. Dry land farming in the Southwest ... Dry farming; Agriculture. 24 DRY LAND FARMING IN THE SOUTHWEST Many of these streams have broad valleys in which water in abundance may be secured at a depth of from five to fifteen feet. Alfalfa on such land lives for years, when well started, and pro- duces good yields even in dry seasons. On uplands, where water is 150 to 200 feet be- low the surface, a stand of alfalfa can be secured in favorable seasons only. In such locations al- falfa grows well in wet years and is at a stand- still in dry years. A successful Illinois hog raiser located near Dalha
. Dry land farming in the Southwest ... Dry farming; Agriculture. 24 DRY LAND FARMING IN THE SOUTHWEST Many of these streams have broad valleys in which water in abundance may be secured at a depth of from five to fifteen feet. Alfalfa on such land lives for years, when well started, and pro- duces good yields even in dry seasons. On uplands, where water is 150 to 200 feet be- low the surface, a stand of alfalfa can be secured in favorable seasons only. In such locations al- falfa grows well in wet years and is at a stand- still in dry years. A successful Illinois hog raiser located near Dalhart, Texas, on upland where it was 180 feet to water. He found that in the dry seasons alfalfa would not grow tall enough for hay, but that when pastured by hogs it kept growing sufficiently to make good pasture. He found that in the dryest seasons he could secure ample pasture for 300 hogs by having the pasture divided and changing the hogs every ten days from one division to the other. Dry land seed is the first requisite for success in raising alfalfa on dry land. Seed raised under irrigation is plumper and is of stronger germi- nating power, but usually most of the plants die within a year when seeded on dry land. The farmer in the Southwest should get seed raised on dry land in his own district, or get northern grown dry land seed from Montana. Utah seed was especially adapted to dry land conditions until the alfalfa weevil came. Now that seed is unsafe. Land that is to be seeded to alfalfa must be plowed deeply and pulverized as thoroughly as for a garden and then allowed to become well settled. Previous to this final preparation, it should be handled so as to kill all the young weeds. Alfalfa fails almost every time it is seeded in mellow ground. The soil should be moist to a depth of four to six feet. It is a waste of time and money to sow alfalfa seed unless the soil conditions are right. The dry land farmer should get the seed bed in good condition and then if he finds
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectagriculture, bookyear
