raised from one single kernel, seven of these were well developed ears, the eighth having corn about half the length of the cob, both the upper and lower ends of the cob being bare of corn. It may not be generally known, but it is a fact, that a stalk of corn starts from five to ten ears, and some or all of them will usually be abandoned by the
stalk before the ear
is
in fact developed.
Now
the de-
velopment
ical
depends entirely upon the physcondition of the soil and an ample supply of availof these ears
164

all
able soil moisture, air and plant food at

is
times.
It
true there are instances, or conditions that might exist by which more corn might possibly be got from two,
three or four stalks in a

rare cases,
hill than one. These would be and where by extreme heat the demands upon the supply of moisture and plant food might suddenly
destroy the vitality, or life of all the ears that were started on the corn, except the top one. Then a sudden and liberal rain immediately replenishing the soil about the roots with the necessary moisture which would immediately increase the available supply of plant food and push to completion the single ears left on each stalk, when we
would have two, three, or four ears to the hill as against one ear if we had but one stalk. Then again should the dry period continue longer without any rain we might
all the ears, because the demand for moisture to supply the growth and develepment of two, three, or four stalks would be just that much greater than for one stalk, consequentl}' the one stalk could endure the drouth longer without suffering, and probably reach the next rain when ample moisture would mature one or two good ears as against none at all with a larger number
lose
of stalks.
ROOT DEVELOPMENT. The number of ears therefore, does not depend enIt is substantirely on the number of stalks growing.
tially true
that
it is
possible to secure as
hill
a crop with one kernel in a
as
hill.
able
crop.
the
In the semi-arid region it one-kernel crop will beat the three-kernel However, where there has been storage of the
hill
many ears from from three kernels in is much more prob-
moisture and the

kernels in the
soil is well prepared we prefer two and believe that we can get best results
from
this
amount
of seed.
165
In the accompanying illustration we show a single

stalk of corn
of roots.
ful
and the general direction and development made from several careinvestigations of the location and development of
This illustration was
0-SEO RO0TS !- FIRST BOOTS

2-FIRST CIRCLE 3-SECOD -
^-THIRD 5- FOURTH
-b-BRACE ROeiS,
Development
of
Corn Roots.
In the right hand corner you will note the each indicating the circle of roots, indicating the first development, or from the germination of
corn roots.
figures
to
6,
the kernel of corn, while No.
indicates the second growth
166
of roots,

which almost invariably
is
found to run
very-
close to the surface of moisture.
cultivation of the corn,
The depth of the early providing we have no immediate

the
cultivated
time.
portion,
it
subsequent
is
rains
to
moisten
largely regulates the location of these roots, therefore

well to go slightly deeper the
first
No. 2
indi-
cates the third line of roots, which is almost invariably found, although starting from the stalk a little higher,
to
make
its
way
1
to a lower point beneath the line from
which roots No.
seem
to feed.
These roots although only
shown
there
is
in the illustration as being single roots running
and left as we look at the stalk of corn, yet an entire circle around the stalk running in every direction, providing the condition of the ground is such as to encourage them. Here one can readily see the importance of cultivating as deep the first time as in any
to the right
previous cultivation, for these roots find their
way
out
through the soil in the early stages of the growth plant. Roots No. 3, which is the second circle of
are
of the
roots,
what
are
properly
known
as
4,
brace roots.
5,
These
roots, like the
subsequent roots
and
6,
find their
course very largely straight down into the soil. They, however, convey but a small per cent of moisture and plant food to the corn.
This being almost entirely the

1
work
of the roots
shown by
and
2.
Here
in this illus-
tration can readily be seen the serious results from deeper subsequent cultivation, which might result in cutting
off
We can also see the importance of all under the various headings referring to the preparation and care of the soil being carefully
many
roots.
work
as outlined
carried out.
RESULT OF GOOD CULTIVATION.

Here
in
this illustration
is
represented corn put
ni
CAMPBELL
SOIL
CULTURK MANUAL
167
with the check row planter, the ground plowed fully seven inches deep, thoroughly pulverized and made firm. Now, supposing we have carried out the necessary work to have stored and conserved moisture to considerable depth, five or six feet, with our plowed ground thoroughly pulverized and made firm, we have the best pos-
Cornfield
by Campbell Syston, 84
bushels per acre, Lisbon, N. D.
sible
condition, as stated under the head

all
of
sub-sur-
face packing, for the three
important conditions which

of holding the greatest
we
so frequently mention.
That
possible
amount
of moisture in the soil, a condition to
168
CAMPBELL
S SOIL
CULTURE MANUAL
promote the most rapid movement of moisture by capillary attraction from the sub-soil up into this finely pulAlso a condition most favorable to verized portion. the development of roots and root hairs or feeders. Careful
of corn
investigation of fields thus prepared after the stalks have reached a height of three or four feet will
of these little roots
show almost a perfect network

feeders throughout the entire
and
field.
Scarcely a spot half
an inch square can be found that is not permeated by manj' of these little hair roots seeking the moisture and
plant food therefrom.
stated,
With our moisture in ample quantities below, as and this perfect condition of soil and development of roots, the growth and development of a magnificent crop of corn now depends entirely upon the time, manner, and kind of cultivation. It is not absolutely
necessary that the farmer should have a specially
fine
toothed
cultivator.
The
eagle
claw
cultivator,
that
carries four shovels
on each side of the row, is probably Again we must repeat the importance of watching closely the condition of the soil, that as much of the work as possible may be done at the time, immediately after a rain when the soil is simply moist and the soil grains seem to most readily separate one from the other, as in this condition the most perfect and uniformly fine mulch may be produced. In connection with the preparation of the soil the farmer should never overlook the great value of summer tilling of the soil with a view to bettering, not for one season alone, but for many seasons, the general condition The marvelous results reported from fields of his soil. summer tilled in preparation for a crop of wheat may be expected in proportion from corn crops, and it is
the best in general use.

worthy
field.
169
test
of careful
experiment by every farmer in a
Few can comprehend

yield
or believe the greatly intilled

fields
creased
possible
from summer
soil for
over
ordinary fitting of the

the
crops until they have seen
marked
results
from a
test.
BEOAD GAUGED CULTIVATOBS.

Persons who have learned well that time is an important element in cultivation, also realize that appropriate implements are
built
necessary.
Cultivators must be
on the broad gauged plan if farmers are to be successful in cultivating the ground when it is in just the right condition, a condition that does not long exist after a rain, and manufacturers are trying to supply this demand. A two 'or three-row machine is very important, that we may cultivate two or three times as much ground in the same length of time, and when the farmers come to understand the importance of rapid work and the demand is made, such tools will be produced, for Yankee ingenuity is prevalent in all our big manufacturing establishments.
is that we have not had in the great semiany season when it was not possible to keep the soil in such condition as would be suitable for good crops with the proper machinery. Such conditions as
The
fact
arid belt
indicated here have been held about the roots of the corn
by proper cultivation. With the loose mulch on top, to depth of two and a-half to three inches, produced when the conditions are just right after a rain, and stirred just often enough during the long dry periods, we can practically prevent any loss whatever by evaporation from
a
the
will
surface.
This
soil
accomplished,
the
perfect
physical
condition of our
and complete development of roots take the moisture from below sufficiently fast to pre-
170
vent practically any damage from extreme drouth, and produce a most magnificent crop of corn.
THE CORN AREA.

Corn
greater than has been advertised. not limited to a narrow belt running through the country. Good corn has been grown in western Florida where it was once supposed no corn could be grown. Good corn is being grown every year north of the Canada
is is
The corn area
Good corn is being grown on farms far up the mountain slopes of the west. This does not fit in well with what the old books and newspapers have been telling
line.
is the reason? not that we have got new varieties of corn from Siberia or Patagonia, nor is it merely that we have been acclimating corn for these out-of-the-way regions, though a great deal does depend on the selection of the seed for
us.
What
is
It
corn.
It used to be said everywhere, and it was believed by everybody, that corn could not be grown where cool
Our best authorities also declared solemnly only a few years ago, that corn could not be grown
nights prevail.
north of Iowa, nor at an altitude of 2000 feet or over. Now we find large yields of corn have been grown at various places in North Dakota and elsewhere at an At Walsenberg, Colorado, at elevation of over 6000 feet. an altitude of 6800 feet, one variety of corn, an early dent variety, has been grown with great success for seven consecutive years. The fifth, sixth and seventh years,
of this corn has
the yield was over 40 bushels per acre. The acclimation much to do with the success achieved,
but the greater part of the success is due to the fact of a better understanding of the soil and how to till it. Corn is the one staple crop on thousands of farms.

It is a
171
decidedly profitable crop where
rightly, as for instance,
it can be used where hogs and cattle are grown,
Raised by Campbell method.
Raised by
in the excessively hot
vs.
common method.
weather of 1901;
Pomeroy Farm com grown
Campbell system
adjoining farm.
172
Campbell's soil culture masoal

it
and
its
can be used on the farm for feeding. But of course is much less per bushel where 60 to 100 bushels are grown than where 20 to 33 pushelg are grown. To raise this limit means dollars to the farmer, and it is therefore worth a great deal to him to make a study of the problem. SEED CORN TESTING. It never pays to plant any kind of seed that is poor. In one respect the farmers of the semi-arid region are favored, because the climate is such as to preserve seed better than in some other places; but in another respect
cost
they are at a disadvantage, for the shortness of the season may prevent them from gathering mature seed. The only
safe thing to do
is
to gather the corn for seed carefully
before the frost has got a chance to injure the kernels,
and put the corn in a place where it will dry out slowly and surely and remain dry all winter. Selection of seed corn from the field before the regular picking of corn is undertaken can do no possible harm, and it may be the means of saving an entire crop in after years. Then before planting, no matter how careful the farmer has been, it is to his advantage to make a thorough
test of the corn
in a variety of
he intends to plant.
will
This
may
be done
so that
ways that
suggest themselves to every
farmer.
if
The
testing should be done early
enough
the farmer finds that 10 or 20 per cent of his seed will

if
not grow, or even
5 or 2 per cent produces
weak
stalks,
he can supply himself with seed in some way.
The
facts
INVESTIGATE AND KNOW. we have given here in this chapter on corn
ought to suggest to every farmer in the semi-arid region, especially every one who has accepted the old dictum that corn cannot be grown here, that he should experi-
173
merit and know for himself whether corn can be made a good crop on his land. A small field for experimental purposes is easily handled. If corn can be grown, and yields of from 40 to 75 bushels secured, it is folly to be trying for yields of from 10 to 25, and equally bad to be devoting the land to some other crop exclusively. The farmer who wishes to intelligently convince himself what is best for his particular section would do well to lay off three or four small fields and try corn cultivation under
somewhat
different conditions, then act accordingly.
TO REMEMBER. Here are some things to remember in connection with the growing of corn in the semi-arid regions: Plenty of water in the soil means plenty of corn. No after cultivation can make amends for a poor job
of preparing the soil for the crop.
fact.
Do
not forget this
The deeper you can get water stored down in the ground before planting time the surer you are to get a
big crop.
cultivation.
Don't get too much taken up with the idea of shallow The best condition is with from two and
a-half to three inches of fine loose soil.
Be ready in the spring before the ground is ready, then at first chance get into the field with a disk and go over the ground intended for corn. Nothing can pay better than this, no matter whether the ground was plowed the previous fall or not. Cultivate your growing corn once after the last rain, even though you may think you do not need the water for this crop. You may need it for next year and the
time to save it is just after it has gone into the ground. Never permit a crust to form under the mulch. It
is
174
as
bad there as it would be on the surface, and it will form you watch closely during long periods of heat and drouth. There is no work done, cost considered, that seems to go further toward increasing the yield of corn than that of early double disking where the land is not fall plowed. Do not permit the weeds to grow. Every weed means
there unless
less
corn.
They
are silent
thieves that take
away
all
that you have saved
up
for
your crops.
Be
sure of your seed.
175
CHAPTER XXI.
WHEAT.
Wheat is one of the made from wheat flour
great staples of the world; bread
is
the most
common wholesome
food for all classes of people. It is produced over a very large portion of the world, and yet an over-production seems impossible except that it may be from a local condition at a time following a shortage in a country that may export large quantities, a sudden shortage by
drouth woula turn other purchasing countries to other sources, then when the country reached its normal production again it might find difficulty in getting the same trade back; but in a country like the United States with its city population so rapidly growing, no man need fear the over-production of wheat if it is kept steadily on the
increase.
The main
tuation
object of this chapter
is
to
show how
fluc-
may
be prevented and a steady advance in yield be sustained. One thing is certain, cheap land does
may
not mean cheap wheat; cheap wheat is produced by increasing the yield per acre without materially increasing the labor and total cost of production. It is to this end we have spent almost a life time, and have reached the point where to us it seems ridiculous for a farmer to own a portion of land and spend his time in directing the work and
only get 10 to 15 bushels per acre.
There are no good wheat lands in

that cannot be
this
United States
this
made
to yield three
and four times
176
amount, and especially is this true in the great semi-arid section, and that simply by and through a better understanding of the soils and their cultivation. As there are two distinct kinds of wheat, spring and winter, and the time of seeding so widely different, we must of necessity treat them under the two headings.
SPRING WHEAT.
Spring wheat in the northern sections and on up into Canada, has become a verj^ important crop. In preparing
ground
for this crop little attention has been given in the

all
important question of storing and conservIt has been simply a question of plowing at any time when the farmer was ready to plow, the seeding and harrowing likewise, without reference to
past to the
ing the rain water.
the condition of the
soil,
or the storage of water.
1902 to 1906 there has been a growing tendency This has l:)een encouraged largely to early fall plowing. because of the possible rain of sufficient magnitude that
it
From
might to some degree dissolve the plowed soil and settle more compactly in the bottom of the furrow. The tendency during the same years has been not to plow more than four or five inches. This is because there has not been any general knowledge of soil physics and scientific Therefore the attempt to overcome one evil soil culture. by committing another in the more arid portions of the wheat belt in the northwest and all similar sections. The application of summer culture methods as outlined in this volume would greatly improve wheat growing, land values and prosperity generally,
As previously stated during the past seven years

our very marked success with
ciples unfortunately
of
summer
culture its prin-
fallow.
have been confounded with summer This fact has very materially retarded its general

endorsement
that to
of time
for the reason that
177
summer
fallow as
almost any farmer knows commonly practiced is a waste
and money. In the semi-arid belt it scarcely improves the physical condition of the soil and does not While we have materially increase the available fertility. thoroughly discussed this question under another heading
referring especially to that of
"Summer
Culture," yet
its
such great importance, and the additional expense 30 little compared to results, that we cannot resist a repetition in part. If the work is properly done the returns are large. Begin first in the early spring, just as soon as the frost is out of the ground, and the soil sufficiently dry to permit of disking without the soil adhering to the disk, lapping half, so as to thoroughly pulverize the surface, thus putting your ground in condition to prevent evaporation,
is
work
of
admit of the rapid percolation of the early and you will be surprised at results. Keep the surface harrowed or loosened by the use of some tool to the depth of at least two inches, plowing in June or July, the time when the other work is least pressing, to a depth of six or seven inches, following the plow closely with the sub-surface packer and let the packer be followed closely with the harrow, keeping in mind that all important point of working the soil when it is in the best condition to most thoroughly pulverize, continuing this surface cultias well as to
rains
In kind of work in the northwest, as well as in any portion of the semi-arid belt, it is very important to do this surface cultivating, whether it be with the common harrow
this
vation after the plowing through the entire season.
or spring tooth or disk, at a time
when
the
soil is in
the
simply moist, not dry or wet. Then you have a fine, even soil mulch composed of minute lumps, a condition you cannot get if the soil is dry
best possible condition; that
is,
178
or wet.
ticles

It
is
when
soil is in this
condition that the parinto dust

soil
seem most readily to separate, not simply but these minute lumps made from slightly moist
dry
will
when
never blow.
Having had fifteen years experience in the northwest are well aware of this blowing difficulty on the lighter soils, which can be entirely prevented by care with reference
we
to the conditions of the soil as
above stated.
It is very
desirable in following this plan to keep the weeds entirely
clean from the
field.
Don't for a moment encourage the

is
idea that weeds are valuable to turn under, for there

so little value to
tion,
them that it is not worthy of considerawater drawn out of the soil by these weeds but the
is
more valuable In the spring this ground as early as possible with in your seed not to exceed one-half This quantity is ample.
while growing
it
far
to the coming crop.
Watch
carefully.
time
try
to
catch
the harrow, and put
bushel to the acre.
As noted
largest yields
in the following section of this chapter the
we have ever
got, 62 bushels per acre of
winter wheat on summer tilled land, was grown from 20 pounds of seed, one-third of a bushel. Notice cut No. 16, which represents the ideal condition of the soil. The lower
portion of the furrow or plowed portion has been
fine
made
and
firm, first
by plowing when the
soil
was
in perfect
ing," then fined
condition to plow, as explained under heading of "Plowand firmed by following with the sub-
surface packer,
and the surface kept loose by cultivation. THE drill The drill used is what we term the closed heel shoe drill, with shoes six or seven inches apart. It is our aim to let the shoe run from one-half to one inch into the firm moist soil beneath the mulch as shown ih the illustration at the

left.
179
The seed
is
is
deposited in the bottom of a

it
"V" shaped
Germinasoil
crevice, as there
rests in a
bed of moist
fine
soil.
tion
rapid because of the ideal condition, air in proper

it
quantities reaches
through the
but loose
is
above,
and moisture
is
plenty because the kernel
closely sur-
iaiiiiliiiiiiMiliB
Cut No.
16.
Wheat
in
Three Stages of Growth; Kernel, Single Stalk and Stooled Out.
rounded bv fine, firm soil carrjdng all the capillary water it can hold, which is quickly given off to the kernel as soon as it comes in contact with the many moist particles. In the center we have the blade about three inches above the surface. This stage of growth we have almost invariably noted on the morning of the fourth day after
the seed
tained.
is
deposited,
when
this ideal soil condition is atis
Such rapid growth of the stem
due only to the
180
fact that as

a perfect root system. is immedaitely established,
in illustration, because of the perfect physical
soil
shown
condition of the
fertility
and the large amount of available
by the summer tillage. Remember the physical condition of the soil above representthat has been developed
is
ed
very easily attained in

of the cut
all
semi-arid sections.
we have the same kernel a little later. Note the liberal stooling. The one lone stalk has developed dozens more, and why? Because of the enormous root system that has developed, and in every conbottom of the stem these little have penetrated the soil, from these little rootlets thousands of little hair roots or feeders are drinking in
ceivable direction from the
rootlets
At the end
the moisture laden with plant elements, sending
it
to the
utilize
main
all
stalk;
but small as
little
it
is
it
cannot begin to
that this
is
army
of food gatherers bring in; the
result
another stalk and another until enough have
pushed
that
is
their leaves into the sunlight to take care of all
gathered in and provided by the roots. take notice that we are approaching a possible big crop of wheat, for it is probable we have an average of ten, fifteen, or twent}' heads started to every kernel we planted. If we can finish and mature a good head on each stalk what can we look for in jaeld. Two things, both of which are largelj'' within the power of man to control, must be previously provided for, water and available fertility. We may have plenty of moisture and yet
Now
not the
fertility;
moisture can be stored as shown under
Fertility in case of a summer shown above was developed during the heated portion of the season when the soil was fine and firm, with a loose mulch over the surface holding the moisture
the head of percolation.

tilled field as
at the top of the firm soil into which the air readily per-
181
meated after passing through the loose mulch on the surWith the air and the moisture, through the medium of heat and light, chemical action takes place and the available fertility is the result; and so long as ample moisture can be supplied from the storage below by that wonderful phenomenon, capillary attraction, which never fails
face.
to do its part, all necessary plant elements or fertility
are ever available to complete the big crop.
Remember
made
there are three requisites for the big
and
sure results, a perfect physical condition of the

available,
soil, fertility
and ample moisture stored below. KIND OF GRAIN DRILL. That the drill is by all means preferable in planting
small grain, there
true in the
drills of
is
all
practically no denial.
Especially
is it
more
the
arid sections, but there are
many
more common makes, as there are three .especially different methods of depositing the grain. In cut No. 17 we show practically the condition of the soil after one of each. There is no question but what many will criticise some of our ideas, but we do not draw our conclusions from theory or from short and hasty consideration, nor without careful comparative tests. The
kinds of
disk
drill is
quite popular,
its
draft
is light,
but
it
does not
leave the grain in anything like an ideal condition; for
the
soil is lifted
and
is
left loose
over and around the kernel.
Next
to this
the press
drill.
Note the difference in
germination of the grain of the two. By packing the soil onto the kernel with the press wheel you notice more perfect rooting and the growth is considerably in advance The press drill of the grain put in with the disk drill. has its objections, especially is this true where the seed is deposited in soil that has not been sub-packed, as was the case from which we secured our illustration.
182

In seasons of normal rainfall with the usual dry period or June, the condition as shown would bring a small
in
May
The action of a press wheel is somewhat we might say the soil as it is found by ordinary fitting is not what most farmers imagine. The
yield of wheat.
coarse and loose, or
shape of the packed portion is much the shape of an egg little end down, as shown in the cut. The result is a rapid
Cut No.
17.
Effect of Seeding with Three Kinds of Drills.
early growth of roots

rootlets,
and a
liberal stooling; the roots
and
however, are mainly confined within the finer and more packed portion as shown in cut. This fact we ascertained by cutting a deep trench across two rows thus planted and with a fine stream from the nozzle of a small
hand-pump, such as
is
usually used to
wash buggies with,
we brought out
usually
is
the conditions shown.
Now
the trouble
soon apparent when a dry period comes on after
the early rank growth
when
all
the plants and
all
the stools
are obliged to depend mainly on this narrow packed strip,
183
and we have noted instances when three-fourths of the would die down in a single hot day simply because the root system was too narrow and the movement of moisture by capillary attraction too slow up to the narrow strip. Because of the excessive heat the demand of the plants for moisture was greater than the condition of the soil could supply, and therefore the little strip becomes depleted of its soil moisture and down goes the plants one after another to the number that can be fed by the availstalks or stools
able moisture through the present root system.
In the next section we see how the closed hee! shoe has deposited its seed into the fine firm moist soil. The root system in this condition is not only perfect on the start, but is lasting because the entire plowed portion
drill
has been
points
made fine and firm mean much when you
to the very bottom.
These
consider
all
kinds of seasons.
Farming is not successful farming until you are able to overcome all possible conditions that tend to a small crop.
LISTING WHEAT. During the past few years of desperate efforts to overcome drouthy conditions and to if possible improve on the methods of insuring annual crops, there have been a number who have tried the plan of putting in wheat with a lister. In cut No. 18, we show the plan more for the purpose of putting some inquiring minds right as to the real merits of the method in the conditions which follow. It is claimed by the most sanguine advocates that the great advantage is that the rains run down into the bottom of the furrow, then on into the soil below, to the roots of the plants, and cause a strong healthy growth. But close investigation shows a root development similar to that shown in the cut, and that instead of the real feeding ground being below the furrow, it is in the ridges between the
184
CAMS PELL
SOIL
it
CULTUKK MANUAL
that the most ideal condition
furrows, because here

exists.
is
The mulch
the
that
lies
over the top of the ridge
prevents
moisture escaping ieven more
completdy
than in the bottom of the furrow after a good rain which

dissolves and packs the soil in the bottom. In the ridge between the rows it is never too wet and always moist, as long as moisture exists below and with the proper proper-
Cut No.
ties
18.
Showing Growth
of Listed
Wheat.
of air, water, heat and light, fertility is available. Don't ever be misled into the idea that plants feed especially close to the plant body, but rather where the most
ideal conditions exist.
Then again be
careful to observe all the facts before
drawing a conclusion. Any scheme that will provide the proper proportion of moisture below has an advantage, but bear in mind that moisture is not the only element to
court.
185
PROPER DEPTHS OF SEEDING

Very much could be said on the subject
of the proper
depths of seeding, for the reason that when you make a statement as to a certain depth it must be followed with many ifs, pros, and cons; therefore we bave provided cut No. 19 as a base of argument. In this illustration, however, we assume that we have the ideal soil condition. At one end may be seen the seed too shallow. Under this condition germination is slower and the plant is more
Cut No.
19.
ABC
Effect of Different Depths of Seeding,
(b) Proper
Seeding,
Depth of Seeding,
(c)
(a) Too Shallow Too Deep Seeding.
quickly affected by excessive heat.

fitted in the
If the entire soil
more common
loose
way
this seed
was would have

Here
a hard time to exist in case of dry weather. In the center we have the more ideal condition.
germination is more rapid, a perfect root system, and practically no loss of time, while at the other end the seed was put too deep. Germination being somewhat slower, a
longer period
is
required for the
first leaf
to reach the sun-
186
light,

then when
it
gets to the proper stage for growth,

just at the point
new
set of roots
form
where
air,
moisture,
and heat seem
to mingle in the
most
ideal quantities.
is
Here
the complete system of feeding roots

root or stem from there
dies.
established and the
down
to the kernel withers
and
What
is
here shown regarding wheat
is
also true of all
other grains, corn included.
One
of the
main points we
wish to establish here
is
that depth of seeding does not
establish the depth of rooting.
HARROWING SPRING WHEAT The harrowing of spring wheat is not today a common practice. Some wheat growers have never heard it agitated, but more do not believe it can be done without causing a permanent damage to the crop; and yet we have noted and watched results where a part of a field was harrowed and a part left unharrowed, when the final yield would show more than double where it was harrowed than where it was not harrowed. The harrowing of wheat and all other small grain is a
subject of vital importance, but like
soil
all
other branches of
of harrow-
culture there
is
a right and a wrong condition, a right

right
and a wrong time, a

ing.
and a wrong manner
SOIL CONDITIONS
The
first
condition to consider
is
the
soil
condition.
The soil at what we term the Note the root sysroot bed is here shown fine and firm. tem. In case of a heavy rain that would dissolve and
Just a glance at cut No. 16.
settle the loose
mulch, thereby assisting the loss of our
stored water below, as well as shutting the air out.
Someis suffi-
thing must be done.
Just as soon as the surface
ciently dry so the soil will not stick to the
harrow
this

field
187
must be harrowed. While you may destroy some up of the surface brings back that ideal condition for the development of plant elements that means so much to the growing plant, and it would be
plants, the loosening
better in
many
instances to destroy one half of the grain

half a
and give the other

all
good chance, than to starve out
the plants.
condition most favorable for the perfect root most favorable for harrowing. Never harrow after the surface has become dry and hard, but always when moist. This is almost invariably possible at some
soil
That
system
is
opportune time.
THE WEEDEK
There
is
no place where the weeder that

its
little
is
properly
constructed plays
part so completely as
upon
a field of wheat or other small grain which has been put

into a field that has that ideal condition
quantity of seed has been sown.

nicely loosened
and the proper The surface can be so

is
and yet so
little
grain
destroyed, beif
you have no weeder use the common lever harrow. But if your soil has been left so light and loose that you have no root bed, then be careful, for it is better that you summer till the field and get two or three crops next year, than to chance a failure of a crop on a piece of soil so unscientifically fitted that it will not permit of harrowing.
cause of the flexibleness of the teeth, but
TIME OF HARROWING
Care must be taken to catch the soil moist if possible. The best time to harrow is when the grain is beginning to
stool, or
If,
when
three to four inches high.
however, the field should unfortunately pass through the spring without rain enough to settle the mulch it is not necessary to harrow. Then again should you get a
188
CAMPBELL
SOIL
CULTURE MANUAL
heavy rain and harrowing had been done and a second rain should come, it may he necessary to harrow again. The great effort should be to get the foliage of the grain to cover
Harvesting
Wheat
Fifty Years Ago.
the
soil,
may
while the surface is still loose, in order that there be free access of air to the firm soil. Above all things
189
don't look upon this air circulation as a mere fad or theory.

Its
importance and great value has been proven over and
over again in our work.
AFTER HARVEST
off, get on this ground as quickly as possible with the disk harrow. Double-disking is exceedingly valuable. The small size disk, fourteen or
When
a crop has been taken
fifteen inch, set at a
good angle
will quite
thoroughly pulit is
verize the ground, but with the larger disk

to get a
impossible
good condition without double-disking.

is
Rememany
ber that the object
to thoroughly pulverize the surface
two or three
moisture we
inches, to not only prevent the loss of
below, but to have the ground in the best possible condition on the surface for the rapid
percolation, or getting of the rain waters
soil.
may have
down
into the
Lose no time after any rain in again loosening the surface, especially upon any ground that you may have already plowed. After the disking, plow and pack and harrow, as stated with reference to summer culture. Should
you get any heavy

it
rains late in the
fall, lose
loosening the surface to save the water, for you
no time in may need
the following year.
When spring time comes get over your ground as quickly

as possible with the harrow, aiming
if
possible to do this
before the surface gets dry, put in your seed, not too thick,
and await its developments when it reaches the stooling point, which it will do early in the season if your ground is in the proper condition. At this point of growth, that is when the wheat is beginning to stool or sucker, go over your ground with a long-toothed weeder. This will loosen the surface and destroy the weeds. The checking of evaporation by this cultivation will urge on your wheat,
when
it
will
soon cover the ground, then the danger of
190
evaporation is much less. The rich prairie soils of the Dakotas, Minnesota and other sections of the northwest should produce thirty to fifty bushels of spring wheat
EASTERN COLORADO WHEAT

C3rop of Forty-eight Bushels per Acre in Eastern Colorado in 1906
Without
Irrigation,
if
instead of five to twenty, and will
the
soil is
properly
year.
handled.
thirty bushel crop should be got
any
191
Don't think for a moment that you can get this rapid growth and early heavy stooling of the wheat unless your ground is thoroughly fined and firmed and you have held the moisture below, forming a seed bed in which there will be a rapid developmtnt of strong roots which is the direct result of prolific stooling. The use of the weeder or harrow on wheat after it has begun to stool, or is three or four inches high, when your ground is loose and porous
WYOMING WHEAT.
Showing What
is
Being Done on the Fine
Prairies
Without
Irrigation.
sition.
where the roots should grow is not always a safe propoThe root development is so light that much of the wheat may be easily pulled up and destroyed.
WINTER WHEAT
Winter wheat is a little different proposition from the spring wheat. Here again we believe when the farmer in the winter wheat belt has learned the value of summer
192
culture,
CAMPBELL'S SOIL CULTURE MANUAL and how

it will
not only greatly increase the avis
erage yield, but

cerned,
treated.
make
a failure, so far as drouth

will
con-
an impossibility, a larger acreage
be thus
carried out to
This part of the Campbell system of soil sulture if the letter in the winter wheat sections,
especially where the crop will ripen in time to finish cutting in June, will certainly revolutionize wheat growing, not only in the more arid sections, but in the more humid
sections.
The plan should be

till
in case of old land, to
summer
about one-third of the land thoroughly each year until the entire field has been gone over, then follow closely As soon as the crop is harvested, the following plan:
field; better still to follow the harvester with the disk; harrow or otherwise cultivate after each subsequent rain, until as near as it may be possible to the
double disk the
middle of July; then plow and follow same plan as is laid down for summer culture, and seed again at proper time.
This line of work if carefully followed after one season's thorough summer culture will result in further big crops, because the disking, plowing and other cultivation during July and August and early September, gives opportunity for further development of plant elements as well as storage of miosture for the next crop. The experience on the Pomeroy model farm at Hill City, Kansas, for seven years, 1900 to 1906 inclusive, at the Burlington farm at Holdrege, Nebraska, from 1903 to 1906, inclusive, and many other points in western Kansas and Nebraska, and eastern Colorado, and the Panhandle of Texas, are certainly evidence that our ideas drawn from
twenty-seven years of experience and observation, repreThey at laast carry sent something more than theory.
CAMPBELLS
SOIL
CULTURE MANUAL
193
very strong evidence as to thevalue of this class of work, where, by this very careful preparing of the soil, having plowed about seven inches deep, followed our plow closely
row, going over our
with the sub-surface packer, and the packer with the harfields immediately after the heavy
rains or as soon as the soil
was
sufficiently
dry to permit
it
The 1904 Wheat
Crop,
Pomeroy Farm, Kansas.
we had formed a
ample.
fine,
firm and very moist seed bed.
Under
these conditions twelve quarts of seed was found to be

Its germination was so quick and the rapid development of roots brought about by the very favorable
physical condition of the
soil,
caused the liberal stooling,
and
in thirty days after seeding our
ground was nearly
or quite covered with the wheat.
The immediate disking
194

is
after the winter wheat crop is removed importance; as we have repeatedly said,
of very great of two-fold
it is
value, as
prevents the loss by evaporation of any moisture in the soil, and puts the surface in the best possible
it
iFPPiP
Gennination of Wheat in Soil Properly Fitted and
in
Loose
Soil.
condition for the rapid percolation of later rain waters.
The plowing may be done a little later, and to get the best results a good depth of plowing is necessary, and then the plow should be followed with the sub-surface packer. Mark you, we are after a condition that will not only enable us to get the best possible results, but prevents any damage by drouth and assures good crops annually, which means
campbll's soil culture manual

prosperity in
condition.
its
195
highest degree.
fine,
firm seed bed,
or root bed, has
many advantages
over the coarse, loose
in the
is
first place, one-third only of the seed is necessary, next place the growth and development of the plant much more rapid, and will soon cover the surface. In
In the
the third place, the development of roots
is
much
greater,
we
are able to
larger
draw moisture and plant food from a much percentage of the soil, and last, but not least, we
soil
have a condition of
that will hold a
much
greater per
cent of moisture as well as one having a greater power

of capillary attraction, enabling us to of moisture
keep up the supply which we draw from below, where, by careful work, much of the rain waters are stored, that under ordinary conditions would have been lost by evaporation or run off.
WHEAT THE PIONEER'S MONEY CROP

Wheat
surely put
is
the
money
his feet
crop for the pioneer and will

if
him on
he
will
but follow Scientific
Soil Culture to the letter,
whereby he makes the crop a
sure one so far as the general climatic conditions
may
go,
but when once on his feet he should change to mixed or real farming.
BURNING stubble
The question
discussion in
of burning stubble has received quite a
localities. This, however, is a oneStubble should never be burned, as it is sending up in smoke what means much to the soil. The usual and only difliculty is overcome entirely by the use of the sub-surface packer. See cut elsewhere. We not only oppose burning stubble, but favor cutting
many
sided question.
the stubble just as high as possible, that just as
much
196
vegetable matter as possible may be returned to the soil, and when you get a crop after summer tilling running 40 to 60 bushels per acre then cut it as high as you can. You can bank on increasing the humus to some degree with the enormous root growth together with the straw.
CAMPBELL'S SOIL CULTURE MANUAIi
197
CHAPTER
XXII.
GROWING POTATOES.
The potato
is
another crop which in the catalogue
of the the western farmer is too often Usted with the things
which he thinks can only be grown where there is an abundance of water in the soil for the plants and to waste. The potato is a strong grower and does require a great deal of soil fertility, but it is not a crop to be confined to the more
humid
regions.
There are persons who have been insisting for a long time that the only thing to do if potatoes are to be grown in the west to supply the demand for home consumption, some new variety must be developed or imported that
will
better suit the climatic conditions.
This
is
a vain
hope except so long as little or no attention is given to the vitally important matter of the proper fitting of the
soil for
the crop.
Of course there is always danger of loss from the ravages of insects and from leaf or tuber diseases; but it
can be safely asserted that these dangers are not as great in the semi-arid belt as in other parts of the country generally. In fact the better preparation of the soil made
necersary here and the perfect cultivation which must
be followed for success, practically insures against loss from any of these various causes.
In fact, many farmers have been making a success with potatoes in the semi-arid belt for a number of years.
The writer has knowledge of instances
in southern
Nebraska
198
CAMPBELL
SOIL
CULTURE MANUAL
where in the spring of 1901 there was almost entire absence of rain, yet one 20-acre field averaged 100 bushels per acre, and the potatoes were sold at $1.00 a bushel. This was with cultivation under the Campbell method;
while
all
around the potato crop was a
total failure.
Ther^
Cut No. 20.
Root Development with shallow
cultivation.
is
grown
no reason why good crops of potatoes cannot be the way from the Texas line to Canada, with right preparation of the soil and care in cultivation during the growing season.
really
all
199
preparing the soil

in
of the soil is, in growing potatoes as almost everything else, the chief matter for consideration. In the chapter on sub-surface packing will be found illustrations of the different ways of preparing the soil for
The preparation
the root
a good idea of
and seed bed, from which the reader may gain what is meant. While we have said much
upon the importance of a proper condition of the soil when all work is done, we must almost repeat it again, because so very much depends upon this to secure fineness, firmness and moisture in the soil such as may be most favorable to a rapid and full development of roots such as will lead them to permeate every part or portion of the soil. In the ideal root and seed bed as shown in the cut the soil was plowed eight inches deep, after having been thoroughly disked to a depth of fully three and a-half inches; the disking having been done early our soil was moist and was in the best possible condition to plow; as the furrow rolled over the fine, dry top soil went under, the moist soil coming to the surface in an ideal condition, and while moist the particles seemed to readily separate one from the other and adjust themselves without material resistance to the desired compactness, as the packer wheels rolled over the plowed ground, which was done quite close to the plow. In the illustrations given we have been able to show
only the main lateral branches of the roots.
hair roots or feeders
The
little
be found in such soil running in every direction, so completely filling the soil as to draw
moisture and plant food from every portion.
In the cut in this chapter, where the soil and roots are shown highly magnified, is something that will bear study by every farmer. It represents at the right a section of
may
200

cell
a branch root showing the

cells
formation; from these outej
are the hair roots or feeders
A, running
through
^n
ji^^^
's^?-^
k-''<
Cut No. 21
Beep Cultivation.
among
the particles of soil represented by the dark spots; around these spots are lines parallel with the shape of the particle of soil which represent the film or covering of The white spots represent air spaces. Now, if water. the reader will look at this cut and think for a moment
that these hair roots or
full size
little
tubes marked
A A
in their
In the
soil
are barely perceptible to the
naked eye,
201
and then imagine that these soil grains and air spaces here shown are proportionately smaller in their real soil condition, he can gain a good understanding of what is the ideal condition of the soil to which he has been laboring. If you are after a sure crop, as well as a good crop of potatoes, get your root bed as near this condition as pos-
Cut No.
sible.
15.
Magnified Roots and
Soil.
Having previously succeeded in storing a liberal amount of moisture in the soil below, as shown in cut No. 8, you can plant your potatoes knowing you have done all you could do to assure success so far.
SEED AND PLANTIIfG
The planting
plowing
if
of potatoes
can be done at the time of
desired,
by simply dropping the potatoes on the

about three inches from the bottom,
Better results,
of the
side of the furrows
so that the next furrow will cover them.
perhaps, will
come from more complete preparation
202
ground, as for any other crop, then planting with a potato planter about four inches deep.
As
are a
to variety of potatoes
it is
well
known that
there
number
of excellent varieties,
and one farmer may
have a preference for one while another farmer is sure hit kind is the best. But almost any of the standard varietiet will do. In selecting a new variety do not get one thas has not been sufficiently tested. It is well in trying ous new varieties to begin in a small way and work up for seed. The Early Ohio is an old standard variety, but it is not the only good one. For seed we prefer large potatoes, cutting them as near two eyes in a piece as convenient, then planting one piece in a hill. For the more arid portions of the semi-arid belt we would plant the rows about three feet ten inches apart and drop the seed, cut as above, about twenty inches apart. In the lower altitudes, or where
there
is
a greater rainfall, plant
somewhat
closer.
Remem-
ber, the
one great point
is
to never let your potato plant
If you do your crop suffers. Small and knotty potatoes are the result of the potato plant getting short of water at certain times, which tends to force the ripening or maturing period. Then a sudden and heavy
lack for water.
rainfall or the irrigation of the potatoes after this condi-
tion forces a
new and
rapid growth which results in setting
a second lot of potatoes, some of which

potato.
may appear on
the roots and others on the sides of the already formed
cultivation
Care should be taken in cultivation of the potato not The potato is prolific of roots, and to destroy the roots. these reach out into every part of the soil between the rows. Too deep cultivation will destroy many of these
roots, especially after the plants
have grown to a consid-
203
erable size, while shallower cultivation encourages the plant

to send out its roots laterally so that the value of late
rains
may
tool in the early cultivation
you
will
be realized most quickly. There is no better than the harrow or weeder, if use it freely and with some judgment. The long
may be used from the time the crop is planted until the tops are too large to draw between the teeth, providing you catch the soil in just the proper contoothed weeder
average sand loam soils. Should you get a very heavy rain that may result in packing the
dition, especially in the
surface to a considerable depth, then

to cultivate with
it will
be necessary
some
fine tooth cultivator, as in cultivait is
ting corn, but in such case

closely
well to follow the cultivator
by
crossing the rows with the weeder.

it,
This more
also
completely fines the mulch as well as levels

the soil
loosens
among
the vines, and cleans the
young weeds.
and be sure to keep deep enough, even if it is necessary to use the cultivator; a mulch of fine, loose soil of fully two and a-half inches in depth should be kept as soon as the potato tops get to any size, and the soil should be stirred often enough to keep the top of the firm soil beneath the mulch in a moist condition. This condition can be kept if you have moisture stored below, and do not plant too thick and watch your time of cultivation. Upon the care and attention given over to this part of the work depends the quality and quantity of the crop. Don't stop cultivation when they are in blossom, but don't destroy the roots. If you want to raise a prize crop put them on a piece of summer tilled ground, plowing again in the spring fully eight inches and handle as suggested.
closely the condition, however,
Watch
the
soil stirred
204
CHAPTER
XXIII.
TREES ON THE FARM.

Plant trees!
It is old advice,
and ever good.

it
It
was
the best possible advice for the pioneers of
New England
still
when they planned

for those
sissippi
their
farm homes;
prairies
was
better
who went
into the valleys of the Ohio
and Mis-
and converted the
into gardens.
And
so
it is
the best advice to be given those
who
are
homes on the great semi-arid plains of the west. the trees will grow and flourish there can be agricultural pursuits; and trees can be grown anywhere in the semiarid country.
making Wherever
Shade trees and for shelter and ornament ought to be on every farm of this region. We have abundantly demonstrated, and can furnish the evidence that will convince
the most skeptical that fine trees for this purpose can be grown in five years in regions regarded generally as the most unfavorable for tree planting. And what is there that can add more to making farm life pleasant and satisfactory than a lot of shade trees surrounding the farm house, so that at the noon hour or in idle moments the farmer may rest out in the open air in the shade of a fine Those who have first looked upon the barren plains tree. of the west have regarded this as only a dream; but the dream is a reality on hundreds of farms. Then as to trees for fruit, and with these the small
shrubbery of the garden for small fruits of various kinds, and the vines. Good orchards are being grown in the semi-

arid region
205
culture as
we have demonstrated.
under the system of scientific The problem is a
soil
little different
from that of orcharding in the older states and where there is moisture to waste, but intelligent application of the principles which are necessarily followed in farming under semi-arid conditions, will inevitably point the way to success in the growing of orchards. Trees for fruit and ornament and for the wood, have transformed the praries of Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri and eastern Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas, until the very face of nature seems different. What has been done here can and will be done further west where it is commonly supposed conditions are not so favorable. It will be shown that conditions are favorable, if only we know how to take advantage of these conditions. The traveler who journeys over the region along the eastern line of Colorado and further west and who is able to compare 'the appearance of the country with what it was only a few years ago, must be struck with the change which is taking place already, and if he understands what is possible he can easily picture the still further improvement possible in a few years. No farmer living in this
region
who
possesses
any
enterprise or
any pride
in his
surroundings but has
now
a fine grove or orchard, or both,
and
trees healthy
and
beautiful.
PRACTICAL WORK The test of tree growing is found in practical experience. Some remarkable results have been attained and these are well worthy of consideration by everyone at all
interested in the subject.
An
experience at the
Pomeroy
model farm near Hill City, Kansas, covering a period of five years or more will illustrate well what can be done. The land selected for the buildings around which a large
206

of
number
shade and ornamental trees were

is
the orchard,
set, and for on a high divide overlooking the town, with
quite a considerable south slope.
The south
north, as
it
slope
is
much more unfavorable than

more
directly
the
gets the rays of the sun
and catches
the force of the south winds during the extreme heated portion of the season; but this south slope was purposely
what could be done under such conditions might be done at any point. For the most successful growing of trees or orchard a northeast slope should be selected as most favorable. The ground for our trees was first double-disked early in March, 1900, plowed in April about eight inches deep,
selected that visitors might see that
the plow followed
by the sub-surface packer, and the
packer with a good harrow. The ground was then laid out by using the check chain of a corn planter. A small stake was set for each tree or shrub, and nine hundred and sixty-four of these stakes were thus set. When the trees were received from the nursery a deep
trench was dug and
north.
all trees heeled in with tops pointing Care was taken to keep the roots from the air, and what is most important, to keep them moist. When taken from the boxes they were quickly covered with dirt, and water turned on. A kerosene barrel was sawed in two parts, each half barrel was filled about two thirds full of
water,
of
and sufficient dirt was added to form a thin solution mud. when the trees were taken from the trench when the workmen were ready to engage in the actual work of setting the trees, and put into this solution one by one, and enough mud adhered to the roots to keep them protected from the air and sun while being handled during
the process of setting.
Campbell's sbil culture manual

SETTING THE TREES
207
In setting the trees in the orchard two boards four feet long by six inches wide were provided with a notch in the
Peach
tree,
5 months after setting, Pomeroy fann.
center and a notch at each end, both boards being cut
exactly alike.
The man who dug the
holes used one of the
208
boards,
and placing the center notch on the stake pulled it in one of the end notches and added another stake in the other end notch. He then removed the board and dug the hole. In digging the hole the tree was examined to note the size and shape of root and hole dug sufficiently large to allow spreading all the roots out their full length and no more. The man who directed the tree setting carried the second notched board and after the hole was completed he placed the board on the two stakes, and dropping his tree into the hole brought the body to the middle notch, thus holding it exactly where the original stake had been
the stake out and set
set,
dirt that
In setting a tree a helper using a hoe pulverized the was still fresh and moist, hauling it to the roots
as fast as a
man
could place
the aid of a trowel.

soil in
it in with his hands and by Great care was taken to work the
about
roots.
When
sufficient dirt
was
in to cover
the roots a quart of water was turned in. By vibrating the tree slightly the water soon percolated through the
and settling them closely The holes were then filled within two inches of the top, and then tramped firmly. Then about three inches of loose dirt was scattered over this packed soil, and the tree left. This plan was so successful that in the spring of 1901 we were obliged to reset only seventeen trees, less than two per cent, the trees all having made a very fair growth The expense of caring for these trees in the first year.
moist
soil,
dissolving the particles

roots.
around the
1900 outside of the trimming, but incliiding all other work and cultivation, amounted to $22.00, or about $2.25 an
acre.
209
care of surface
The plan
of operation
was immediately
after setting
the trees to double-disk the entire surface, because the
hauling of the wagons and the tramping of the

the moist
soil
men
over
while setting the trees resulted in packing
A two-horse disk was used for work, which enabled us to get very close to the tree. As soon as a rain of any magnitude had fallen, the ground was gone over with the pulverizing harrow, crossing the work done with the disk. This harrow is a tool pretty generally known, and a most valuable instrument for this class of work. No weeds were allowed to grow. About two and a-half inches of the surface was kept constantly loose and fine by the use of the harrow until July, when a second double-disking was applied. The object of this occasional disking was to cut deeper to prevent even the Then the slightest degree of crusting beneath the mulch. harrow was used, going at right angles each time with the
the ground considerably.
this
previous cultivation until September
1st.
LATE CULTIVATION
Up
of
to this time
we had been
inclined to follow the ideas
most orchard and tree men and horticulturists, which was to discontinue cultivation after August, the object being to check the growth of the tree and allow the new wood to mature before freezing time. This idea presumably is correct in the more humid portions of our country. But in the semi-arid section we are inclined to discredit this theory in its full extent, especially where the rainfall is below fifteen inches. We believe the cultivation should be continued, but less frequent. We must not lose too much of the moisture from around the main roots and their branches, if we would carry our trees safely through
210
CAMPBELL'S SOIL CULTUHE MANUAL

This question
It
is
the winter.
treated with care.
is a nice one and must be proper to reduce the sap in the body and limbs slightly, but there is danger in going into the winter with soil too dry about the roots. Much atten-
Peach
tree,
Pomeroy farm, 17 months
after setting.

tion has been given to this point
ral colleges
211
by most
of our agricultu-
the past four or five years.
From
ially
Bulletin No. 52, issued
by the University
of
Illinois in 1898,
we take
the following.
We
quote
it
especis
because
it
corresponds to our
own
experience and
the result of several years of observation:
"Throughout large sections of Illinois may be found the remnants of once extensive orchards, representing large original expenditures of both labor and money. The frequency with which such localities are met would almost seem to justify the statement usually heard in the neighborhood where such worn out orchards are found that the soil is not fitted for the growing of fruit. On the other hand, the enormous apple and other fruit production in other parts of the state, and frequently in localities not far distant from those mentioned, makes it evident that the
rotting
reason so often assigned cannot be the correct one.
CAUSES OF FAILURE.
"On examination and inquiry it will be found to be almost invariably the case that the true cause for the failure or the dying out of an orchard is the lack of profiabsence of proper cultivation and care. has been devoting his time and attention to the care of his field and garden crop, it is too often the case that the orchard has been left to care for itself, with the above mentioned result. The comcient, or the entire
While the
Illinois agriculturist
monest cause
perhaps
winter.
it
of failure in orchards in Illinois

ill
may be
traced direct to the
effects of
summer
drouths, though
is more commonly The connection really
referred to as freezing in existing between these
destructive agencies has not been often recognized.

fact
two The
that
certain
varieties
of
apples usually accounted
212
situations sometimes fail
hardy even to our most northern limits, and in exposed after a winter not noted for
the significance of such failures does not seem to have been
severity, has at different times attracted attention, but
duly appreciated.
not coincide.
On
consulting the records
it is
found
that orchard injuries and exceptionally severe winters do
The autumnal conditions
of the trees clearly
has to do with the results, and this again depends

the developments of the growing trees.
upon
One
of the worst
things that can happen to trees is the failure of a sufficient supply of soil moisture. A continuous supply of water
is
essential to
all
the vital processes of vegetation.
Apple
trees severely suffer
when not
so supplied."
line,
The bulletin continues at considerable length along this and then presents two very striking cuts on pages 126 and 127, one showing the orchard upon the college
farm with trees hanging full of fruit, the other of an adfarm with neglected trees uncultivated, bare of fruit and almost minus of foliage, and the bulletin concludes by referring to the cuts in the following manner: "The photographs were taken in September, 1897. The
joining
tree in the foreground of the college orchard, with its wealth of foliage and bending under the weight of its load of fruit, tells its own story, and stands forth in marked contrast to the preceding picture, which is bare of fruit and almost minus of foliage. From the contrast there can be but one conclusion drawn, that while other things have
upon an orchard's health and condiprime requisite to successful orcharding in Illinois is thorough and systematic cultivation." While the principles involved in the Illinois bulletin are important and valuable in that state, they are vital
greater or less effect
tion, the
with us in the semi-arid section.
The prevailing
idea,
213
and the idea usually drawn from most of our articles, is that the work is too expensive to make orchard growing This profitable in the more arid portions of this country. is quite an error, fully demonstrated by the figures given of our own work in the orchard of the Pomeroy model
farm
in 1900.
In this chapter
grown on the
EXPERIENCE IN KANSAS. is shown an illustration of a peach tree Pomeroy model farm in Kansas, from a
photograph taken in the fall after, the first season's growth. The tree had then been in the ground five months. The trees in this orchard were all cut back to about three feet when they were set, and all limbs cut back so as to leave but two buds to the limb. The second season's growth is shown in the illustration where a growth of seventeen months indicates a remarkable result. This photograph was taken August 23, 1901. The contrast in growth as shown in these two illustrations ought to be sufficient proof of what can be done in trees growing where the preparation of the soil has been right. It shows that without irrigation orchards may be grown in the most arid portions of the states of Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska.
the
The body
of the tree
little
shown
as of
first
season's
growth, measured a
over an inch in diameter, while
body of the tree after 17 months' growth measured two and one-half inches in diameter. As the man standing by the tree measured six feet three inches, to the top of his hat, the reader may get some idea of the remarkable growth of these trees. There is no reason why they should not have made this remarkable growth, for, although we
experienced a continuous dry period, with the excessive
heat of one hundred degrees and above for forty-three
days, from June 18 to August
1,
entirely without rain;
214
CAMPBELL*S SOIL CULTURE MANUAL
yet during that entire time the ground was amply moist
to
make
into balls about the roots of the trees,

feet.
depth of over ten

moisture, this
soil
During
this entire time,
and to a owing to
the manner of cultivation and the care taken to save this
was practically
it
the roots of the trees as
as full of moisture about could hold, and had there been

soil
previous irrigation' from a ditch the
could not have
been more moist.
SHADE TREE RESULTS

elm tree on the Pomeroy model farm seventeen months after setting again shows what can be done on ground properly prepared and with right treatment of the surface of the soil. Looking closely you can see the man's hand about four feet from the ground, grasping the pole which is ten feet high. At this point where the hand shows, the tree was cut off when set The growth during 1900 was not in the spring of 1900. much, though quite as much as might be expected the fierst year, the new limbs averaging about ten inches. This photograph was taken August 23, 1901, when the tree
illustration of a white
The
reached within eight inches of the top of the ten-foot pole. Elms are usually considered slow growth. This illustration is certainly a demonstration of two facts, that they will make remarkable growth with plenty of moisture, and that moisture can be stored in sufficient quantities on the far western prairies to supply all necessary needs of such
trees.
In the setting of trees or orchards in the more arid

portions of this belt, care should be taken to not get them
too close together.
successful growing of a tree depends
upon ample pasturage of the roots. In our orchard at the Model farm we set our cherries and peach trees twentytwo feet each way, and our apples twenty-two by thirty-
215
two feet. No crop of any kind or nature should be grown in an orchard if you would secure the best results. It may seem like a waste of ground to see little two-year-old trees standing two and a-half to three feet high with tops only one foot to eighteen inches broad, twenty-two feet
W,-'
:"i^S--
White Elm
tree,
Pomeroy farm, 17 months
after planting.
216
CAMtBfiLL's SOIL
CULTURE MANUAL
apart each way; but when we note the immense growth of our trees the second year we see it is not long before the entire space is utilized. Back of the house where we lived in Holdrege, Nebraska, is a cherry tree that now measures
seventeen and a-half feet across from tip to tip of limbs. You can readily see that in the twenty-two-foot distances
we only have four and a-half feet left. Now, if vou expect the trees to make this growth, you must not interfere with the roots of the tree, or in any way rob it of any of the
moisture or plant food in the soil. Besides, to plant a crop any kind would make the cultivation much more inconvenient and expensive. A trip back to the old Eastern States, even in Illinois, and then on through Ohio and New York State, will disclose a radical change in methods of handling orchards. The most profitable orchards in those states, today, have no crops or grass growing in them; while twenty years ago it was a common practice to seed them down to grasses. If that kind of treatment is desirof
able and profitable in the east where the rainfall
is
more
and
than abundant;
it is
We
can
now
cite
much more desirable in the many instances of successful
west.
tree
orchard growing in western Kansas and Nebraska and eastern Colorado, but space will not permit. For further
evidence of
the importance of frequent
cultivation
of
trees read the chapter
on soil culture, and for more emphatic evidence of the marvelous growth that can be attained by proper cultivation of both fruit and forest trees, visit the Pomeroy model farm in midsummer and behold the lofty and beautiful shade trees growing there. The truth is that all over the semi-arid region in the
past five to ten years there has been wonderful develop-
ment
in the
growing of
trees
groves.
Everywhere the
fact
and the care of orchards and is coming to be recognized
Camipbell's soil
that tree growing
that
soil
it
culture manual
2l7
all
is just like the growing of other things, depends on the care and preparation of the
and
intelligent application of the principles of scien-
tific soil
culture.
The present
error
is
the
inclination to
be satisfied with a fair ordinary growth. Get all nature can give up to you.
Don't do that.
It is useless to apply commercial fertilizers to lands which are not in proper physical condition for the very Prof. L. H. Bailey. best growth of crops.
We
find
by the Campbell system that we can

it
as well
keep moisture in the ground as to put

in the cork.
J.
and put B. Beal, Chief Land Examiner Union Pacific

in a jug
Railroad.
Nitrogen Supply.
Considering
all
these facts and the
additional facts that there are about seventy-five million
pounds of atmospheric nitrogen resting upon every acre of land, and that it is impossible to obtain unlimited quantities of nitrogen from the air for the use of farm crops, and
at very small cost, the inevitable conclusion
is
that the in-
exhaustible supply of nitrogen in the air

this
is
the store from
which we must draw to maintain a sufficient amount of element in the soil for the most profitable crop yields. Prof. Cyril G. Hopkins.
218
Campbell's soil cultuhe manual
CHAPTER XXIV.
SUGAR BEET GROWING.
All
honor to those who have been doing much in recent
years to develop in the semi-arid belt as well as elsewhere

in the states the
new industry
is
of
making sugar from
beets.
Nearly everyone
aware
of the fact that there
is
now
manufactured in this country a great deal of sugar from beets; but few realize the enormous quantities of sugar made each and every year west of the ilississippi river. The consumption of sugar is increasing rapidly, and the
Thinning Sugar Beets.
CAMPBELL
demand
is
S SOIL
CULTURE MANUAL
219
the possibilities of the business are infinite.

tories are dotting the states of the west.
almost keeping pace with the supply, so that Sugar facit is
Many more are no longer true that the sugar beet factory must be supplied from roots grown near by, for it is found profitable to ship long distances to factories.
coming.
And
The
are
possibilities of beet
sugar production in the west

irrigation
beyond estimate, and not only by
but with-
40 acre Sugar Beet
field at
Holly, Colorado.
many fields are being developed. In this an illustration of a field of sugar beets grown at Lisbon, N. D., on the grounds of the soldier's home by Col. Mcllvaine, in 1897, the second year's experiment on the same ground. It was grown under the Campbell method
out irrigation
article
is
of soil culture
and the
yield
turns of 46,000 pounds, or 23 tons, per acre.
showed the phenomenal reThe illus-
220
tration
sliows the wonderful growth. Aside from the value which can be got from the beets for sugar there is also the great value to be got from the feeding of the pulp.
Experiments thus far show that this value is considerable, later experiments may add much to our knowledge of how to utilize it. At any rate it is certain that sugar beet growing will be one of the great industries of the semiarid west for the next century,
and
SUGAR BEET CULTURE UNDER IRRIGATION.

The following is a conicse statement of the best methods used in the successful raising of sugar beets under irrigation.
Soil Always select your best land. Avoid using poor land for growing beets. Also new ground should not be selected as a good tonnage is rare under these conditions.
The ground should have been at least two years under cultivation and if possible manured to some extent in the fall. Stable manure is highly recommended as it will very
materially increase
the
tonnage.
to blow.
Never plant seed on
land that
is
sandy enough
Plowing As the sugar beet plant derives its life from the deep plowing is urged as it gives the root plenty of room to grow down and absorb nutriment. If possible in all cases the plowing should be done in the fall and the land allowed to remain rough all winter, airing the land thoroughly and letting in the moisture. It also permits the land to slowly settle and pack which will insure better germination.
soil,
Levelling
To
facilitate
the thorough irrigation of a
field, it is essential
that the ground should be levelled as

well
well as possible so as to leave no low spots where water will
stand.
to use a
To obtain the best and quickest results, it harrow and loosen the top soil, after which a
is
floater
221
may be used
hollows.
to drag the soil from the high knowls into the
Seed Bed Probably the most important thing necessary to be done to insure a good beet crop, is the preparAfter the land has been plowed and ation of the seed bed. eveled as explained above, the seed bed may be made by
A MODERN FACTORY.
Factory for making Beet Sugar at Holly, Col.
Completed most modern construction. Owned by the Holly Sugar Company.
in 1905,
working the soil down to a depth of four or five inches and then packing it well with the use of a heavy roller, thus insuring the capillary attraction for the moisture which will
germinate the seed.
Be
sure that
all
the weeds are killed
before planting the beet seed, otherwise, unnecessary ex-
222
pense will be entailed aside from the danger to the crop. The seed bed should only be made when the land is moist
and in order that the land may not dry before seeding, no more land should be prepared than can be seeded each day.
yield, a good stand than twenty pounds of seed to the acre should be planted. The time of planting varies a little with the season, but April and May are the usual planting months. Beet drills built expressly for the irrigated country may be secured to do this seeding.
Seeding
In order to secure a good

To do
this not less
is
necessary.
Cultivation
Cultivation
answers two very important
purposes, the loosening of the crust after irrigation or rain,
and the preservation
of the moisture in the ground. Special one horse cultivators are used for cultivating beet fields. A field should always be cultivated as soon after an irrigation or rain as possible in order to break the crust which
has formed and allow the plant to grow and breathe, and
same time it serves to come up between the rows.

at the
kill
the young weeds as they
Thinning Thinning of the beets takes place usually about four weeks after seeding, when the young plant shows four well developed leaves above the ground. In thinning great care should be exercised in the proper
spacing and also the selection of the hardiest plant to be left in the ground; also to see that the plants that are left
are disturbed as
right time
little
as possible.
Thinning done at the
means a great tonnage and sweet beets.
deal towards securing a heavy
Hoeing In case the ground is very foul part of the field, if not all, may have to be hoed before cultivation This hoeing should be done carefully so as takes place. disturb the young beet plant. not to

Irrigation
223 can be
It is
much
better for beet land
if it
irrigated in winter before seeding takes place.
Irrigation
should be delayed as long as possible after thinning, and
Sugar beets, 23 tons per acre, by Campbell method.
times should be avoided. The best waj' to run the water down the furrows between the beets which irrigates the roots without touching the leaves of the plant, as when the plant is young it is detrimental to have the leaves wet with irrigation.
flooding at
all
irrigate is to
Harvesting
Whenever
the
beets
are
ripe,
which
is
224
determined by analysis by the factories, the beets are plowed up with special plows, topped with a large corn knife at the base of the bottom leaf and delivered by wagon
or train to the factory.
Siloing
As
all
the beets cannot be delivered to the

in, it is
factory before heavy freezing weather sets
necessary
to place the undelivered beets, after being harvested, into

siloes.
The
siloing of beets
is
done by placing leaves and
over the beets, leaving a small hole at the top to prevent the beets from sweating. Usually not more than two Great care to three tons of beets are placed in one silo.
dirt
should be exercised to see that not too much dirt is placed over the beets until the weather has turned exceedingly
cold.
SUGER BEET CULTURE WITHOUT IRRIGATION.

The growing of sugar beets in the semi-arid section without irrigation can be conducted by following practically the same instructions embodied under the heading ofc 'Beet Culture by Irrigation," except instead of irrigating,
giv'e a season
to
summer
culture, storing carefully the
season's rain-fall, following carefully the general instruction
under
summer
culture.
Plowing,
however
should
be
eight or nine inches deep, follow with the packer well
common harrow aiming to reach the condition shown in Cut No. 4. Balance of the work should be practically along the same lines as suggested under irrigation. In cultivating such fields great care should be given, not only to cultivate soon after rains, but watch the surface of the hard soil under the mulch and just as soon as it shows dryness it should be cultivated again to prevent a
weighted, then work the surface with the
crust from forming under the mulch, which
it is
liable to
225
do in prolonged dry periods. Some very marked results have been accomplished by this method, while the tonnage is not quite equal to that from scientific irrigation, yet the The growing of sugar yields of sugar is much better. beets without irrigation in sections where the sugar beets can be easily marketed, will, in the near future, be very
commonly
practised.
The Pomeroy farm

Campbell's theories, or
certainly proves the truth of Mr.

else
he
is
a wizard.
Wm. E. Curtis.
Your great work in soil culture is thoroughly appreciated by every thinking citizen of Nebraska. The late J. Sterling
Morton.
The Campbell system is a glorious success. It is not a mere wet season humbug, destined to collapse with the next series of dry years. I have doubted, watched, investigated constantly for nine months, and have become convinced that
cent history.
it is
John E. Leet, in Denver Republican.
the greatest agricultural discovery of re-
226
CHAPTER XXV.
ALFALFA.
In 1895 alfalfa was little known in the United States except in remote localities. A few had begun to realize something of its value not only as a great hay or forage producing plant, but as a fodder of unusual feeding value. Not until 1900 did our people begin to grasp the real value of the plant which was never well established until careful experiments were made by the State Agricultural Experimental Stations in a large variety of feeding tests.
its
equal except for working horses.

all
In no case was any other hay or fodders found to be Its producing powers
other hay
are far in excess of

right.
when
conditions are
In its early culture and growth it was considered to be a low land or water plant. Little by little, however, it has gone into the prairies until today there are many fields of ten, twenty, fifty and a hundred acres on the high divide in the more arid sections; in
some instances two and
three hundred feet above sheet water.
In Kimball county, Nebraska, twenty four miles from the Wyoming line, is ten acre field now five years old, 312 feet from sheet water with an average rainfall of 14 inches. This field has cut
from one to two and a-half tons of No. 1 hay each year. It is disked once and harrowed twice during each season. This is only one out of many similar cases, showing conclusively that with careful fitting and good care alfalfa
is
a most desirable plant.

Alfalfa, like all other crops, thrives best
227
favorable conditions.
under the most There is probably no point in the raising of alfalfa more important than that of securing a good stand. It seems almost impossible, in fact, climatic conditions must be very favorable, in order to get a catch of seed in reseeding spots among well rooted plants. There is no seed that responds, or returns greater rewards for a good seed bed than alfalfa, and yet it is a very simple proposition, and if the proper course is pursued and good seed used, there is practically no question about securing' a good stand. The summer culture plan, by which one
season's rain
is stored in the ground, and the soil carefully prepared as outlined in the chapter under this heading, then sowing the seed the following spring, taking care to loosen
opening of spring is best. The best in western Kansas have come from seeding early in April on ground thus prepared, with ten pounds of seed put in with a shoe drill with a chain
the surface soil the
first
results
we have ever seen
cover.
plan of seeding.
The next
best plan
is
thorough culture from early

drill
spring to July, together with careful preparation, then
seed in July with ten pounds of seed with
or twenty
At the time of seeding the above field there were about two inches of loose, fine soil on the surface made by the use of a common harrow, and the shoe set so as to put the seed from one-half to one inch into the solid, fine moist soil beneath. The seed came up quickly and very even, and if there was any complaint to be made it was the fact that it was too thick. With the prevailing price of alfalfa seed the saving of a few pounds
pounds
if
broadcast.
of seed
is
a great item, especially in putting in large

fact that
fields.
The further
when once sowed and the
crop estab-
228
cambpell's soil cultuke manual

come, certainly is sufficient for thorough and careful
lished, it is there for years to
argument to support the demand

preparation of the seed bed.
The summer
six feet
culture idea involving this storage of one
year's rainfall puts the soil in such condition for five or
down that the tap root immediately pushes on down through this moist soil sending out the little feeders on their way down, and the chances are that a good crop
may be harvested the first year, as was true in the case above referred to, due only to the fact that the soil conditions were perfect for the rapid development of roots, and ample moisture to produce this magnificent growth. While it is true that much better results are attained from alfalfa in valleys where sheet water is eight to twelve feet from the surface, yet a sufficient number of experiments have been made and in some of them a sufficient length of time has elapsed, to warrant the statement that on the majority of our high divides in the semi-arid belt as good or better yields can be secured from this crop than are commonly harvested in the eastern states on the average meadows The value of lands where the of timothy and clover. phenomenal crops or yields of alfalfa along some of the valleys in western Nebraska and Kansas has hardly come to be understood, or fully appreciated even by the people who have raised them. We are familiar with fields that for three successive years have turned off in alfalfa hay alone from $30 to $40 per acre, and where hay and a crop of seed has been harvested as high as $80 The value of this plant for feedper acre has been made. ing hogs, cattle, and sheep is just beginning to be appreAll experiments thus far carefully conducted have ciated. demonstrated that there is no fodder plant so valuable.
229
preparing the fields.

The preparing
of fields for seeding to alfalfa
on old
ground cannot be better explained than in the instructions under the heading of Summer Culture for spring wheat to which we refer you. As stated above, alfalfa responds quickly and liberally to favorable conditions not only with reference to ample moisture, but the more available fertility the stronger is your plant and the more sure are you of an even stand. Under no conditions can a man afford to slight the fitting. A common remark is, "I haven't the time." Stop a moment and fairly and honestly consider what this means. No one can tell what this season or the next
one fact, that if you do not do such necessary work as will guarantee a perfectly healthy stand under any and all conditions, you are liable to get such dry and otherwise, unfavorable conditions as to cause a complete failure. Have you gained anything by slighting the preparatory work if you lose all your crop? All your time and seed counts for nothing, you are a year behind, and no alfalfa for the
will be, therefore don't forget this
hogs after all. Let us look on the other side ^begin in the early spring and follow closely and carefully the rules for summer tilling and put in your seed either in August or early the following
The latter we prefer, especially in sections where summer and autumn rains are common, the principal reason is that we are less liable to get a heavy packing rain after
spring.
seeding
it and before it comes up, which is very serious. have seen fields absolutely ruined by the heavy rain followed by hot sun just before the seed comes up. In sections where the heavy rains are common in spring, and less liable or very rare in midsummer and early au-
We
230

Pacific slope, then
tumn, as is true generally on the means seed in August.

If
by
all
the early spring
in the spring.
mer
est,
tilled soils
unusually dry, then plan to seed this fact that planting in sumproperly handled the germination is quickis
Remember
is
and early growth weather and no rain.

of fitting
most rapid when it is clear sunny With the more common methods without sub-packing, a good rain is necessary to
even start the crop. The difference between the more common methods of fitting and thorough scientific fitting is as broad as the contrast between a safe business proposition and that of gambling on chance games.
SEEDING ON NEW BREAKING.

Alfalfa, like many other crops, may be sown on new breaking the same season the breaking is done and sometimes gives satisfactory results, but considering its uncertainty and the difference in the value of a good crop as
against a poor crop and possibly none at
all,
we are
inclined
to give over the whole season to preparation, for then a
good crop
is
practically assured.
The proper time to break depends somewhat on locality and the time the heavy rains are expected. As a rule east of the Rocky mountains late fall or early spring
breaking
is
followed with best results.
For detailed
in-
structions on fitting, note general matter under the head

Briefly, the breaking for alfalfa should be about three and one-half inches deep, using every possible means and care to lay the furrow slice flat and roll down solid either with the sub-packer or smooth roller, then
of plowing.
disk, but
do not
set the disk at a sufficient angle to cut

let the disk lap half,
through the sod,
then follow with the
Campbell's soil culture MAJfUAL

steel lever
231
with the
harrow
slightly slanted going both
disk
and
lever harrow
same
direction as the
team traveled
If care is taken in plowing, then in rolling, then in disking, you will have about two inches of loose soil. Harrow thoroughly after each rain. If this is fully accomplished the sod will not only be fully rotted in a very short time, but the top of the sub-soil beneath will also
in breaking.
two or three inches.. As soon as then begin back setting or plowing with the stubble plow, cutting about two and one-half inches deeper j follow the plow with the packer as explained under the head of Plowing and Sub-Packing, then follow with the harrow, any good harrow, getting it all fine and firm before it has time to dry out. Look well to the storage of later rains and be ready to loosen the surface in early spring with the harrow and put in your seed fairly early, governed largely bj' the locality, using not over ten pounds of good seed with a shoe drill and chain cover. If your work is all well done, as outlined, you need
to a depth of
true,
become rotted
this is
found to be
have no fears
of the result.
232
CAMPBELI,'S SOIL
CULTURE MANUAL
CHAPTER XXVI.
SEEKING
The Department
far, in
NEW ARID
PLANTS.
which
is
of Agriculture,
expending
millions each year for the benefit of agriculture, has thus
taking
up a study
of the
semi-arid regions, confined itself to

irrigation All
problem of the arid and two things, namely,

so well directed the ex-
and the seeking of new honor to those who have
plants.
penditure of
money
to
make
irrigation farming possible
in rich valleys that
were lying fallow!

earnestly sought
And
to those
who have
new
plants
that will be of value in dry regions, far beyond their fondest dreams
may
they be successful
But
it
will
finding of plants that will
not do to place great dependence on the grow in the deserts without

Indeed, Prof.
application of special methods of cultivation.
Hansen, the agent of the United States government, who has been specially engaged in this work a number of years,
has warned against over-confidence in this regard. "We are going to extend the alfalfa belt as far north as we can," said Prof. Hansen on his return from Asia
autumn of 1906, "and we hope that these seeds prove all that we expect of them. But there is no use in expecting too much. I would not risk my reputation on any positive predictions; I can only say that we confidently hope that we have found the right thing."
in the
will
Prof.
alfalfa
Hansen was referring especially to the seed of and clover which he sent back from northern Asia

It appears that the effort has
233
been found rather to find a quick growing plant adapted to extreme northern summers, than
one which
will
defy drouth.
Prof.
Hansen
sent back from Asia the seeds of three kinds of alfalfa,
two found far north and growing where there was little rain, and the other growing in the woods. He also brought back seeds of several kinds of clover native in northern Siberia where it is very cold, with short summers and little rain. All these will be tried out in the Dakotas and in a few years seed will be distributed to farmers. Another thing brought back is a coarse potato suitable only for stock food, which is said to grow in a dry northern climate. A visit was made also to the high table land in central Asia, where, it is stated, alfalfa has been grown for centuries under conditions very similar to those found in
the semi-arid region of America.
It
does not appear, from anything that has as yet been
published, that any special information has been secured

as to the character of the soil or the tion
methods of cultivawhich have prevailed in these regions of the old world where conditions are exceptional. From what Prof. Hansen has said it may be fairly inferred that he realizes fully that drouth resistance is something that does not inhere alone in plants, but there
are other things to be considered.
is that great good can and will be accomby the importation of new plants adapted to growth in unusual climates, but this must and will be, by and through cultivation of these plants in connection
The
fact
plished
with systems of
will
soil
culture adapted to the regions.
Suc-
cess in adapting Asiatic drouth-resisting plants
and grasses
soil cul-
be attained only by making use of scientific
ture.
Putting the two together will be vastly beneficial.
234
But the quest
for plants that will
the western and northern prairies and

or with
grow right out upon make good crops
under conditions of cultivation used in the humid regions little or no care, is destined to be a dead failure. The owners of land in this region must understand now, as they will some time, that there are no plants anywhere in the world that will make good crops in dry regions without the most careful preparation of the soil. Intelligent farmers everywhere will give all possible encouragement to the effort to introduce new and valuable plants, and they will do well to make a study of these plants in relation to the very best systems of cultivation.
235
CHAPTER XXVII.
IRRIGATION.
antagonism between scientific There is nothing in our teachings that need be taken as in any sense hostile to the great development of irrigation projects in the west. Neither is the solution of the problem of the semi-arid region to be found in the adoption of irrigation. Irrigation farming is being carried on in many of the
There
is
no
conflict or
soil
culture
and
irrigation.
splendid valleys of the west with great success.
gated area
is
sure to be rapidly
tell
no
man
can
what
results
The irriand greatly enlarged, and are possible. The United
States government, under authority of congress, has en-
couraged this by special laws under which irrigation districts are created and favors given to large companies, and by direct appropriation for construction of gigantic dams
and
reservoirs.
That
this is
money
well spent will not

is
be disputed by persons familiar with what

plished.
being accom-
But
it is
true that the area which

is
may
be brought under
It is also
it
cultivation with irrigation
limited, as
compared with the

expensive and
vaster areas where ditches are not possible.

true that at best irrigation farming
necessitates special farming
is
and intensive work
in order
it will pay. Under such circumstances the farmers must get immense returns for their labor. Scientific soil culture and irrigation therefore supplement each other. There are millions of acres of the most
that
236

level
fertile lands,
and easy of cultivation, near to the which cannot be irrigated without unwarranted expense, which receive ample rainfall to produce fine and profitable crops if the water is properly stored and utilized. These lands will remain useless unirrigation districts but
less scientific soil
culture
is
adopted.
for
Then there are same region, which

where there
is
millions of other acres of land in the
farming in some way, make irrigation impracticable, but where the present yield of crops under the old system is not to exceed one-third what it might be if the general principles of our system were fully understood
are
sufficient rainfall
now used
to
and practiced. But the value of this system will be still more shown on the millions of acres of irrigated land where best results
are not obtained.
On
these areas irrigation
is
possible,
but the quantity of water is limited, and there can never be enough to carry on irrigation farming by the wasteful
methods so common.
Scientific soil culture
greatly enlarge the area of irrigable lands
comes in to by showing how
good results can be obtained by much less water. The fundamental principle upon which the success of this system is based is that of economical use of water, it matters not whence it cometh, whether direct from the clouds or from the flowing streams, ditches, reservoirs, or The first and important thing to do is to get a wells. supply of water stored in the soil to feed, nourish and mature the crop in a period of dry weather; and the second and almost equally important requisite is the ideal seed
and root bed, so vital in the success of our system, all of which is necessary in growing crops by artificial application of water required in irrigation. Of course if the farmer has water to waste, whether
237
from ditches or clouds, he can be wasteful and still prosper. We do not wish to be understood as saying that a farmer may not get a better crop with plenty of water to turn loose at will upon a piece of ground poorly fitted than he could with the same reckless fitting and be obliged to depend upon replenishing his soil with moisture from the heavens. But that is not the question today with
the progressive farmer.
How
of today,
in fact,
can we get the greatest results from our
soil,
the
labor and expense being considered?
That
is
the question
whether in irrigation districts or elsewhere. And nowhere is it more essential to guard against waste
than in applying irrigation. The expensive thing is water. Seldom is there as much water as there is land. The irrigation area is limited by the quantity of available water. By following methods that will reduce the amount of water needed per acre, the number of acres that may be supplied from a given ditch or reservoir can be increased.
ful
most healthful and successis a good depth of root bed made thoroughly fine and firm. There is little danger in getting the average sand loam soils, so common in the arid and semi-arid sections, too firm, while some of our heavy clay soils if not properly handled might become too closely compacted, but this kind of soil is not at all common. Previous to the thorough fitting of the seed and root bed see to it that ample moisture is stored below where nature can do her part by bringing it up to the roots of the growing plants by capillary attraction, then keep your surideal condition for the
The
growth
of all cultivated crops
face always cultivated in such

as possible a fine, loose
manner
up
as to provide as near
it
mulch
of soil (not dust), stirring
often enough to keep the moisture

soil just
to the top of the firm
beneath the mulch.
The moment
the top of thig
238
firm soil

becomes
in the least
dry there
is
immediately a
process of depositing of salts and other matter between these

particles of soil closing the pores
and consequently dimin-
ishing the quantity of air that should freely pass through

this soil to the roots.
This condition not only points to
the fact that you are allowing the air to be shut out but that
you are losing moisture by evaporation from the soil which may be checked by cultivation. In fact, there should be no dry soil above your moisture except what is loose and
fine.
sults in
being practiced with marvelous reThis demonstrates clearly that if the irrigator will watch his opportunity and will turn on his surplus water in the fall after his crop has been removed
Sub-irrigation
is
some
instances.
or during the winter or early spring, with the water stored

in the soil below and care in conserving the moisture by proper cultivation, fine crops can be grown with very little
after irrigation.
Very large crops

conditions
if
of winter
wheat should be grown on

carefully put forth to
irri-
the average soils in Colorado and sections under similar

special effort
was
gate thoroughly, immediately after the crop is harvested, then double disk as soon as the surface is sufficiently dry
to do the
Plowing later using great and harrow the surface while moist, seeding sufficiently early for a good fall growth, then harrow early in the spring, then v/ith one irrigation
sticking.
work without
cafe to pack the plowed portions
after the foliage fully covers the surface, sixty bushels per
acre should be
growing under
common under such conditions. In all cropirrigation, much consideration should be
given to the chapters under the following headings: "Physical conditon of the soil," "air and its importance in the
soil"
and the "water holding capacity
of the
soil.''
239
physical conditions of the soil. The one vital question that the irrigator must
no matter
alone.
consider
is
how much water he may have

soil.
available
the
physical condition of the
Plants do not thrive on water
air and water and light are the resourceful elements which we have, and must be utilized in proper proportions combined in the soil under proper conditions or we cannot
combination of the properties of
together with heat
secure the large yields.

of land
It
is
folly for a
man
to
own
a tract
and
in addition thereto to
own
a water-right, and
if
then to use them without securing to exceed one-half or

one-third of the best yield of that field;
he himself
will
only do his part intelligently. play

ters
is
The part which he must

securing that ideal con-
that of preparing the
soil,
dition
which
cuts.
is
illustrated in several of the previous chap-
by
Following this
is
is
that
all
important part of
air,
keeping the surface of the

the importance of which
soil in
condition to admit the
fully detailed
under the head
of
At no time should the moisture that is forced into the soil from the ditches by gravity be allowed to return in any quantities to the surface and evaporate. It is through this upward movement of moisture by
"Air in the Soil."
many of our fields which are underwith a large per cent of alkali are ruined, this alkali when in a soluble or dissolved condition rises to the surface with the moisture in its upward movement by capillary
capillary attraction that
laid
attraction,
alkali is left
and as the moisture leaves on the surface.

is
in a vapor, the solid
almost invariably applied to irriwe have been led to place all faith in water and water only as the producing power. From all our observations in irrigation, the reading of bulletins and correspondence with people who have had years
gating fields simply because
Too much water
240

and many other
sec-
of experience in California, Colorado,

tions, it is
our candid opinion that the average irrigator east of the rockies would produce better results with onequarter of water he has commonly used, together with the
scientific principles of soil culture as laid
down under
by
the
various chapters in this book.

gation.)
(See Sugar Beets
Irri-
241
CHAPTER
XXVllI.
ARBORICULTURE.
Arbor Day
nearly
all
is in fact a national day. The people of the states give recognition to the immense im-
portance of tree planting by setting apart a day for this work. The late J. Sterling Morton, of Nebraska City, a
pioneer of the trans-Missouri country, was the father of
Arbor Day, and by his zeal and interest in it he forced day everywhere. Mr. Morton was for more than forty years a resident of Nebraska. At his home, Arbor Lodge, as he called it, is one of the finest groves of trees in all the country. Shortly before his death he wrote expressly for the 1902 Soil Culture Manual the letter which follows, and what he then wrote has such permanent value that it is here repeated. He had become deeply interested in the work being done for study of the soil and for agriculture in the semi-prid
recognition for the
b"'-t.
He
wrote:
air.
H. W. Campbell: Deae Sir After an
experience of more than forty
years at Arbor Lodge, adjoining Nebraska City, in the
County
of Otoe, I declare that the best

is
method
of plant-
rows running north and south. The first row on the east should be of a rapidly growing variety, like catalpa speciosa, cottonwood, aspen, or soft maple. The next row should be a nut-bearing tree, like the black walnut, butternut, or coffee bean. The next succeeding row on the west should be, like the first one, of a rapidly
ing forest trees
in
242
THE LATE
J.
STERLING MORTON.
Nebraska Pioneer, Father of Arbor Day, Secretary of Agriculture.
growing variety.
Planted in this way, the swiftly grow
ing trees act as nurses for the slowly growing trees. Planted
on a scrubby growth and looking like gigantic quince trees when they have reached twenty years of age, run up towards the sun for
thus, black walnut, instead of putting
CAMPBELL
light
SOIL
CULTURE MANUAL
J43
and make good trunks of twenty feet in length. This is valuable, and trees thus planted are grown with relative celerity. At Arbor Lodge I have between 100 and 200 walnuts thus treated, which were put into the gronud in the autumn of 1865, and if you could see and measure them, it would be a work of supererogation for me to make further argument in favor of this system of planting. To grow either deciduous trees or any variety of conifers on these plains with any degree of success, it is necessary
wood
A PRAIRIE PARK.
Portion of Arbor Lodge, showing result of tree planting in Nebraska.
to plant
them
close together.
All great forests,
whence
have come the best timber that man has ever used for building and cabinet woods, have been dense. The vast pineries of the Northwest were so closely planted by nature that it was impossible for a horseman to ride through many
244
of
cessfully
them because of the interweaving branches. To sucgrow trees like those the forests produced, we
to create forestal conditions.
must endeavor
In 1892 I planted 10,000 white pines, purchased of Robert Douglas' Sons at Waukegan, 111. They were two
years old and averaged perhaps a foot to 14 inches in height.
They were planted
in
rows 4 feet apart, and the trees were
ARBOR LODGE.
Home
of the late J. Sterling Morton, at
Nebraska City.
4 feet from each other in the rows. They were cultivated as com is cultivated, the furrows going first east and west
They have made a remarkably growth, both as to height and circumference. Many of them are from four to five inches in diameter and from 18
and then north and south.
fine
to
20 feet in height. It is with difficulty that a man canwalk among them, and last summer when the drought and
^5
hot winds were doing their worst to smother and parch out vegetation in this section of the country, those pines
showed no indication of distress. Going in among them and stooping down, and looking under their lower limbs, one could not see a single particle of vegetable growth aside from the trees. The ground was thoroughly mulched with the needles which had fallen from them, and blanketed the
ARBOR LODGE TREES.

Part ot the evergreen grove set by the hands of the late Morton.
J.
Sterling
earth, so to speak, with the
mold which they had created.

one could find moist, cool
the roots of these
Removing
soil
this carpet of needles
at
all
times.
The conditions about
were such as their ancestors found in the great pineries of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. TIany varieties of trees have been condemned as unfit for cultivation in Nebraska, after trying them in isolated
trees
246
positions,
Campbell's soil culttibe manual

exposed to the hot sun and drying winds from Trees are almost as gregarious as human No man or woman could have been perfectly de-
the southwest.
beings.
veloped, physically, and intellectually, in absolute solitude and without communication or intercourse with other human beings. And just so, no single tree planted out on the hot prairie, exposed to the burning sun all day long, can make as perfect a specimen of its kind as can be grown where trees are clustered together.
Arboriculture
is
absolutely indispensible to the conser-
vation of other plant
mal
life
of trees single
fruit
life, and even to the existence of anion these planis. The independence of the lives and the lives of human beings is constant. If a
summer should be passed without foliage, flower or on the globe, all animal existence would cease. Your great work in soil culture is thoroughly appreYour inciated by every thinking citizen of Nebraska. telligent, efforts to benefit the agriculture and horticulture of this state are of greater value to your race and to those who come after you than all the efforts of all the members of congress who have ever represented this commonwealth It is a gratification to realize that soil at Washington. culture and arboriculture are destined, without asking an appropriation from the general government, to revolutionize the climatic and productive conditions of the state Just as plants need light and as potato of Nebraska. sprouts in dark cellars seek the windows and doors where the sun's rays occasionally stream in, so all the people of the prairie states need the illuminating practicalities of your researches and experiments in soil cullture, which illustrate the method of insuring crops by intelligent tillage against destruction by drouths.
J.
Steeling Morton.
Akbor Lodge,
Jan. 18th, 1902.
247
CHAPTER XXIX.
SOIL
As the
MULCH OR DUST BLANKET.

where the innocent are misled
the more
in
interest develops in Scientific Soil Culture there
are frequent instances
unintentional ways.
Among
common
is
the refer-
ence to the
name
applied to the loose soil established by

It is
the cultivator or harrow over the tilled fields.
very
important that this question be fully understood, for difficulty and trouble may be avoided thereby.
much
nUST BLANKET.
The name Dust Blanket is an old one and- is today very commonly used, especially by the older writers, and as a rule is taken by the farmer to mean literally what it The dust blanket in the older and more humid says, dust.
sections of the east where the
name
originated,
was con-
sidered by
of moisture.
in the
many
to be necessary for the best protection
This, however, has been found to be an error

arid sections
more
dryer.
It also
where the atmosphere is so much was found to be the wrong idea by Prof.
King in his very elaborate experiments at the Wisconsin Experiment Station during the early nineties. In the following, quoted from his book, "The Soil," on page 195, he refers to the comparative effectiveness of a mulch of coarse quartz sand that would pass a screen of 20 meshes to the inch, but was retained by one of 40 meshes as compared with pulverized air dried clay of equal thickness. It was found that the evaporation from the soil with dust mulch
248
prepared from pulverized clay was three and a half times as great as from the soil with the coarse sand mulch. The conclusions of Prof. King after these experiments
have been fully corroborated by all of our observations, there is no result without a cause and a theory can never be accepted as a fact until the cause is fully understood. Under the head of capillary attraction we have learned that moistures moves very much faster through small pores in the soil than large ones, while it is true that soil abso-
A.
B.
Cut No.
22.
Soil
Mulch and Dust Blanket before Mulch; (b) Dust Blanket.

is
rain.
(a) Soil
minus any capillary attraction sun in a mid-July day pierces the soil's surface the dry dust soon becomes so very warm or hot that a vapor begins to rise from the surface of the moist soil below and soon the lower particles of the dust blanket become slightly moistened; then other particles still above, while the lower ones become slightly more moist until connection is sufficient to lift the moisture on up to the surface where it is lost.
lutely void of moisture
yet,
when the rays
of the
249
The dust blanket
is
also very objectionable in the
early spring, as a warranty deed or a patent
from Uncle not hold it when the strong March winds reach after it. This difficulty, however, is not true in all the semi-arid sections, especially on the Pacific Coast, but is
Sam
will
m^î'^^î
A.
''%!
B.
rain'
Out No.
23.
Soil
Mulch and Dust Blanket after Mulch, (b) Dnst Blanket.
(a)Sofl
very serious in other localities that are more subject to high spring winds. The dust blanket is also objectionable wherever heavy
more especially in sections where The tendency of a sudden heavy rain falling upon a dust blanket or mulch is to dissolve and run the mulch together, leaving it very hard and compact on the surface. If the sun can reach the surface a very dense crust is quickly formed and if not worked very quickly it will soon be so hard that the common harrow or weeder will not touch it.
rains are liable to occur,
the soils are of a very fine texture.
250
Campbell's
soii-
culi'tire
manual
SOIL mulch.
on surand this mulch .should be composed of lumps of soil ranging from the size To secure such a mulch of a pin head to that of a walnut. may seem difficult, but it is not if the soil is cultivated or harrowed when moist, not wet, not dry. When loosened up under this condition the soil readily separates the same Careful notation will as when plowed in ideal condition. disclose the fact that the soil under this condition takes granular form. The sun soon dries these granules or lumps and no blowing will be noted whatever. A soil mulch composed of these minute and larger lumps will hold the moisture below without loss very much longer and very much more effectively than the dust blanket.
Soil
is
mulch
the true
name
for the loose soil
face intended to conserve moisture below,
11
CAMtBELL's SOIL CULTURfi MANUAi
251
CHAPTER XXX.
GETTING MOST OUT OF THE FARM.
There is much loss to farming operations, and it is a matter of common knowledge that the great majority of farmers fall short of achieving their best because of the imperfection of their work. There are so many ways that loss can come to the farmer that this is not surprising. It may come through indolence or the inability to do that which is nesessary. Farming is hard work when science is not recognized. It may come through sheer waste, for there is no other place where waste is so easy and so constant unless guarded against. It too frequently comes because of wrong methods, or doing the wrong thing, or trying too many experiments, or because the farmer disposes of his raw materials, and only half completes the
work that is his by right. That there is a right way and a wrong way
everything
are found
skill
for nearly
will
not be disputed.
Familiar illustrations
and
and after
the finest
The housewife who combines work prepares the bread, working, and mixing, and baking, she produces loaf possible. Another with the same materials,
on every hand.
intelligence with her
in a different
it
is
and doing perhaps as much work, but

gets bread unfit for the table.
way,
And
so
with nearly
everything.
In agriculture it is necessary that the farmer, if he is to keep abreast of the times, if he is to compete with others, if he is to get the most out of his farming operations and
252
realize
what he should, must put his head to work and inform himself as to the correct lines to follow that he may
be most successful.
soil
amount and he must know how to use this. But he must go further and make a study of the question how to get the greatest benefit from his crops by diversification of his industry and by completing the
it
that he will haye
He must learn how at his command the
to handle the
largest
of available soil fertility,
processes.
is a subject to which too little attengiven by the average farmer. He imagines it is some fad or tomfoolery and that it is best confined to the books. But it is a reality. It shows results, and that is
Diversified farming
is
tion
the important thing.
The farmer
;
is
by nature and
training conservative.
He
has done well he cannot very well realize how much better he might have done, or what is possible for him in the
future.
He
does not comprehend, except in rare instances,
the vast difference in final profits between doing things by

strictly scientific
methods and doing the same things by
the
common
It is
go-lucky way.
how to grow and get tons or bushels as his portion; the largest crops he must know what further he can do with his grain and hay and fodder to make the end most desirable. DiversGrain raising to ified or mixed farming shows the way.
not sufficient that the farmer find out
the exclusion of
land,
all else is
not wise.
itself.
It
is
wasteful to the
raising
all
and wasteful
to the crop
By
kinds
of crops better results are obtained.
And in the matter of preventing waste, it is essential that live stock be added to the farm. Cattle and hogs, and perhaps sheep and poultry, are necessary. Right The there the farmer becomes in part a manufacturer.
253
conversion of the corn and oats and hay into meat, butter,
cheese, etc.,
is
the aim of farming operations in general.

finally
The grain must

form.
be
is
fit
for
human
food in some
Raising live stock
a part of the process of manu-
facturing good food out of the grain.
Dairying and poultry raising go a long way toward completing the natural processes of the farm. Both are Sometimes best possible in some degree on all farms. results are possible in dairying only where there are many
farmers combined to work together, but always there is some advantage in keeping a few animals on the farm.
As to breeds, feeding and care of live stock that is another question one so broad that it should be treated in separate volumes but its relationship to other farm operations
is
easily understood.
It has been declared with much positiveness that the waste on an average farm represents a value greater than the average profit of farms. If so, then farmers have not done as well as those who have devoted themselves to com-
The expense of operation of the great packing plants, so it is stated, is paid in full by the receipts from that which formerly went as waste in the processes of
mercial pursuits.
is
meat marketing. A good deal possible on the farm.
of the
same kind
of
economy
In the matter of preventing waste on the farm nothing Between them they glean all that is valuable. But in addition they retain on
is
quite equal to cattle and hogs.
the farm that which
is
valuable to
soil
and which may be
returned from time to time in the form of the barnyard
manures which are essential to the best farming operations. The application of barnyard manures to the land will go far toward, and is one of the requisites in maintaining the soil fertility and offsetting the evil effects of drouth.
254
<jampbell's soil
culture manual
is
The proper
fit
diversification of farming operations

intelligent farmer.
a
It
subject for
much study by every

all his
has relation to
work.
It goes to the point of con-
serving soil elements and building
up the soil by development of the necessary humus, and it has relation to waste and to partial manufacture as a part of farm work. The diversification may come in a score of ways. It is not best to carry it too far or to try all ways at once; but careful
study of the subject
in connection
with the local conditions

It is at least
and opportunities
quite proper to
will
point the right way.
make
its
a specialty of
some one
thing.
soil
In a large sense the science of proper culture of the

so as to
is
make
properties available for the best results
only one branch of the larger subject of properly mixing

soil.
the farm operations so as to get the most out of the
^55
CHAPTER XXXI.
PRACTICAL RESULTS.
What
follow?
has actually been done to demonstrate that

culture
is
scientific soil
practical
and that good
results
this
The question is a proper manual will hardly need
one.
The
careful reader of
to ask the question, for scat-
all through it is given many illustrations of what has been done, and many reports are made of 'specific results attained under the system. But at the risk of doing that which is needless, we desire here to present just a few facts showing some of the things done, so that the inquirer may have them all in one place to better consider them. This work has been done by conducting experiments at a number of places, which a- m^-^tioned in the Manual but we will here confine our ret jrd to a few where the most
tered
work was done. was the accomplishment at the Pomeroy model farm at Hill City, Kansas, far out toward the Colorado line. This is a locality which has been regarded by many as about as unfavorable as it was possible to find.. The author of the Manual conducted for Hon. James P. Pomeroy a model farm, of Colorado Springs, and a great deal of what has been learned came out of that farm. It was started in
careful
First,
1900.
As illustrating results,
it
can be said that one

tilled
field
that had been farmed for fourteen years, and never but one
crop cut in that time, was
summer
in
1900,
and
tilled
yielded 42J bushels of wheat in 1901; was
summer
256
vJAMpbell's soil
culture manual
'
again in 1902, and cropped in 1903-4-5-6, averaging in the

four seasons fully 40 bushels per acre.
in 1906, a
The
last crop, that
very good year, and the yield was the largest
ever grown on the land.
THE BUELINGTON FARM.

Second, and more important, because conducted with even greater care, was the results from the Burlington model farm. This is a tract at Holdrege, Nebraska. In 1905, for instance, wheat to the amount of 54J bushels and testing 63 pounds, was secured from summer tilled lands, while other lands well handled on the same farm but not summer tilled, only gave 32 bushels testing 60 pounds. In 1906 what on summer tilled ground gave 51^ bushels testing 64 pounds. Wheat as a second crop on land summer tilled in 1904, which yielded 54J bushels in 1905, yielded in 1906 49^ bushels testing 63 pounds. Wheat on land well handled but never summer tilled yielded 28 bushels testing 60^ pounds. This all showed the marked effect of summer tilling on the second year's
'
crops.
Again, it was shown in experiments on a farm in Hitchcock county, Nebraska, in a crop of 1904, what could be accomplished. Here a wheat crop of 41 bushels per acre
was obtained on ground properly handled under the Campbell system, when 90 per cent of over 20,000 acres in the same county was a total failure.
At
Grainfield, Kansas, in the
bushels per acre was obtained,

failed entirely because of the
same year, a yield of 56 when many fields around
drouth in 1903 which con-
tinued up
in
till
the spring of 1904.
Henry F. Kipp has had success with the Campbell method Western Nebraska, where in the summer of 1904, he
257
harvested from 20 acres sown in winter wheat 820 bushels testing 59 pounds, or an average of 41 bushels per acre.
This was on land cultivated the previous year,
nearly eight
of
when the
drouth gave a loss of 90 per cent the wheat in the same neighborhood.
of
months
COLORADO RESULTS.
A number of farmers in Eastern Colorado made reports on the results of their 1906 work in following the Campbell
method of soil culture for wheat, and here is a brief statement of the same: Charles Butler, Calhan, 36 acres, 31
Sorghum by Thorough Cultivation on sod breaking

Colorado.
in
Eastern
W. Syes, Calhan, 20 acres, 32 bushels; E. Loring, Yuma, 40 acres, 36 bushels; George Owens, Longmont', 72
bushels;
acres,
E. P. House, Greeley, 53 bushels;
39 bushels; E. A. Mead, Ault, 40 acres, 48 bushels; John F. Wright, Longmont, 25 acres, 53 bushels; William Callaway, Wray, 20
258

Lee K. Klein, Loveland, 40 acres, 65 In this same vicinity the same season Bergstron
of barley; A.
acres, 62 bushels;
bushels;
Bros., of
Ault, got 75 bushels barley;
Longmont, got 80 bushels and L.
Mead,
of
L. Mulligan, of Long-
mont, got 75 bushels of barley. The results show that these farmers did not follow the system closely or perfectly but they did get results just in proportion to the fidelity with which they followed out the system. Near Limon, Col. W. S, Pershing got over 300 bushels per acre of turnips which he sold for 75 cents per hundred
weight.
In raising corn Charles H. Lee, 40 feet from water,

raised 30 acres of corn which gave 50 bushels to the acre,
and on watermelons he realized $150 an acre. Henry Swan 50 feet from sheet water, raised on 40 acres 30 bushels of macaroni wheat per acre, and on 50 acres of corn he got
50 bushels per acre. B. Rice, 40 feet to water, got 40 busHels per acre of corn from a 30-acre tract. Joseph Emmal, who lives near Ramah, Col., following the Campbell sytem, reported an average of 120 bushels of potatoes; and C. F. Butler, near the same place reports that for five years he has averaged 130 bushels of potatoes
per acre. E. R. Parsons, on an orchard near Parker, Col., made a net profit of $1,345 from 1,000 cherry trees, 500 plum trees, 200 apple trees and 1,400 currant bushes. All were cared
for
under the soil culture methods. the grounds of the State Soldiers' Home at Lisbon, N. D., in 1897, on a tract cultivated for two years under the Campbell method the phenomenal yield of 23 tons of sugar bee*s per acre was obtained. As to what the use of the system has accomplished in four counties of Colorado alone, where the farmers have made more general use of the system than elsewhere, the
On

land department of the Union Pacific
counties, the counties
259
makes the following
estimate of the wheat and corn acreage and crops in three
mentioned being Adams, Arapahoe,

Corn.
Lincoln and Cheyenne.:
Wheat.
Year.
Acreage.
2,000
12,000
Bushels.
Acreage.
5,000
12,000
Bushels.
1905 1906 1907
30,000
180,000
100,000
300,000
35,000
525,000
30,000
750,000
On
the ranch of Kilpatrick Bros., in Chase County,
Neb., in 1904, a wheat crop was grown with 30 bushels

to the acre,
whereas
all
round, because of a seven months'
drouth, there was total failure of the crop.
On
the Burlington farm in Nebraska, 228 acres under
and two subsequent years by two men and nine horses, except harvest time; and in 1905 the net profit on the farm was over $4,000 or $11.76 per acre on the entire acreage of 340 acres in crops, meadow and pasture.
cultivation were handled in 1904
We
of
give these various specific reports only as samples

results
what has been done; but
have been achieved
all
over the states of the semi-arid region quite as striking.
ONE EXAMPLE.
D. Clarkson, writing from Greenfield, Kan., tells of the result of work being done there as follows: "I was out east of this town looking over some wheat
J.
and am sending you two samples of wheat as found growing in the same fields not ten feet apart. One of them was growing on ground cultivated by the Campbell system for two' years. This is the second crop. It yielded 34 bushels to the acre the first crop. The other sample was taken from land not over ten feet away that has been
fields
cultivated
by the
old
method
of disking the
wheat
in the
260
Campbell's' soil culture
manual
An exaination of the sample that was taken from the land under the Campbell culture shows a bunch of roots forty in number, ranging from two to four inches in length, each of which is strong and vigorous. From this bunch of roots have sprung eight stalks now ranging from nine to twelve inches in length. This all comes from one grain of wheat that may be seen just in the center of the bunch of roots. On the land that was disked in among the corn stalks I had to take five bunches of roots to get eight stalks, and they did not average more than one-half
stalk ground.
the size or length of the others, and the roots in the five
bunches are not half as much as the others in bulk or length. These two samples of growing wheat, taken as they were from land otherwise just alike except in the manner of cultivation and seeded about the same time, is a glaring example of the value of your experiments and researches in the interests of the farmmers in the semi-arid belt, and it would be to the financial interest of these propie if some means could be devised whereby results of your years of experience and experiments could be given much wider circulation, especially for those who are just coming
into this section."
A KANSAS EXPERIENCE.
The following
letter written
by
J.
B. Beal, chief land
examiner of the Union Tacific land department, to Land Commissioner Houtz, at Omaha, Aug. 1, 1904, from Grainfield, Kas., tells an interesting story of results: "You wrote me on the 6th of May in answer to a letter wrote you about the field of wheat east of Grainfield that 1 we looked at when you were here, I thought I would wait until the wheat was harvested and thrashed and then give
you a
full
synopsis of the matter.
All of this
has taken

place.
261
I will commence at the beginning. This ground was plowed good probably six inches deep the first part of June, 1903; it was sub-packed and harrowed as soon as the plowing was completed, then after each rain, I think a day after, the ground was harrowed over and the crust that would have formed on the ground when it commenced to dry up was pulverized and made fine. This tract of land was harrowed I think seven times between the time of packing after plowing in June and the time of seeding, which was the 19th, 20th and 21st days of September, and there was nothing more done to this field of wheat until the harvesting commenced. The cost of the work, and it was all hired done, including the purchase of the seed wheat, was $3.25 per acre; this wheat made a fairly good growth last fall and as soon as the warm days commenced to come this spring this wheat began to grow and you remember how it looked the night we walked over it, and this was long before we had our first spring rain. It kept on growing until it was a good height and completely covered the ground before we had our first rain, looking all the time as fresh as a rose. The people were watching this wheat field, and as no other wheat in the country was growing at all, they concluded one evening they would fix up a test auger and go over there and test the depth of moisture in the ground. They found it upon their investigation nice and moist five feet down, and of course All of this moisture this is the sequel of the whole matter. fell on the ground last summer after the plowing was done and retained there by this system of harrowing the ground after each rain, keeping the ground fine and loose on top. "We find by the Campbell System that we can as well keep the moisture in the ground as to put it in a jug and put in a cork. This wheat field has been looked at by
262
many
people this summer. The ground has been carefully measured and found to contain a trifle less than 38 acres. "It took five pounds of twine to bind each acre, and
all
with the black rust that struck the wheat, the same as
other fields in this country, this wheat yielded a
little
over
35 bushels per acre and weighed 60 pounds per bushel.
The people that know most about wheat in this country say that the rust damaged this field of wheat not less than 20 bushels per acre, and my honest belief that if the rust had not affected it it would have made 60 bushels per acre.
planting
"The wheat sold for $22.50 per acre, less the cost of it and placing it upon the market, which was $6.50
I think
per acre, leaving a net profit of $16.00 per acre.

this
fair
margin for $5.00 land."
Campbell's soil culturS manual
263
CHAPTER XXXII.
WINTER KILLING OF AUTUMN SOWN GRAIN.
The question
of winter killing of
is
autumn sown
grain
in the semi-arid belt
one that called forth much discussion along in the nineties, but of recent years we hear but little except an occasional comment in a severe cold period during the winter months, when the fields are bare. This fact is largely due to better fitting of the soil bed by the farmers generally. Few people realize just why autumn sown grain winter kills. Years of careful observation have proven conclusively that it is invariably due to a loose seed and root bed and little moisture. We have never seen any apparent signs of winter killing on any part of a field that had been summer tilled except where water had stood for some length of time and frozen. In the autum of 1898 a great portion of Kansas and Nebraska had very little rain, in short but little rain fell after the middle of August, except in the extreme eastern part of the two states, therefore a large amount of fall wheat was sown in soil plowed and fitted rather dry. Rain was sufficient to germinate most fields of wheat, but the winter was open with frequent freezes, and when spring came much wheat was found to be dead. The writer was asked to investigate and gave much time to the question. Over a considerable scope of the country we found the following facts and conditions to be uniformly true. Through the major part of all fields, the wheat was
264
Wherever we noted a horse foot track Where the wheat in or at the edge was invariably green. found fields plowed round the field, at the corners we where the horses had tramped the portion in turning, we also found green wheat. This was especially true in one field in Northwest Kansas, where the farmer had harrowed his field thoroughly after plowing as above mentioned and before seeding. Other marked contrasts were shown in the dead furrows and the back furrows. In the latter the wheat was almost invariably found dead entirely, while along the edge of the former we found good stands of green wheat. These observations together with many others led
badly damaged.
us to one conclusion,
ciples
1.
viz.,
that winter killing of

if
all
autumn
sown grain would never be known,
the following prin-
were carefully observed: Conservation of soil moisture. 2. Plowing of fields only when moist. 3. The use of the sub-surface packer well weighted at the proper time. It is exceedingly difficult to put too much stress upon these three requisites, especially is it true with reference to the packer; its work is most vital for the development and support of strong and healthy plants. We would also call attention to some very strong corroborating evidence in the quotation from Bulletin No. 52, issued by the Agricultural Experimental Station of Illinois in 1898 referred to at length under tree growing, the sum of which was that fruit trees winter killed frequently in early fruit growing in Illinois, and it was finally agreed that soil and climatic conditions were not favorable for
fruit
College began to take notes
growing, especially apples. After the Agricultural it soon became evident that
all
the trouble
came from
trees going into the winter with

little
265
or no moisture about the roots, since which time
and the same sections have proven to be great apple producing localities, by simply handling the soil just a little differently. Few farmers in the central west today would think of handling their soil as was commonly done only eight or ten years ago, and yet they are only just beginning to grasp the fundamental principles, all of which mean dollars, happiness and greater prosperity to them.
there has been no trouble whatever,
266
Campbell's soil culture Manual
CHAPTER XXXIII.
STOOLING OF GRAIN.
The
it is
real cause of small grain stooling is
not a question
and yet would pave the way to the comprehension of other even more puzzling and yet most important subjects. The simple fact that the farmer has not understood this question has led him to do things that has cost him money as well as bring an actual detriment to his crop. To understand these principles is to explain and make clear why the farmer should be so very
well understood
tiller
by the average
if
of the soil,
a subject that
well understood
careful to carry out
many
of the principles laid
the chapters on Plowing, Sub-Packing and

ture.
down under Summer Cul-
To more
tions,
clearly explain this
attention to Cut No. 24, where
phenomenon we call your we show the two condi-
one of which promotes stooling the other does not. left is the more common condition of the soil in the average western field. This represents soil that has not been packed and has been plowed when in fair conditiou and harrowed. The root system here is not large because soil of this nature does not carry a large amount of moisture, on the other hand it carries large quantities of air. This unbalanced condition brings about slow chemical action which liberates small quantities of plant elements or fertility, consequently the development of roots is but little in excess of what the first and original main stalk can take care of, consequently little or no stooling has taken place.
At the
267
Theory among many of the early farmers had it that a period of cool days was necessary for stooling, therefore
when
This
tions,
this period
is
came it was as a rule hailed with joy. what we should call stooling under forced condisuch as would not result in well filled heads from
a cool period after the
of the
soil
the increased stools.

It is true that
has warmed
up
in the spring
and growth
young plant commenced
cause stooling, but why? Because the rootlets are gathering in the moisture laden with plant elements and
will
it on its way to light and sunshine, when the atmosphere cools to that degree that there is no evaporation for the leaf, the movement up the main stalk ceases.
starting
CAUSE OF STOOLING.
The moisture and plant elements being gathered in by little hair roots or feeders must materialize somewhere, consequetnly the additional stooling or increased number of suckers or stalks. Now these little new shoots soon become full fledged stalks. The consequence is an increased leaf surface, and when the clear, warm, sunny weather comes on and the leaves are fanned by the warm southern
the
breezes evaporation from the leaf
creased,
surface
is
greatly in-
and each warm period as the leaves increase in size and number brings a greater demand on the roots Under the soil conditions shown on the left, for moisture. the time is sure to come when the requisite amount of moisture cannot be supplied, and when this time comes we have a condition quite similar to the oil lamp when the oil has been all taken out of the bowl by the burning blaze at Steadily the soil becomes drier like the top of the wick. the wick and finally these stools begin to die off. When this period is reached the real damage to the final crop is
268
measured largely by the stage of growth of the plaut. If at the beginning of the farming point the head in the original or parent stalk will be smaller; if at the kernel forming period, the less kernel, etc.
loose soils as
The point we wish to convey is the fact that coarse, shown in the cut at the left will not permit
A.
B.
stooling oC grain, (a) Growth in loose (b) Growth and stooling of in ideal soil conditions.
Cut No.
24.
Growth and unpacked soil,

wheat
and will not carry to exceed oneone -tenth the amount of moisture (see cut No. 10) also that moisture will not move by capillary attraction more than one-fourth to one-eighth as fast in such soil consequently crops under this most common condition in the past, during a prolonged drouth, had to suffer severely
of a perfect root system,
fifth to
or perish entirely.
tion.
At the As shown
THE SCIENTIFIC CONDITION. right end of cut No. 24 we have the

in cut
ideal condi-
No. 16 the lower portion of the fur-
269
de-
row has been made

is
fine
and
firm.
The seed has been
posited in the httle V-shaped crevice where germination
rapid and the httle rootlets almost immediately begin
to
meander about
in all directions, sending out
little
feeders to gather in moisture
numerous and plant elements.
By
this rapid development of roots, each doing its part as nature intended, the moisture and plant elements are gathered in so rapidly that the little lone stalk cannot take care
of it all.
This plant element must be utilized in some manner and out comes another tiny stalk, then another, and so nature's desire for life and growth goes on in its active work until ten, twenty, fifty and we have seen even one hundred and two perfect stalks with wheat bearing heads grown from one kernel. This very marked stooling will take place very largely in proportion to the physical condition of the soil and the amount of available fertility. For example a piece of sand
loam
prairie with a clay sub-soil such as
is
found, as a rule,
in the great semi-arid belt that has
been cropped one or
more times, then summer tilled carefully as explained in Chapters 8, 9, and 10, you will have a condition that will not permit of sowing over twenty pounds of winter wheat or twenty-five pounds of spring wheat, and if the work has been well done and in the more arid portion of the semiarid sections, not more than three-fourths of the above
amount should be shown.

Stools developed under these conditions are very
much
more likely to carry through and mature.
270
CHAPTER XXXIV.
QUANTITY OF SEED.
the necessary amount of seed per acre is, is a somewhat complex, as there are many little details some of which have much to do with the quantity of seed and the final crop result. Therefore, we find it
What
question
entirely out of the question to outline imperative rules for
the real or necessary quantity of seed.
We well remember a book published about twenty-five years ago which had a table giving the required amount
of seed for the different
farm
stand
soil
physics, soil fertility
crops. As we now underand the moisture question,
seems not only very inconsistent, but ridiculous. For example it says "75 to 90 pounds of winter wheat per acre on good rich soil." To cover practically what was meant by the language we would now say that on good soil scientifically fitted from 15 to 20 pounds of winter wheat, and if more was sown, the chances would be very much in favor of less yield of grain and a poorer quality On the Burlington Model Farm in the autumn of 1904 a piece of summer tilled land was by mistake seeded with thirty pounds of seed, and the result was straw and heads enough for seventy bushels per acre, but it was so thick that the straw became weak and more or less of the entire field went down. The yield was only 46 J bushels per acre, the grain testing only 58 pounds. The stubble was so thick, long and more or less matted that we were obliged This same field was seeded again to burn it off to plow.
this table

to
271
less
wheat
in the
available fertility
autumn of 1905, and anticipating we sowed twenty-two pounds of
seed
and the 1906 yield was 49^ bushels per acre, testing 63 pounds per bushel. Several similar instances have been observed with like results, showing conclusively that we must gauge the quantity of all kinds of seeds per acre by The more ideally perthe physical condition of the soil.
fect the soil
fertility,
is fitted,
the greater
less
is
the
is
amount
of available
consequently the
seed
required by nature
tilled fields
for the best results.
As a
rule
summer
that
are scientifically handled require about one-third the

of
amount wheat, oats or barley that has been commonly sowed by
the farmer, but careful observation in testing fields only
can give the farmer the correct idea as to the proper quantity for certain conditions.
It should be slightly
borne in mind that with coarse plump seed

required; on the other
more
is
hand
fine,
somewhat
;
shrunken seeds with a healthy germ require less also that early seeding requires slightly less seed than late planting. Keep in mind that the proper quantity of seed with thoroughly fitted fields gives the highest yield, that above or below this ideal quantity will diminish the yield. The rule today is too much seed per acre; the quantity as well as the quality is frequently less from over seeding. For well fitted summer tilled fields the following quantity of good seeds is mosjt desirable when the seeding is done sufficiently early: Winter wheat, 18 to 20 pounds; spring wheat, 22 to 25 pounds; oats, 20 to 25 pounds; barley, 35 to 40 pounds per acre. Corn to do best in the more arid sections should never carry more than two kernels to the hill. Potatoes should be planted early with from one-fourth to one-third less seed than is commonly planted in the more humid sections.
272
The main
all
points to keep in
things, as nearly as
soil
condition of the
mind are: First and above be possible a perfect physical backed by ample stored water below;
may
the good seed carefully selected, followed by good judg-
ment at seed time to see that the quantity of seed conforms to soil conditions, the careful after culture together with not only an ambition but an effort each season to excell the previous crop. Remember that the average crop is not one-third of the possible yield of our soils.
273
CHAPTER XXXV.
THE mEVITABLE DRY
or withheld
SEASONS.
The seasons change and the favors of nature are given by the operation of laws or influences of which
will
we know little. No man can know just when the storm come or when the drouth will follow. But we do know that, in a general way, long periods of abundance of rain are likely to be followed by periods of drouth, and for this we must always be prepared.
We clip a fugative item from the daily newspapers in March, 1907, as below, in which Prof. Willis E. Moore, chief of the United States weather bureau at Washington, is quoted as giving warning of a drouth in the western country. We give it not so much that this prediction has value or causes surprise, but for reasons which are indicated later. The item is: "Prof. Moore predicts that the country is due for a long period of drouth. The present long period of abundant rainfall over the great cereal plains, about six years, is the longest of which the weather bureau has any records. Prof. Moore is certain that there will be a shortage in rainfall soon equal to amount to the excess during the last six This is based on the records of the bureau, which years. show that the average rainfall during the first ten years of
a period of thirty, forty, or fifty years
as the average of the last ten.
is
precisely the
same
in
Many
persons write to the
bureau, saying that they have been advised to
buy land
a region formerly classed as arid.
It is offered for sale to
274
there has been a permanent change in the climate. Invariable Prof. Moore answers that the climate has not changed. Prof. Moore points out that the country does not need as much rain as it did formerly to make the land productive. The virgin soil is being broken up and the trees are being planted. While this does not increase the rainfall, as is sometimes stated,
it
them on the ground that
makes the same amount more efficient and more profitis broken up and there will not be so much evaporation, the ground absorbing it more thorable, because the soil
oughly."
The warning should be taken to heart by everyone, not with fear and forebodings, but with redoubled effort to
solve
and solve correctly and finally the problem of how to meet just such conditions as are predicted without danger
It is
of crop losses.
worth while
to point out that
if
there are persons
who are urging

or arid regions
others to begin farming in the semi-arid

of there having
on the claim
been any per-
manent change
in the climate they are the worst possible
enemies of those whom they would dupe, as well as of the country they seek to populate. There is no reason to believe there will be any material difference between the climate of the Twentieth century and that of the Nineteenth.
But
Prof.
Moore does recognize,
as
many
others have
that conditions are changing in the semi-arid country and that better results are being obtained. Naturally he looks
about for a cause and an explanation. He gives that which comes most readily to hand. It is true there is no increase in rainfallaveraging up one year with another and it is true there is an increase of moisture available It is hardly fair, however, to for the use of the plants.

attribute this merely to the fact that "the soil
is
275
broken
up," unless it is intended by that phrase to include a good deal more, and to convey the idea that not only is the soil broken up, but that the farmers have been intelligently applying iinproved methods of cultivation with special
view to meeting the adverse conditions which they find about them. With this modification the hint of explanation, which may not be exactly as Prof. Moore himself would put it, is all right. That the semi-arid regions are better prepared now to fight the drouth and to stand independent of the varying
all
fortunes
Yet much of the weather, is certainly true. more can and must be done in the way of spreading the knowledge among the new farmers of the new west.
276
CHAPTER XXXVI.
THE DOMAIN OF
Who
culture
is
SOIL CULTURE,
in
shall
bound the domain
which
scientific soil
destined to be in fact a redeemer? It is a new thing, but many there are who inquire anxiously as to its But no man can yet tell. It surely is far reaching limits.
One thing is certain, scientific soil cu.ture is not a tem adapted solely to farming in the dry regions, but
a system useful also to the farmer
years an abundance of water.
sysit is
who may have

it
in
most
be remembered, and this is something within the knowledge of all, that there are very few places anywhere on the globe entirely free
Let
from the danger

the water.
rare
of disaster to crops by reason of waste of The farmer, no matter where he lives, is indeed
who has never
seen his crops wither and decline dur-
ing a drouthy period for
want
of
perhaps a small amount

it is
of moisture at the critical period of growth.
But there
are regions where
indispensible,
where
irrigation is impossible,
and the plan
of adopting desert
made a success. This area is large. Like other useful things in the world, scientific soil The system was developed culture is a child of necessity. Failure was its inspiration. There is an irin adversity. regular and variable line running through the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, which has long been supposed to mark the extreme limit of profitable soil
plants has not been
tillage for
It was on the border line of the where they merge into the broad acres farming regions, right
ordinary crops.

of grazing land, that this
277
system of eliminating the imaginary boundary line was developed under our own guidance. Under the old system there was the long series of alternating successes and failures, resulting in an impoverished land
and heart broken men and women, for the failures were more numerous than the successes. Here was the birth of scientific soil culture, and here it has had its first and greatest victories.
But a great deal has actually been done in at least a dozen good states. In eastern Colorado splendid results have been achieved by application of the principles, often imperfectly it is true, yet sufficient to produce good results. In western Kansas and western Nebraska the triumphs have been great. Something has been accomplished in northern Texas, and in Oklahoma and New Mexico near by. In Wyoming and in Montana, in many rich' valleys and uplands, the good work is going on. In all these states individual experimenters are accomplishing good results. These are mostly homesteaders and those who have purchased railroad lands. Thousands of our 1902 and 1905 manuals have found their way into the hands of men who
are tilling the soil in these states.
ideas they have gathered there,
They make use

in
of the
will
come into the full fruition of But the call is also for more detailed information and from further west. Out on the plains of eastern Oregon enterprising and courageous men have taken up the system and are working it out with results that are astonishing to their neighbors. In Washington and California interest is being
due time they their labor and studies.
and
many
states
taken in the subject. We have lectured in and explained the system and are having calls
of these states for furthei work.
is
to go to
many
But the system
of value also in the
more favored
278
regions of the Mississippi valley and along the coasts of

lakes
and oceans where there

is
is
abundance
it
of water,
but
where distribution
ciated to enable
not always what
should be.
Farm-
ers in these regions are
making use of the principles enunthem the better to increase their yields
and to make doubly sure of good crops. Within the past year we have been visited by men from South Africa, with a view to having our system tried there. Lettera and inquiries have come from Porto Rico, Australia, Mexico, Canada and elsewhere, indicating that there is demand for knowledge concerning the system all over
the world.
useful
soil culture empire has no limits. The system is on every farm. It reaches over oceans and mountains. Over vast areas the principles are triumphing over the perverseness of nature. And some day this soil culture
The
empire
will
be the garden spot of the earth,
279
CHAPTER XXXVII.
PROGRESS
m AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE.
being written for the books, magazines
great deal
is
and newspapers about the wonderful things that are being done in all industrial lines for the advancement of the human race. It is era of achievement. Men do things. And as a result the sum total of human happiness is promoted
with
much
rapidity.
We
all feel
that the natural trend of things in the openis
ing decade indicates that the Twentieth century
to
mark
an advancement in
fort to
all
material things that go to give com-
mankind far in advance of the splendid record of Nineteenth or any previous century. The passion is the for progress, for the new things, for the better things, for the more perfect organization and accomplishment. Yet it is all too true that man is naturally conservative and is prone to cling tenaciously to the good old things. He changes only under stress of necessity. That which is new must demonstrate its right to existence. It is everlastingly true now as it has always been in the past that conservatism stands in the way of progress. Inventors
and discoverers have had to meet and overcome conservatism with its strong backing of prejudice. One such was compelled to go to prison because he declared his beAnother struggled for years lief that the world was round. to get a hearing in his project of demonstrating that he could cross the ocean and reach the Indies by apparently going away from them. An inventor who devised a ma-
280
chine to sew mechanically was denounced as having sought

to take
living.
from the seamstresses their means of earning a Wise railroad owners laughed at the young man
proposed a plan for stopping railroad trains with taken the advance step in discovery or invention, in all science and knowledge, have won their way over ignorance and prejudice. Sometimes it has been necessary to overcome the inertia of error as it lies entrenched behind years of wrong teaching. Of course the truth prevails in the end; but to very many of those to whom it has been given to be leaders in special lines it has
first
air.
who
Men who have
seemed
like long waiting for the victory.
If there is progress in
industry generally there
is
also
progress in
And
if
forms of industry that relate to farming. this progress in most things is accomplished spite
all
of prejudice it holds true as to agriculture.
Scientific cul-
ture of the soil

its
is
a step forward; but
opposition.
It
has proved
its
has had to make worth on the great praiit
name by the and investigators. They got a wrong idea and passed it on to others. From their ox-train wagons they looked out upon what seemed to them a dreary waste They had left the trees of more than half desert land. wood-bordered meadows behind, and they sent and the back word that between the valleys and the mountains was a trackless plain fit only for wild and roving bands It was advertised that these vast regions were of buflfalos.
ries of
the west that have been given a bad
early travelers
uninhabitable.
But
later
came the
trans-continental railroads to con-
nect the oceans.
Travelers whose investigations were
made
from the windows of swiftly speeding cars told only of the sandy plains. They did not stop to consider that perhaps here was a country where Nature had left it for man to It would solve a few problems by study and application.
281
never do to make the whole face of the earth a Garden of Eden, where man had only to gather the fruit and eat. And so to the natural conservatism of man in regard to all things was added the wrong teachings as to the character of the vast semi-arid regions, and this in time engendered deep-seated prejudices, which it will take many years to remove. Then, again, there have been years of study of agriculture following the lines of the forefathers, and adapting the study to conditions that generally prevail where agriculture is most favored. Here again is created prejudice against anything new or different. Scientific soil culture has been under the necessity of making a place for itself despite prejudice. It has been necessary to not only show that this method is right, but also that old methods are wrong.
Agricultural science
is
other branch of
human
activity.
making as great progress as any The prejudices of the

rapidly.
past are being broken
down
Men
are thinking
about the matter and thinking differently from what they were. One caimot make much progress without getting new way of thinking. Scientific soil culture involves into a this very thing, for he who succeeds at it must do very much original thinking that he may work out the little problems which no man can foresee. If the farmer who approaches the subject in the right spirit becomes filled with the true principle he will invariably reason along the Its methods do not inright lines and come out right. volve new machinery, and in some things the methods are but variations of those in common use, but it does involve a new way of thinking, which is the foundation of the
science.
So soon as prejudice
is
ress in agricultural science
wholly put away then will progbe on a par with that in other
more advanced lines.
282
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
CROPS, MARKETS, PRICES.
The farmer not only wants
brings, directly or indirectly,
big crops but
it is
his desire
to get the best price for the same.
That which the crop
is the prime object to be ever kept in mind. There are a good many elements entering into the price question and men may easily make serious mistakes. Of course there may be at any time in almost any community some advantage gained by taking advantage of temporary or local conditions; but it must be remembered that the price of agricultural products is generally more unchanging through a long series of years than of any other class Statistics have been kept by the comof commodities.
mercial associations, including the price of agricultural pro-
ducts as well as of other things, and compilation from these shows that the fluctuation in average value of farm products from year to year and from decade to decade has
not been great.
It is gratifying that there
has been a
tendency for
value.
many
years to a slight average increase in
The theory that all would be lovely with the farmers they could only form a trust or combine and artificially limit the production of farm staples so as to force prices
if
up, or to hold grain and produce so that the marketing
could be done with special reference to holding up the The notion is equally wrong price, has little to support it.
that the farmer
who manages
to
have a good crop when

all
283
his neighbors
failure
have none, or that assumes that crop somewhere must be necessary to good prices at
some other place. The ideal conditon is that of having good crops every year and in all places. You can gain no permanent and enduring advantage by the misfortune of your neighbors. What is it that demoralizes prices and brings distress to farming and other industries? Not over-production, but lack of production. The poor crops your neighbor has will cause you to suffer in the end. The fact of the matter is that we shall never know a time when production will outrun demand and the markets This might happen with one of the world will be glutted. or two things, but not with things in general. More and more it is going to tax the ingenuity of man to provide for The area of land- available his own necessities and desires. for agricultural purposes is limited and it will be nearly all made use of in some way in the very near future. The problem must ever be that of how to so increase production
all, then how to distribute throughout the world. But under present conditions, with commercial war a perpetual thing, encouraged and guarded and supplied with weapons by our governments, there is a scramble for markets. We of America set out to corral a desirable market for a certain line of goods, especially farm products, and have it well in hand when there comes a season when we cannot supply the demand, as was the case in the early '90's, and immediately others step in and take possession Then when we are ready to again furnish our of the field. former customers with what they want we find that thej'^ have made arrangements elsewhere that are satisfactory Right there the evil effect of poor markets is to them.
that there will be competence for

this
284
felt,
not by those who lost at once but by all who are engaged in production. A market once lost by demoralization is hard to get back again. But in another way poor crops in a part of the area of production has an evil effect over all the area. The farmer is himself always a consumer. If he is prosperous he buys things. And as he buys things he helps to keep off the
tries.
demand for the products of many others in other indusThus all become consumers and all propsper together. But with some of the farmers reducing their expenditures
the total of
because of their temporary misfortunes by decreased yields, demand for all the ordinary things of life is
materially reduced.
The true principle for the farmer is to strive to have good average crops and have them steadily all the time,
and here it is that scientific soil culture plays its noble part. The greatest thing that is possible for any state or any nation or' any section of country is to have assurance of good crops every year. If this is done the price question
soon adjust itself to conditions so that the market problem is less and less one to cause worry to the farmer. If there is a surplus, be it Ir.rge or small, a place will be found where it will be absorbed properly, and this once Everyone will reestablished will remain permanently. joice in the good fortune of his neighbor. The real problem of prices and markets is that of how to guard against the distressing ups and downs of crop jdelds incident to the hit and miss style of farming which
will
is
partly guess work.

Scientific soil culture gets at the root of the
problem.
shows the way. It is directed toward making crops grow where they were not before grown and also, and this is most important of all, toward the making certain of good crop
It
285
every year where under the old system crop failures were
inevitable at times.
The condition which is desired is one of assurance of good crops, with the consequent assurance of fair and steady prices, and this state of affairs running through a series of years unchanged, not a fluctuating and uncertain condition with an occasional good crop sandwiched in between several poor ones and some failures and when this condition becomes general, as it will, there will be no more complaint of market demoralization and no desire to combine to limit crop production and exact high prices.
286
CHAPTER XXXIX.
WORLD WIDE FAME OF

It is a
THIS WORK.
matter of genuine pride and satisfaction that there
has come to be, even though
it is after years of waiting, almost world wide recogniton of the truth of what we have
been teaching as to the proper method of conducting farm

operations on the semi-arid
soils.
Of course
it is
a matter
which, from our standpoint, cannot be explained,
why
far-
mers and students generally have been so slow to see the truth, but we make due allowance for the momentum of
centuries of conservatism.
if recognition of the truth comes apparently very seems to be coming with added force and greater meaning. Within recent months we have had evidence of a desire to know more of the system coming from far off lands on the other side of the world, and there is a demand for some information on the subject in many countries. The system of scientific soil culture has forced itself to the attention of many of the best students and writers of the In the Century Magazine for July, 1906, there country. appeared a discussion of the whole subject by John L. Cowan, of Albuquerque, N. M. In the World's Work the same season appeared another similar article by Herbert Quick, the talented writer. William E. Curtis, a famous correspondent writing for the Chicago Record-Herald, told at length in July, 1905, of the work being done by the Campbell method in Kansas and elsewhere. The western newspapers have been filled with information on the sub-
But
late it
CAMPBELLS
ject.
SOIL
CULTURE MANUAL
287
The Northwestern
gave
five
Miller, of Minneapolis, in
Novem-
pages and over to a presentation of facts regarding the system from the pen of Mr. Cowan.
ber, 1906,
Some excerpts from

the world
is
these various articles will
show how
coming to regard the work.
SALVATION OF THE DRY BELT.
From the article by Herbert Quick in the World's Work Magazine the following excerpts are taken: Since Cain first tilled the soil, many a new thing has been seen in agriculture, but in the actual handling of the soil, perhaps not many. A picture of the year's work of the man who without irrigation successfully farms the semiarid prairies of the "Grat American Desert," however, shows some striking novelties, heralding perhaps an agricultural revolution.
The achievements of Luther Burbank in plant breeding have recently held general attention. I am glad here to put forth the name of Mr. Burbank (at least in the generous emulation of those who are striving to conquer nature) that of Hardy W. Campbell, a Vermont man who formerly lived in South Dakota and now lives in Lincoln, Neb. The originator of the "Campbell Method" of "Dry Farming," he is teaching the so-called arid west that it is not arid if it but uses properly, ordinary rainfall that its climate yields. Mr. Campbell, without irrigation, can make crops grow on hundreds of thousands of semi-arid square miles of "desert" that otherwise would be fruitless and flowerless except for the wild growths, sparse and unprofitable, indigenous to such land and climate. In the natural habitat of the cactus, he grows wheat, corn, and vegetables. Between the Missouri river and the mountains, "dry farming" has become a phase of hope.
288
The Campbell method has fought

through
in
its results
its
way
to acceptance
only.
S.
Its first victory
Brown
county,
D.,
was won in 1894 when Mr. Campbell grew 142
bushels of potatoes per acre in competition with his uncon-
verted neighbors,
pass the
In the
finite
who undertook by old methods to surnew way, and met failure from severe drought. autumn Mr. Campbell's field was moist to a depth
though
all others were dry as dust to an indeIn October, 1895, the same field showed ten feet of moisture a clear evidence of gain on the drouth. Mr.Campbell was testing his system patiently, and by true scientific methods, and this year sent many test tubes of earth to the department of Agriculture at Washington
of six feet,
depth.
sults of these tests
The following table shows the refrom two fields: No. 1, under the Campbell method; No. 2, under ordinary tillage. Similar The table covers the results are found in all these tests.
for
moisture
tests.
first
ten tests of July, at the Hastings, Neb., station.

ite
July

to plant growth, as well as
others.
its
289
constant excess over the

ball,
The
writer has found the soil in Campbell's fields
moist enough to be squeezed into a

soil fifty feet
while identical
away, cultivated by ordinary methods, would
blow away in dust when released. The Campbell method is spoken of as the salvation of the dry belt. The work is an enormous one, that of changing the traditional methods of plowing and harrowing and tilling of a whole farming population. The wonder is, not that his progress has been so slow, but that in the ten years of his active apostolate (for such his life has been) 'his useful and patient man has accomplished so much. RESULTS DECLARED TO BE REMARKABLE. William E. Curtis, traveler and author, went to Hill City, Kansas, in the summer of 1905, and from there wrote a two-column article for the Chicago RecordTHerald in which he said: What is known as the Campbell method of "dry farming" is being practiced on the semi-arid plains of western Kansas and eastern Colorado with remarkable success. The results accomplished on several model farms, under the direction of the inventor, discoverer or promoter whichever you prefer to call him are remarkable, and are entitled to the respect of every one who is interested in the development of the high, dry plains between the Rocky mountains and the Missouri river. Any one who has doubts of the practicability of the Campbell system should go to Hill City, Kansas, and compare the crops on the Pomeroy farm with those upon the farms which surround it, for the fields of wheat, corn, oats, potatoes and everything else that is growing will be four
or five times as great as will be the harvest
on the other
side of the fences.
290
Mr. Campbell has been working in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas, for twenty years or more trying to induce farmers to adopt his plan of "soil culture,'' as he calls it, and everywhere he has been, from the James
river in the north to the Arkansas, he has
been equally
successful in producing without irrigation the
same
results
that are usally expected with irrigation with compara-
more expense. There is no secret about it. The whole thing is simply the exercise of care and patience, and any man of ordinary intelligence can work it as well as
tively little
a college professor could
if
he only learns how.
The Pomeroy farm
certainly proves the truth of Mr.
Campbell's theories, or else he is a wizard. The orchard, five years old, is equal to any I have ever seen; the hedges that divide the fields and surround the garden are as high
as the
head
of a
man; the vegetable garden, the berry
bushes, the flowers and the foliage are equal to any that
you can find upon the best irrigated farm in California; while the wheat, corn and potatoes are simply perfect. The farm across the road looks skinny and shabby; the gaps between the rows of corn; the bald spots in the wheat, and the feeble poatoes look as if a conspiracy had
been set up to furnish as striking a contrast as possible. From one field as Mr. Campbell says, he expects to harvest fifty-six bushels of
wheat
will
is
to the acre
by
his system.
On
the other side of the fence, where the ordinary methit
ods have been used,

or eight bushels,
rainfall.
not pan out more than seven

the same
soil
and
it
and the same
essentially scientific farming.

John L. Cowan, writing
said:
in the
Century Magazine
for
July, 1906, gave something of
what had been done, and he
jampbell's soil culture MANUAu

It
291
has been demonstrated on
many model farms main-
tained by western railroads and on hundreds of private farms, that all that is necessary on the plains and in the
inter-mountain parks and valleys

as
is
intelligently to
fall
make
grow good crops as can be raised anywhere. In other words, farming methods must be adapted to natural conditions. This seems so simple and self-evident that the only wonder that men have been so slow in finding it out. It ought not to be hard to believe that lands that produce the rich buffalo and grama grasses of the plains without cultivation, can be made to produce crops still more valuable with cultivation adapted to the soil and climate. However, what the National Department of Agriculture, the various state governmnts, and the great railroad corporations have at last been made to see, has been demonstrated every season for twenty years consecutive by Mr. H. W. Campbell, of Lincoln, Nebraska, the pioneer "dry farmer" of arid America. In scores of places from the James river to the Arkansas he has been uniformly successful in producing without irrigation the same results that are expected with irrigation, with comparatively little additional expense, but not without more watchfulness and care. What western people have become accustomed to calling the "Campbell system of dry farming" consists
in order to
the most of the rains and snows that
simply in tho exercise of intelligence, care, patience, and

industry.
Dry farming
soil
is
essentiallv scientific farming,
and
for
that reason the term used by Mr. Campbell, "scientific

culture,"
is
perhaps, more truly descriptive than the

Nevertheless,
its
popular term.
principles can be,
and are
applied just as successfully by
men who have

by the
as little of
the education of the schools as they are
college grad-
292
uates.
for
However, no farmer in the arid belt need hope even moderate success without unceasing diligence. Twenty years ago Mr. J. P. Pomeroy, now of Colorado
Graham county, western Kansas, and founded Hill City almost in the center of the tract. For fourteen years portions of this tract were cultivated by old-fashioned methods. In all that time only one good crop was harvested, that being in a season
Springs, acquired 30,000 acres of land in
when the
rainfall
was abnormally
large.
He had
heard
of
Mr. Campbell and his system of dry farming and sent for
him, telling him to go ahead and show him just what he could do on land on which profitable farming by ordinary
methods had proven to be impossible.
Mr. Campbell laid
out a model farm on the very land that had been tried often
with discouraging results. Last season the sixth successive crop was harvested. In the fourteen years in which oldfashioned methods were followed, thirteen failures were
In the six years in which the Campbell system has been on trial on the same lands, a crop failure has been unknown. The smallest yield of wheat per acre in that time has been thirty-five bushels, while farmers close by have never obtained more than thirteen bushels per acre, and very rarely even that. The yields of corn, oats, potatoes, alfalfa, berries, small fruits, and vegetables is equal to that obtained from the average irrigated farms around Greeley, Fort Collins, Grand Junction, and other On this farm there parts of Colorado "under the ditch." is also a six-year-old orchard that is in" prime condition, the trees being as large as eight-year-old trees in the famous fruit growing district of Palisades. A more complete
scored.
vindication of
all
the claims
made by
the advocates of the

irrigation
practicability of farming
on the plains without
could not well be imagined.
293
CHAPTER
XL.
GOOD FARMING AND GOOD MORALS.

Perhaps
it is
of the morals of a people
not fair to assert that for the preservation dependence must be placed entirely
on the farming
insist
class;
but
it is
not going a bit too far to
that as between good farming and poor farming

is
there
a difference as wide as the poles are separated in
their relation to the morals of the people.
Did you ever pass an old farm, with broken fences overgrown with weeds, with ramshackle sheds and a house with unmended roof, with exposed corn bins, and a few racing hogs browsing along the hedge rows? And if you have, do you not recall that involuntarily you peeked around the corners expecting to find the head of the family in keeping with his surroundings and living a life not at all Of course not every to be made use of as an example? farmer struggling against odds on a half-barren farm is below the standard in methods of living. There may be high thinking and genuine love for all that is best in the world and this amid surroundings not at all congenial. But usually if there is a desire for the better life, there is some sign displayed by which the keen observer may
know
that conditions are but temporary.
But you pause at the gate near a modest cottage neatly painted, and about the place there is an air of neatness and cleanness and good living, and you expect to find, and usually do find, a family living the happy and contented
life.
294

there
is
Now
ing the
life
of a
man
nothing that will go so far toward chang-or of a family to the better things as
is
Poverty is a demoralizing influence. Idleness next of kin to sin. And idleness is closely associated with poor farming. Whatever tends to give the people
prosperity.
of the material comforts of
It is easier to be
life
more
up.
helps to raise them

fine dinner.
good when one has had a
Scientific soil culture points the
way
to greater pros-
It means steady large results with no means that farming operations are reduced to a science. With an understanding of its principles and such application of the same as to produce the results which are always possible, it means the raising of the average of living to a higher plane. It means more home comforts, better farm equipment, finer houses and barns, good roads, telephone, and trolley lines, and above all else support of the schools and the churches. It is a most excellent thing for any community to give support to the schools and the. churches. The benefits come in many ways. They are not all visionary. And a people who do support schools and churches are not the up-grade at all times. They help to better conditions in the cities and towns. They give to the cities the ablest of the men in all walks of life. But unless there is actual success in farm operations the influence nay be the other way. Discontent on the farm is a dangerous thing and has sent many a noble boy and girl to the city with high hopes
perity on the farm.

losses.
It
betterment which too often have proved a bitter failure. It is because of the fact that the state and the nation are vitally interested in the welfare of the farming population that public sentiment supports with hearty unanimity the expenditures of millions annually to improve the farming conditions. The state cannot be a good state
of

unless
its
295
people are prosperous and contented.
They
need not be stupidly content with the idea that they have attained perfection, but they should have the content which comes to him who triumphs in what he undertakes.
And
so state
and nation are
alike lending a helping
hand
to the farmer.
As a great moral
soil
influence
we
shall claim for scientific

It leads all others
is
culture a place in the front rank.
because upon the quality and quantity of what
grown
all
from the
soil
depends the magnitude and success of
branches of agricultural pursuits.
Fair Investigation.Agriculture
all
demands and
it
ucoo-rves
in need worthy of, all the investigators whose services are being devoted to this greatest of all our industries; but
the investigation which
is
being given to
it is
of,
and
is
let
us
remember that
;
it is
only a genius
who can draw
cor-
rect conclusions
from incomplete date or

all
insufficient pre-
mises that
us,
we
are to use
obtainable information to guide
and that we are to work together as a unit for the betterment of American agriculture. The work is greater than any man or any office. Let every man develop and magnify the line of work which he is called upon to perform,
but
let
us neither decry nor ignore nor underestimate the

Prof. Cyril G. Hopkins,
value of any other good work.

Illinois
University.
296
"'v.mpbell's soil,
culture manual
CHAPTER
XLI.
DRY FARMING CONGRESS.

That there
soil
is
intense interest in the subject of scientific
the states having semi-arid lands was shown by the great success of what was called the "TransMissouri Dry Farming Congress," held in Denver in JanThis was called by Gov. Jesse F. McDonald, uary, 1907. of Colorado, at the instance of the Denver Chamber of Commerce, and was attended by about 300 accredited delegates, some of the sessions being attended by at least
culture in
all
For three days these men discussed every 1,000 persons. phase of agriculture as related to the semi-arid region.
Fisher Harris, of Salt Lake City, was elected president, and an executive committee of one from each of thirteen states was named. The name of "Dry Farming Congress" was taken, though this term might be somewhat misleading, for the basis of it all was that of treatment of the soil so as to have sufficient moisture for good crops. There were eminent men from all the states of the west present, college men, experimenters, practical farmers. It was indeed a notable event, not so much that it marked the beginning of a new movement, for it does not, but that it indicates
how much
progress has been

this
made
in recent years in the
right direction.
The author of him and his work,

of
J. L.
Manual was present, and regarding Donahue, in the Scientific Farmer,
Denver, wrote editorially:
Campbell's soIl culture manual
297
all
"The recognized experts

the best
in
dry farming from
over
of
the great semi-arid area were present, as well as
some
known
of the
government men, such as Carleton
and
Chilcott.
It
augurs well for the

fit
new movement
that
the government saw
to send
its
most eminent experts.
But the hero of the congress, and that man who will, so long as he lives, be looked upon as the foremost exponent
of these
fundamental principles, without which reclamaof Lincoln, Neb.
tion of the arid lands without irrigation will be impossible
was H. W. Campbell,
This
is
the
man
who
said that the region
known
as semi-arid could be re-
when even the government experts laughed at him, and when the agricultural colleges declared that his views were absurd. I have within the past five years heard from the lips of some of the most eminent experts in the nation the assertion that the Campbell System of
claimed,
a mere shibboleth. I have in my possession today a letter written less than three years ago from one of the experts in the Agricultural Department at Washington, asserting in most positive language that winter wheat cannot be grown successfully in eastern Colorado without irrigation. It is refutation enough to state that there is at the time of this writing more that fifty thousand acres of winter wheat in eastern Colorado, above ditches, promising a harvest that will put the great 'wheat belt' of the nation to shame." It is the intention to hold these congresses each year, that for 1908 being at Salt Lake City. They give promise
Soil Culture is
of great things for the semi-arid belt in calling the atten-
tion of the poeple to
what has been done and what can
be accomplished.
298
CHAPTER
XLII.
CORRESPONDENCE AND COMMENT.

Under date of July 5, 1906, Charles F. Mills, editor Farm and Home, Springfield, 111., in acknowledging receipt of a copy of the 1905 Manual, wrote: "My attention was called to your methods of dry
of the
farming in the July issue of the Century. We hope to be able to send you some orders for your Manual which will be offered as a premium. Your work is deserving of the
highest commendation."
FINEST EVER.
F. H. Oberthier, secretary and general manager of the Comanche Cotton Oil Company, Comanche, Texas, wrote: "I have read and reread your Manual and I think it is I think every the finest work of the kind I ever saw.
farmer in the semi-arid west should study this book. wouldn't take $1,000 for what it has taught me."
INCREASED LAND VALUE.
Herman
S.
Youtsey, writing from Fort Collins,
Col.,
Dec. 10th, 1905, said: "I have been reading what one of the wiseacres has to say in defining the Campbell system of soil culture and as usual the most conspicuous point in the article is what he Meeting so many articles don't know about the system.
which improper notions are inculcated knowing the importance of a correct knowledge of and
of this character in
Campbell's soil culttiris manual
2&9
the Campbell methods, I am led to the conclusion that some more effective plan of getting your Manual of soil
I culture into the hands of the people should be devised. have frequently said that your Manual is worth its weight in gold to any man who tills the soil whether he farms wthout irrigation or with it. No reasonable consideration could induce me to part with the knowledge I have gained from your writing, if such a thing was possible, for by following in the way you have indicated I have caused land costing $3.00 an acre to yield a net income of $18.00 an acre in one year and aside from the question of a monetary consideration, it has lifted farm labor from mere
drudgery to the
field of scientific pursuit."
GREAT DISCOVERY.
after years of careful study of the subwrote in the Denver Republican: "The Campbell system is a glorious success. It is not a mere wet season humbug, destined to collapse with the next series of dry years. I have doubted, watched, investigated constantly, for nine months, and have become absolutely convinced that it is the greatest agricultural discovery of recent history. It will rapidly settle the fertile, sunny, beautiful healthful rolling plains of eastern Colorado and western Kansas with a dense and thrifty population."
John E. Leet,
ject,
wealth increased.
L. J. Clinton, director of the Agricultural experiment
station at Storrs, Conn., writing

to the
January 21, 1907, in regard Manual, said: "I know something of the work you have done in re-
claiming
desert,'
what was known formerly as 'the great American and I believe as a result of your instruction in soil
300
culture
work that the wealth

I
of the country has been very
materially increased.
shall
await the arrival of your
book with considerable interest."

IN SOUTH DAKOTA. R. J. Mann, president of the Clark county National Bank, at Clark, S. D., ordered for free distribution among his bank customers 500 of the Campbell Soil Culture Almanacs, issued in 1907, and he wrote: "I have been studying your literature the last year and am very much interested in it, and this is the cause of my I know, or believe, you are ordering these almanacs. doing a good work and would be glad to see your work go into the farmers' hands, and I hope that distributing these almanacs will prove what you feel and that I believe can be done in this country with good farming." W. M. Wiley, manager of the Arkansas Valley Sugar Beet and Irrigated land company, at Holly, Col., writing to Mr. Campbell, said: "Although I have never met you I have become greatly impressed with what is called the Campbell system of In 1902 we had to farm the lands under the farming. Amity canal without water, and by carrying out a modified system of your views we succeeded in making a crop practically without irrigation, and it was a good crop, too. This served to attract my attention more than ever to your I have told several officials of the Santa Fe Railsystem. road that the arid west could be better and sooner put into cultivation by following your theories or the practices recommended by you than by getting the government to spend oceans of money for irrigation works, because no matter how much money was spent in irrigation, the amount of land which the water would cover must necessarily be

infinitesmal
301
compared to the vast area to be cultivated; but that if they would adopt your plan and establish some model farms under your direction something could be done
I
in cultivating the country.
should like very
much
to
meet and have a talk with you. I should like particularly to get the U. S. government interested in your methods.''
BIG RESULTS.
Pomeroy, of Colorado Springs, under date of SepWantland, Denver: "We cultivate entirely under Professor Campbell's plan. This season the wheat crop in our section was practically a failure, which was the result of the failure of our farmers to put in their crops in time, and to properly cultivate; this was clearly proven by the fact that on our farm we raised over forty bushels per acre, and from less than one-half bushel Surely the time must soon come, when of seed planted. our people will have realized that this system absolutely assures the production of regular crops every year through western Kansas and Nebraska, as well as eastern Colorado."
J. p.
tember
10, 1904, writes to C. E.
The Campbell method is spoken of as the salvation of The work is an enormous one, that of changing the traditional methods of plowing and harrowing and The wonder is, not tilling, of a whole farming population.
the dry belt.
that his progress has been so slow, but that in the ten years
of his active apostolate (for such his
life
and patient man has succeeded Quick, in World's Work,
in doing so
has been) this useful much, Herbert
302
CHAPTER
XLIII.
TOOLS FOR THE FARM.

been asked
in 1901, we have Since publishing our first manual many times for a list of the implements we
consider best adapted to general farming on the prairie of
the great semi-arid belt.
This,
we
realize, is
a delicate
subject on which to give advice, therefore,
list
of
Farm
at Hill City, the Burlington
such tools as we bought for Model farm at Holdredge

tools, or
we simply give the Pomeroy Model
and for other farms. For ordinary sized farms we have four-horse
larger, as far as it
is
possible.
To
decrease the cost of
production adds profits, the same as to increase the yield. When one man can turn over two fourteen-inch furrows
or twenty-eight inches
sixteen inches
by driving four horses instead of by driving three horses, you are not only
decreasing the cost of plowing over thirty per cent, but are
getting a field plowed in six days that would take ten days
This is an advantage in many ways and what is true of plowing is proportionately true of all other farm work. The following tools make a very complete outfit for four good heavy work horses, and with these horses and tools eighty to one hundred acres can be handled by our plan on the high level priries of the more arid portions of the semi-arid belt where the soils are of the usual sandloam formation.
with the sixteen inch plow.

LIST
303
OF tools.
One gang plow, two fourteen-inch. One four-horse disk harrow. One four-horse improved harrow. One four-horse combination weeder. One four-horse Campbell sub-packer. One two-row cultivator. One one-horse cultivator.
In addition to these tools comes such planters'
drills
and harvesters as
shall
be needed for the crops the farmer
may
wish to
list
raise.
is
The
*be
soil
of tools
such as has been found most desir-
able for securing the best possible physical condition of

at the least expense.
THE sub-surface PACKER.

There are few farm implements of high merit that have had the struggle for recognition that the sub-surface packer It was first put upon the market in 1895 and about has. 100 sold. A few more sold each succeeding year, but no' great numbers until the year 1905. The principal drawback was the fact that it was a new tool, with a new mission, backed by a new principle, and every conceivable theory has been advanced to sidetrack its popularity mainly on the ground that the ideal physical condition brought out by its proper use was not necessary, end as the machine cost from $25.00 to $45.00 according to size and distance from factory, the public
generally were quite inclined to credit
skeptics.
all
theories of the
But the machine kept

ciples involved,
persistently at its mission, prov-
ing the marvelous results to be gained from the
new
prin-
thereby steadily gaining recognition until
?/04
the year 1905,

sold than in
all
when
there were
the previons nine years combined.
the factory was compelled to
more sub-surface pacKers Then expand its facilities and the
demand continued
to increase until the sales for the year 1906 were equivalent to more than twice the total number sold not only in 1905 but from January 1st, 1895, to Jan-
uary
1st,
1906.
Just before going to press
the orders received at the factory for the
we learn that month of Jan-
uary, 1907, were nearly half as

for 1906.
many
this
as the entire sales
There
is
but one reason for
enormous increase
is,
in
the sales of the sub-surface packer, and that
that this
new machine has accomplished
its
new mission by proving
through practical demonstrations that the new principle of a thoroughly pulverized and absolutely firm sub-stratum, or root and seed bed, and its perfect connection with the subsoil below, is one of the most vital conditions for successful crop growing, and the one point to be fully recognized in preparing the soil for the purpose of growing large
yields of all kinds of cereals.
Campbell, has
ing
unassuming fellow townsman of mine, Mr. H. made a discovery worthy to rank him with Watt, Hudson, Eli Whitney and Edison that of so stor-
An
up water in the soil to be cultivated as to make a very meager precipitation suffice to grow a crop and that with no irrigation. E. Benjamin Andrews, Chancellor Neb-
raska State University.
305
CHAPTER XLIV.
SOME HISTORY OF THE MOVEMENT.
The Northwestern
Miller, in issues in
November, 1906>
contained three very complete and satisfactory articles upon the Campbell system written by John L. Cowan, in
which an outside view of the work was given, and from

the standpoint of an investigator coming to the subject
without prejudice.
the narrative:
Below
is
given some portions of this
largely for the bit of history
which Mr. Cowan wove into
There has been no more important agricultural development within recent years than the sudden rise in popular approval of the Campbell System of Scientific Soil Culture or, as the public prefers to call it, "Dry Farming." During two months of the past summer, it was given more magazine and newspaper publicity than in the twenty years
before, through to bring

it
which the originator
of the
system toiled
to perfection
and fought
finally
for recognition.
The one thing that has

is its
compelled endorsement
has "delivered the goods," and few people will refuse to credit the evidence of their own senses. Consequently, the great trans-continental railroad systems ownresults.
It
ing land grants have vied with ten thousand land agents in
their efforts to inform the public
about this new system of farming on the "dry lands" without irrigation. The National Department of Agriculture and the various state agricultural colleges have not endorsed or given
official
recognition to the Campbell system.
They have
306
recgonized
far

its results, if
not in
official
documents, in the
more significant form of establishing numerous experiment stations on the high, dry plains that they have always
hitherto regarded as hopelessly arid.
There they are demonstrating along independent lines the very facts to the proving of which Hardy W. Campbell has devoted more than twenty years of his life. This belated government
action, taken
when
the results of the Campbell system

is,
could no longer be denied or ignored,

est
in fact, the strongwith-
endorsement that the Campbell system of farming
out irrigation in the semi-arid region could receive. * * Mr. Campbell's own account of the circumstances tha
started his investigations
is
interesting,
and hitherto
un-
In 1882, he harvested one of the greatest wheat crops that had ever been cut and threshed in the Dakotas, obtaining 12,000 bushels from 300 acres of land, in Brown
published.
The next year, his crop of 260 same land was an absolute failure, while the remaining 40 acres returned a good yield. Here was a puzzling proposition, as all the land had received the same treatment and had been seeded at practically the same
coun.ty.
South Dakota.
acres of the
time.
To
discover the reason for the widely differing har12,000
vests became, for a time, Mr. Campbell's ruling passion.
He
recalled that the record-breaking crop of
bushels had been secured after spring plowing of the land.
Also that the 260 acres that failed to yield a crop worth harvesting the subsequent season had been plowed in the
fall,
while the 40 acres from which a good crop had been
obtained had been plowed in the spring. The conclusion seemed inevitable that the secret of obtaining good crops
lay in the spring plowing.
He
talked
it
over with his neighbors, and everyone
9,greed that the virtues of spring plowing for spring wheat

had been incontrovertibly demonstrated.
the farmers of
307
Fortunately for
be impossible
Brown county, they reaUzed that it would for them to plow all their wheat land in the
spring in time to get their seeding done: but everyone re-
duced the amount of fall plowing to its lowest possible Never before or since was the percentage of wheat terms. land in that neighborhood plowed in the spring so great. When harvest time came, everyone had the same result: the crop was all but a total failure on the land that had been plowed in the spring; but that plowed the preceding fall returned a good yield. Campbell, the man from Vermont, where people are born asking questions, and never outgrow the habit, was not discouraged. He was willing to admit, with his neighbors, that the whole secret of the production of good crops Where he differed from did not lie in the time of plowing. his neighbors was in his refusal to believe that the secret was past finding out.
Even at that early stage

iieved
it
of his investigations, he biv
possible to conserve in the soil suflScient moisture
to mature a crop, even in years of extreme drouth such as
brought disaster to the farmers of the plains with discouraging frequency. The problem to be worked out was how to place the soil in the proper physical condition for the
reception and storage of moisture.
For the reception and
ready percolation of moisture, it required no extended train of reasoning to teach him that the soil must be kept loose and porous by thorough cultivation. How to keep the moisture there, was a widely different matter. The common expedient was the use of the roller,
in oi
to
compact the
its
soil
tioa
^periment convinced him

effects
value, because
and prevent too rapid evaporathat this was of little were confined to two or three
308

soil.
it
Further experiment showed him that it was designed to promote, increasing the movement of moisture from below up into the compacted stratum, where it speedily passed off by evaporation. While perfectly true that a plowed field that has been rolled shows the presence of considerably more moisture near the surface that can be found in one that is due solely to the exhaustion of the supply that has percolated down into the subsoil. That supply is needed far more urgently to carry the growing crop over the protracted heat and probable drouth of summer than to aid The use of the roller, therefore, in the germination of seed. was abandoned, as promoting the early exhaustion rather than the conservation of moisture. In 1885, he designed his first sub-soil packer, constructed somewhat after the form of a grain drill, with teeth, or packing devices that slanted backward, penetrating the soil to a depth of several inches, tending to squeeze the earth between them closer together. This gave encouraging results as a crop producer, and frequent tests of the soil, compared with tests of adjacent lands not thus packed, proved that it did conserve the moisture, although not as efficiently The use of this implement proved imas was desirable. practicable, for the reason that the friction was too great and it required too much power to work it to render it adinches of top
defeated the very end
aptable for general farm use.
Nevertheless, the experi-
.ments
!)he
made with
it
were of great value, proving that the
packing of the sub-soil (not of the surface) would conserve

moisture.
give the record of the hundreds of experiments that have been conducted since 1885 would not now be possible. Even if possible, that record would be tedious, uninterestEqually unimportant would be an ing and unimportant.
To
309
account of his efforts to remedy the defects in his early education that so seriously
of
hampered him
in the prosecution
lines.
strictly scientific investigation
along original
he had to learn by patient experiment would have been taught him by the schools, or could have been reasoned out had he been thoroughly grounded at the start in scientific methods. Perhaps, however, if his idea had been conventionalized by too much of the science of college curricula he might have accepted the dictum that the reclamation of the semi-arid lands was impossible, and the Campbell system would never have been born.
of the things that
Many
After giving
much more
of the detail history of the
years of labor which resulted in the development of the
system Mr. Cowan continued: Some have gone so far as to assert that most of the methods taught by Mr. Campbell were advocated by Jethro Tull, a hundred and twenty-five years ago. Inasmuch as Jethro Tull never visited America and probably never heard of the American plains, it would be remarkable indeed if he had devised a system of agricultural procedure suited
to conditions there.
It
bell
is,
of course, true that
many
of the facts of the
Camp-
system were known long before Mr. Campbell's time. Some of the methods used are applicable to farming the whole world over, and have been practiced for generations. Some of the processes have been worked out under the
pressure of necessity
of farmers
by hundreds,
If
or perhaps, thousands,
on the
plains.
Campbell had done no more
than collect, organize and classify these disconnected facts and methods into a coherrent system of practice adapted to conditions in the semi-arid belt, he would have accomplished a work of the very highest utility. He has done much more than that. He has adopted
310
nothing on mere hearsay or authority. Every principle advocated by him, he has tested, not once, nor in one place, but many times, in widely separated localities, in seasons of greatly differing rainfall and temperature, throughout
Panhandle.
from the James river valley to the Texas In addition, there are principles of soil culture and methods of procedure that unquestionably origintfie
plains region
ated with him.
One
of these
is
that of
"summer
culture"
is
on newly broken to grow a crop.

plants
prairie land, before
any attempt
full
made
Anyone who breaks

first
prairie lands, and
them without
devoting a
season to careful
cultivation in order to get the soil in the proper physical
condition for the promotion of plant growth, and in order

to store a sufficient
amount
of moisture within reach of
the plant roots to carry the growing crop through a protracted drouth,
is
simply inviting failure should a season
of i^nusual droutu follow.
Another feature that originated with Mr. Campbell, which he regards of vital importance, is the sub-soil packer. This is an absolutely new farming implement, the essential feature consists of a series of sharp, wedge-shaped wheels, that cut into the ground, and literally wedge the portions between them together. These wheels exert both a lateral and a downward presThey sure, accomplishing a number of desirable results. elimnate the air spaces left by overturning the furrow slice
along the bottom and the sides of preceding furrows; press
the earth firmly around the weeds, clods and stubble; aid
in pulverizing the soil,
thus increasing
its
capillary attrac-
tion
water-holding capacity; and, at the same time, they leave the surface soil loose and in condition to prevent unnecessary loss of moisture through evaporation.
and
its
311
CHAPTER XLV.
CORRESPONDENCE COURSES OF STUDY.
There has not been any development in educational years to equal in extent and importance that which relates to the use of correspondence or mail courses of study. Every one has become familiar with the mail order mercantile house which is prepared to do business with the individual consumer anywhere in the country. The mail routes of Uncle Sam reach into every settlement
lines in recent
of the country.
They cover the vast
prairies as well as
penetrate into the deep woods of the timbered regions.

facilities for
The
communication between people are not better for the residents of the cities than for the residents of the country. Great mercantile houses have taken advantage of this to establish communication with consumers direct, to sell to them direct, and to transact all their business by mail. There is some prejudice against this because of the unquestioned fact that here is a form of competition that is injurious to local business and therefore retards rather
than aids in building up local trading communities. But the mail order business is a reality. Another extension of this same work and we have the correspondence course of study. By and through private enterprise this plan has grown to great proportions in recent years. There are correspondence courses in nearly everything.
ics,
They teach
science, literature, art, trades,
mechan-
chemistry, pharmacy, bookkeeping, surveying,, draught-
ng, engineering, writing, weaving, electricity, etc.
As a
312
work it has been placed within the reach oi thousands of boys and girls to secure special education they desire without the great expense of attending some school or college in a distant city. The son of a poor mechanic struggling for a living in a city factory becomes ambitious to learn a useful trade or science, and his only time is that which most boys use for play-time. But his ambition leads
result of this
him
to take
up a correspondence course
of study,
and
in the
long evenings at
home he
pores over these books until he
has mastered his subject.

oped.
The
result
is
that a great engi-
neer, or inventor, or contractor, or business
man
is
devel-
No matter how many
great colleges or universities
might have been founded, this development of the poor boy who must labor while he learns would never have been possible but for the correspondence Course. The theory of the correspondence course system is the It is not possible for taking of the school into the home. any great proportion of the ambitious boys and girls of the country to take advantage of our schools of higher education.
To many
millions of
various circumstances.
them it is denied because of They have not the time, they have
have not the preliminary preparation, they cannot afford These it, they do not know how to get into the colleges. shut-out boys and girls are just as important to the country
as those for
whom
the college doors open.
The
corres-
pondence course of study takes the college right to these boys and girls. It opens the way for higher education to millions who would otherwise have no such opportunity. So valuable is this principle that it is receiving state Much of the development of the correspondrecognition. ence course plan is due to private enterprise. All honor to But it has those who have been pioneers in this work. been taken up by such public institutions as for instance.

the
313
Armour
it
Institute, of Chicago, in recognition of the fact

It
is
that
ought to be largely a public work.
being taken
up by the great agricultural and industrial colleges of the country. Legislatures are making appropriations for carryIt is only a matter of time until many of ing on the work.
the general branches will be taught in this
supervision.
way under
state
There have been prepared a number of courses in general and some of these of great merit. It is a little strange that the one subject which more than any other
agriculture,
lends itself readily to the correspondence course idea has
been neglected until the last agriculture. There can be no teaching of agricvilture away from the farm. Actual contact with the soil is essential in the teaching of agriculture. No man can learn to farm by poring over books. But if in the poring over books he has opportunity to go out every day and apply in practical way that which he is learning, then much may be learned of great value from the books. It is because of this that a correspondence course The farmer in agriculture seems especially appropriate.
than any other to find opportunity to get away work and to take up special courses of study in the colleges. He seldom has the preliminary preparation so But he does that he can get into the agricultural colleges. have some time for study and he generally has the disposition to study and to learn. The correspondence course, when it comes to the farmer, comes to one who can make
is
less likely
from
his
the greatest possible use of the same.
But most by the
of the correspondence courses as prepared not
only by corporations making a specialty of this work but

colleges
and
girls
universities, are distinctly intended to
take boys and
from the farms and to put them into It is not very diflBcult to lead the workshops of the cities.
3]^
Campbell's soil Culture manual
the farm residents to feel that in

the chance of success
is
some other
field of activity
better than in their own.
That
is
why
of
the farmers are so often approached with suggestions

fit
through correspondence courses, something for other work. As a matter of fact, the farmer can gain most from a correspondence course with direct relation to his own work. The time has passed for sneering at the so-called bookfarmer. The college bred farm superintendent is a reality and a success. Men who are making a study of farming with special reference to well established principles are
learning,
that will
them
taking the lead.
The average farmer does

fairly well,
his
work
well,
and he succeeds
do a
deal
little
but as a matter of
fact,
he might
better by knowing some things. He gains a great by the study of farm papers and magazines, but he
too often treats their advice lightly.
What is needed for the farmer in these days is some method by which there can be brought right home to him all the science and all the achievement of the colleges, the results of special study and investigation, the lessons of innumerable experiments, and to do this in a way that will appeal to him as something practicable. He should be able
to gain knowledge of a kind that is useful. No theory should be presented to him without a purpose. Nothing should be given him that has not a practical side. It is well he should understand the science of the soil physics
and seed germination and plant development and
all
that
with special reference to making his own crops bigger and better. The philosophy of farming is all very well, but the essential thing is to
all
but he should understand
this
accomplish great results. Now it is entirely possible that through the correspondence course of study method the farDêr may be given the essentials of his science in such a
Campbell's soil cuLTtjRE manual
315
way
that he can immediately apply
them
to the problems
just before him.

profit
The farmer
is
in a better position to
by and through a correspondence course than any
other.
The extension of the rural route service has brought every farm in the oountry up next to the city There has been prepared, and it will be ready for use in the early fall of the year 1907, a correspondence course of
study in the Campbell system of
all
scientific soil culture
and
the allied and related subjects of farming, as especially
needed in the semi-arid country. This work has been prepared by Prof. H. W. Campbell with the greatest care. It embodies not merely the essentials of the subject as found It is replete in this volume, but all the incidental features. with practical instructions in all its branches. It covers every phase of the subject. The demand for this has been All over the semi-arid region, wherever there has great. been any information as to what has been and is being accomplished by reason of true science in agriculture, the work is desired to complete and to supplement all the other publications upon the subject. The work will be divided so that the course may run through a period of from six to eighteen months. The student may complete the work soon or delay it. Some of the features are: More scientific instruction as to the exact work to be done at each and every season of the year, and imder all possible conditions, than ever given before, with practical
illustrations as to
how and what
to do.
The
ject,
benefit of personal correspondence with the author
and with specialists who have made a life study of the suband personal instruction by mail, the criticisms of work done and suggestions as to special adaptation of the work for special purposes. Each person taking the full
316
course will feel at liberty to personally correspond with the

author.
Information as to all phases of scientific agriculture, from the treatment of the soil, such as seed selection and testing, planting, seed gathering, varieties of seeds and methods of handling the crop. Specific information as to all the different crops suited
aside
to the semi-arid region, the varieties of grains
the
new
things and methods of developing
and grasses^ and improving
varieties.
Use of a complete text book and method of getting the most out of it. References to bulletins and year books and other information which may be had.
It is confidently believed that in this special corres-
pondence course in
the
Scientific Soil Culture for the semi-arid
region there will be found something that will meet fully
demands of that large and growing body of persons who want the very best there is to be had in this line, who desire This is not to be a to be thorough to the utmost limit. work for the amateur or the mere dabbler in farming. It the man, or the woman, is a work for the real student who expects to make of farming a success beyond perad-
venture of a doubt.
coming to be recognized that agriculit is one of the things about ture is which there is always much to learn. The movement back But if there to the farms is genuine, and it has a reason. is to be a movement back to the farms it should be intelliMore than that, the movement should gently directed. have a solid foundation. In the semi-arid portions of the Those who make countries lie the greatest possibilities. themselves perfectly familiar with every question which
Everywhere
it is
a great science and that
may
will
arise in
regard to the semi-arid region are those
who
achieve greatest success.
INDEX,
317
INDEX.
Advantages of Semi-Arid Region, XVII, 130.
Agricultural Science, Progress in, 279. Air in the Soil, XIV, 111; nitrogen as plant food, 112; rain crust and 113; shutting out the air, 113, 115.
Alfalfa,
how broken up
XXV,
226; plan of seeding, 227; preparing fields for, 229.
Arbor Lodge, 244, 245.

Arboriculture,
XXVIII,
241.
Arid plants, seeking new, 232. Barnyard Manures, XIX, 148. Basis of Prosperity, IV, 24. Beet Culture with Irrigation, 220; without irrigation, 225. Beets, sugar, growing, 218; modern factory, 221; under Campbell system, 223.
Blowing of the lighter soils, 178. Burning stubble, 195, Burlington farm, model, 16; results, 256. Campbell, H. W., portrait, frontispiece; at dry farming congress, 297; history of
his work, 305.
Campbell system, developed, 7; vegetables in Colorado, 29; with sugar beets, 223; corn, 167, 171; world-wide fame, 286; in irrigation, 235; commended by Morton, 246; results, 255; domain, 276; at dry farming congress, 297; history, 305;
in correspondence course, 311. Capillary attraction, illustrated, 118.
Century Magazine on Campbell system, 290. Check row planting, IQO. Climate, no change in, 274.
Colorado, eastern, wheat, 190; results of crops, 257; corn Conditions changing by reason of good farming, 274.
Crops, markets,
in,
25.
and
prices,
XXXVIII,
282.
Corn growing,
XX,
156.
Corn, in Colorado, 25; root development, 165; by Campbell method, 167, 171; area for, 170; testing seed, 172; use of lister, 158. Correspondence course in Soil culture, XLV, 311.
Correspondence and comment, XLII, 298. Cowan, John L., in Century, on Campbell system, 290. Curtis, Wm. E., on Campbell system, 289.
Cultivation, of the
Cultivators, 169.
fûlture,
soil,
XVII,
137; late, of trees, 209; of potatoes, 202; time of, 144;
result of good, 166.
summer
vs.
summer
fallow, 76.
)eep cultivation
)isk
and root development, 200.
)epths of seeding, proper, 185; effect of different, 185. harrow, VII, 37; when to use, 38; after harvest, 39; following the harvester, 39;
size of, to use, 42. Disking, effect of, 48; in early spring, 177.
Diversified farming, 252.
Domain
of soil culture,
Drills, 178;
XXXVI, 276. kinds of grain, 181; seeding with, 182.

to
Drawbacks
humid
region, 133,
318
Dry farming congress, XLI, Dry seasons, 273.
296.
INDEX.
Dust blanket explained, 247.
Economy
in seed, 153.
Essentially scientific farming, 290.
Evaporation,
XVI,
123; danger of, 141; loss at the surface, 126; greatest element
of waste, 138.
Fall plowing old land, 51. Feasting time, Colorado melons, 21. Fertility of the soil, 99; elements of, 105. Following harvester with disk, 39. Free homes and greater crops, 27. Germination, quick, 70; of wheat, 194. Getting most out of the farm, XXX, 251. Good fanning and good morals, XL, 293. Grain, kinds of drills, 181; stooling of, 180, 266; scientific condition killing of. 263. Growing potatoes, XXII, 197.
for,
268; winter
Hansen, Prof. N. C, on neW' plants, 232. Harvesting wheat fifty years ago, 188.
Harvest, after, 189. Harvester, following with disk, 39. Harrowing, time of, 187; spring wheat, 186. History of the movement, XLIV, 305. Hopkins, Prof. Cyril G., on soils, 101; on fair investigation, 295. How to use the Manual, II, 15.
Humid
regions,
drawbacks, 133.
Ideal farmer, the. III, 19.

Ideal farming country, 135. Increase of products under soil culture, 259. Inevitabie dry seasons, XXXV, 273.
Introduction,
Irrigation,
I,
5.
XXVII,
235.
146.
Kansas experience, 259, 260. Keeping mulch in condition,
Kilpatrick ranch, 70; results, 159.
King, Prof. F. H., experiments in Live stock on the farm, 253. Listing, wheat, 183; com, 158. Look into the future, VI, 32.
soils. 62,
126.
Manure, application, 149; permanent effects, 152; modern spreader, 154. Moisture, saving of, 141; watching it, 161. Montana wheat without irrigation. 12, 34. Morals and good farming, 293. Morton, J. Sterling, portrait, 242; on Campbell's work, 246. Mulch, keeping in condition, 146.
Nitrogen as plant food, 112. North Platte station, 79. Over-production, 283. Percolation, or getting water
illustrated, 118;
down into the sub-soil, XV, how water stored in soil, 119.
117; capillary attraction
INDEX.
Physical condition of the soil, XI, 91; time to 96; condition, 239. Planting, check row, 160; with lister, 161.
319
soil,
work
94; perfect soil conditions,
Plowing, VIII, 44; spring plowing old land, 45; when, 45; effect of disking, 48; proper depth. 50; fall plowing old land, 51; breaking new prairie land, 54; even furrows, 53; fall breaking, 55. Pomeroy farm, results, 67, 89, 114, 171, 255; wheat crop on, 193; farm trees, 207,
210, 21$.
Potatoes, growing, 197; preparing 202; cultivation of, 202.

Practical results,
soil for,
199; seed
and planting, 201; variety
of,
XXXI,
255; at Hill City, 255; at Holdrege, 256, in Colorado,
257; at Greenfield, Kan., 259; in
dozen
states, 277.
Prejudices, overcoming, 281.
Prevention of ranter killing, 264. Preparing f>oil for potatoes, 199. Prevention of waste on farm, 252. Progress in agricultural science, XXXVII, 279. Proper phyiscal condition of soil, 50. Quantity of seed, XXIV, 270. Quick, Herbert, in World's Work, on Campbell system, 287. Rain crust, and how broken up, 113. Rainfall, not lack of, 125. Rains, difference in, 131. Raising standard of living, 294. Rapidity of evaporation, 124. Results declared to be remarkable, 289. Roberts, Prof, Isaac P., on fertility of land, 94, Root development, in loose soil, 67; in firm soil, 65; with shallow cultivation, 198;
deep cultivation, 200; in all soils, 164, 166. Roots and soil, magnified, 201. Root system, value of healthy, 71. Rotation, experiments in. 77. Salvation of the dry belt, 287, Saving of the moisture, 141.
Scientific condition for grain, 267.
Seed and planting, potatoes. 201, Seed bed, making with packer, 66. Seed corn, testing, 172.
SeeJing, for alfalfa, 227; alfalfa on
187; proper
depth
of,
new breaking, 230; effect of different depths, 185; with three kinds of drills, 182.
of, 163.
much per acre, 271; amount Seeking new arid plants, XXVI, 232. Semi-arid region, advantages of, 130.
Seed, quantity of, 270; too
Setting of trees, 207.
Shade and Shelter,
trees, 204.
Shallow cultivation, root development, 198 Shallow vs. deep cultivation, 138.
Size of disk to use, 42.
Small farms, better farming, V, 28. Sod, breaking for fall wheat, 56; new prairie land, 54.
320
Soil, after
it,
INDEX.
packing and harrowing, 63; as packer leaves
46; cultivation of, 137; shallow vs.
it, 60; as the plow leaves deep cultivation, 138; time of, 140;
XII, 99, 52; a condition of, 100; saving, 101; experts ehanginu; views it' is, 104; elements of fertility, 105; physical condition of, 91, 49, 186, 239; time to work, 94; perfect conditions, 96; preparing for potatoes, 199; summer treatment of, 177, 189; surface harrowed, 47; water stored in for irrigation, 236; blowing of, 178; of semi-arid region, 130; conditions, 143; time
fertility,
on, 102; what
of cultivation, 144.
blanket, XXIX, 247; before rain, 248; after rain, 249. Soil culture, correspondence course in, 311; domain of, 276; where developed, 276; results, 277; increase of products \mder, 239.
Soil
Mulch or dust
Sorghum by thorough
cultivation, 257.
Specialty in farming, Ig. Spring, early disking in, 177; early work, 84; plowing old land, 45; treatment of
soil,
177, 189.
Spring wheat, harrowing, 186; growing, 176.

Stooling of grain,
XXXIII,
266; cause of, 207; explained, 180.
Sub-irrigation, 238.
Sub-surface packing, IX, 53; packer illustrated, 64; mission of the packer, 59; soil as packer leaves it. 60; rolling vs. sub-surface packing, 63; roots in (irm soil,
65;
making seed
bed, 66; ideal condition of

factory, 221;
soil,
C9; effect of packer, 73.
Sugar beet growing, XXIV, 218; thinning

irrigation, 220;
beets, 218; forty-acre field, 219; under

irri-
modern
by Campbell method, 223; without
gation, 224.
ijummer
culture, X, 75; experiments in rotation, 77; results of tilling, 79; how done, 82; early spring work, 84; of universal application, 88; in detail, 177. Tilling, results of, 79; how summer tilling done, 82.
Time
for quick work, 145. Time, of cultivation, 140, 144; of harrowing, 187. Tools for the farm, XLIII, 302. True soil mulch, 250. Trees, on the farm, XXIII, 204; for shade and shelter, 204; practical work with, 205; ground for, 206; setting of, 207; peach, 5 months old, 207; late cultivation,
209; causes of failure with, 211; peacil 17 months old, 207; Illinois experience with, 211; Kansas experience v/ith, 213; shade results, 214; elm, 17 months old, 215; method of planting, 241. Value of machinery per acre, 30. Water holding capacity of the soil, XIII, 107; water contents of soil, 62; soil conditions, 109; stored in the soil, 119; stored in soil for irrigation, 236. Weeds, keep clean from field, 178; problem of, 159.
Weeder, the, 187. Theat, XXI, 175; crop on Pomeroy farm, 193; eastern Colorado, 190; spring, 1.76; in three stages of growth, 179; in Wyoming, 191; germination in two soils, 194; growth of listed, 184; harrowing spring, 186; harvesting fifty years ago, 188;
listing of, 163; the pioneer's
money
crop, 194; winter, 191.
Whitney, Prof. Milton, on
fertility,
102;
on chemistry,
94;
on evaporation, 124;
on
soils,
132.
autumn sown grain, XXXII, 263; prevention cf 264. Winter wheat, 191. World-wide fame of this work, XXXIX, 286. World's Work, on Campbell system, 287.
W-'nter killing
Wyoming
wheat, 191.

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the United States on the use of the

S>tate College of ^grtcultnre

Cornell University Library

3 1924 000 346 167

fitting of the Soil for the

and Control of Moisture and the Development

Moisture Moves in the Soil

Printers and Binders

The Disk Harrow

Water Holding Capacity of the

into the Subsoil

Evaporation Advantages of the Semi-Arid Region

of Scientific Soil Culture in. Agricultural Science

Farm Some History of the Movement

Correspondence Course in Soil Culture

H. W. CampbeU Montana Wheat Field Near Great

Montana Wbeat Without

Capillary Attraction Illustrated How Water is Stored in the Soil

Depths of Seeding Harvesting Wheat Fifty Years Ago

185 188 190

207 210 215 218 219

223 242 243

A Prairie Park, .Arbor Lodge

244 245 248

undergoing in these opening

years of the Twentieth century a most wonderful develop-

in the direction of that perfection of

practical application of scientific principles

which has been

inspiration of thoughtful students of agri-

culture through ages.

in plant breeding, in domestic animal industry,

in crop diversification, in planting,

limit of tillable area, the

new and com-

plicated problems are to be

met only by the putting toheads and the accumulation of much

Campbell's soil culture manual

those of other days.

are in position to take advan-

tage of the accumulation of evidence truth that shall endure.

of this Soil Culin farming.

seasons of adverse conditions spread out over

be the climate or the extent

cultivation, there cannot be crops

Scientific Soil culture.

CAMPBELL'S SOIL CULTURE MANUAL

other publications and in public addresses, commencing

Campbell's soil culture manual

If in discussing it solely in relation to the

assure you that

when once you have grasped

the principles here

the study will become

the most fascinating imaginable.

Other branches of agConsider

attractive to intelligent persons.