Ridge (agriculture)

“ I have heard the suggestion that our highly banked ridges were intended to increase the surface of the land available for the crops, just as it takes more cloth to cover a hump back than a normal one, but of course the rounded ridge does not provide any more vertical position for the crop, and the theory cannot be maintained. ”

“ On the mountain slopes and the bench-lands, which look so arid and worthless, the soil is even stronger and more kindly than in the valleys. With water all the mountain-sides may be made veritable hanging gardens. Until within the past year agriculture (as regards irrigation) has been left to take care of itself. ”

“ On gaining the height of the first ridge, we had an extensive view over a wide valley covered with wood. It surprised me to see so wide an extent of level and seemingly rich land, immediately on the coast, unredeemed; but we learned that beneath the wood it is a mere swamp. The rising grounds skirting it, present abundant evidence of the productiveness of the soil: plantations of coffee, sugar-cane, mandioca, cotton, Indian corn, and the castor oil plant, were spread widely around, while the orange groves were so laden with fruit, as to appear in the sun like masses of gold. ”

“ It is very important to note at the outset all those spots which, in the original forest, are very rich, so that the manure may be applied accordingly, and though, as I have said, the ridges as a rule are poor, there are many instances where the top of a ridge, from being pretty wide, is rich, though the sides of it for a little way down are nearly always poor. I have lately been minutely examining old forest land, with the view of removing top soil from it, and have been much struck with the variation in the depth of the rich surface soil. ”

“ CHAPTER V DRY-FARM SOILS Important as is the rainfall in making dry-farming successful, it is not more so than the soils of the dry-farms. On a shallow soil, or on one penetrated with gravel streaks, crop failures are probable even under a large rainfall; but a deep soil of uniform texture, unbroken by gravel or hardpan, in which much water may be stored, and which furnishes also an abundance of feeding space for the roots, will yield large crops even under a very small rainfall. ”

“ Many soil sections 50 or more feet in depth are exposed in the dry-farming territory of the United States, and it has often been demonstrated that the subsoil to any depth is capable of producing, without further weathering, excellent yields of crops. ”

“ Most of the soils covering the great dry-farm territory of the United States and other countries have been formed in this way.
In places, glaciers moving slowly down the canons crush and grind into powder the rock over which they pass and deposit it lower down as soils. In other places, where strong winds blow with frequent regularity, sharp soil grains are picked up by the air and hurled against the rocks, which, under this action, are carved into fantastic forms. In still other places, the strong winds carry soil over long distances to be mixed with other soils. ”

“ The physical conditions of elevation and aridity which have caused it to be so deeply carved in cañons, have prevented the streams with which it is scantily watered from being bordered by tracts of land which can be irrigated; and agriculture without irrigation being in that climate an impossibility, there is nothing to attract the farmer. ”

“ Though the first dry-farming by modern peoples was probably practiced in the Great Basin, yet the area at present under cultivation is not large, possibly a little more than four hundred thousand acres. ”

“ The chief dry-farm crop of this district is wheat, but the other grains, including corn, are also produced successfully. Other crops have been tried with fair success, but not on a commercial scale. Grapevines have been made to grow quite successfully without irrigation on the bench lands. Several small orchards bearing luscious fruit are growing on the deep soils of the Great Basin without the artificial application of water. ”

“ In the arid and semiarid regions it is now a commonly accepted doctrine that upon the expensive irrigated lands should be grown fruits, vegetables, sugar beets, and other intensive crops, while wheat, corn, and other grains and even much of the forage should be grown as extensive crops upon the non-irrigated or dry-farm lands. It is to be hoped that the time is near at hand when it will be a rarity to see grain grown upon irrigated soil, providing the climatic conditions permit the raising of more extensive crops. ”

“ Burr, working under Great Plains conditions in Nebraska, has shown that the spring and summer rains penetrate the soil to the depth of 6 feet, the average depth of the borings, and that it undoubtedly affects the soil-moisture to the depth of 10 feet. In general, the dry-farmer may safely accept the doctrine that the water that falls upon his land penetrates the soil far beyond the immediate reach of the sun, though not so far away that plant roots cannot make use of it. ”

“ To summarize, the apparent increase in productivity and plant-food content of dry-farm soils can best be explained by a consideration of these factors: (1) the intrinsically high fertility of the arid soils; (2) the deep feeding ground for the deep root systems of dry-farm crops; (3) the concentration of the plant food distributed throughout the soil by the upward movement of the natural precipitation stored in the soil; (4) the cultural methods of dry-farming which enable the weathering agencies to liberate freely and vigorously the plant-food of the soil grains ”

“ In general, the same action occurs in virgin lands, but the methods of dry-farm cultivation and cropping which permit a deeper penetration of the natural precipitation and a freer movement of the soil-water result in a larger quantity of plant-food reaching the upper two or three feet from the lower soil depths. Such concentration near the surface, when it is not excessive, favors the production of increased yields of crops. ”

“ A much more important method, especially in the mountainous districts, is the utilization of the springs that occur in great numbers over the whole dry-farm territory. Sometimes these springs are very small indeed, and often, after development by tunneling into the side of the hill, yield only a trifling flow. Yet, when this water is piped to the homestead and allowed to accumulate in small reservoirs or cisterns, it may be amply sufficient for the needs of the family and the live stock, besides having a surplus for the maintenance of the lawn, the shade trees, and the family garden. ”

“ The road has a further advantage that would be great whatever its position, but on this ridge is incalculable. It is bordered, not by a hedge, but by uneven and in places bushy wastes, often as wide as a field. The wastes, of course, are divided from the cultivated slopes below by hedges, but either these are low, as on the right, or they are irregularly expanded into thickets of yew and blackthorn, and even into beech plantations, as on the left. Whoever cares to rides or walks here instead of on the dust. ”

“ In addition to the forest lands, which have long been made to contribute plant food to the cultivated fields through fuel ashes, there are large areas which contribute green manure and compost material. These are chiefly hill lands, aggregating some twenty per cent of the cultivated fields, which bear mostly herbaceous growth. Some 2,552,741 acres of these lands may be cut over three times each season, yielding, in 1903, an average of 7980 pounds per acre. ”

“ They render the soil unequal in depth, taking it from one point where it is wanted, and heaping it upon another where it is not wanted, thus giving the crops an uneven growth. They render the soil also unequal in respect to moisture, because the back or top of the ridge must always be drier than the furrow.
Thorough-drained land may be laid perfectly flat, giving us, thus, the control of the whole field, to divide and cultivate [265] according to convenience, and making it of uniform texture and temperature. ”

“ The other grains, potatoes, roots, and vegetables are also grown without irrigation. In the parts of this dry-farm district where the rainfall is the highest, fruits of many kinds and of a high quality are grown without irrigation. It is estimated that at least two million acres are being dry-farmed in this district. Dry-farming is fully established in the Columbia River Basin. One farmer is reported to have raised in one year on his own farm two hundred and fifty thousand bushels of wheat. ”

“ The view that soil fertility is not diminished by dry-farming appears at first sight to be strengthened by the results obtained by investigators who have made determinations of the actual plant-food in soils that have long been dry-farmed. The sparsely settled condition of the dry-farm territory furnishes as yet an excellent opportunity to compare virgin and dry-farmed lands and which frequently may be found side by side in even the older dry-farm sections. ”

“ Plant roots can then penetrate the soil deeply, and the air can move up and down through the soil mass freely and to considerable depths. As a result, arid soils are weathered and made suitable for plant nutrition to very great depths. In fact, in dry-farm regions there need be little talk about soil and subsoil, since the soil is uniform in texture and usually nearly so in composition, from the top down to a distance of many feet. ”

“ True, the low development of implements for soil culture makes it fairly certain that dry-farming in those days was practiced only with infinite labor and patience; and that the great ancient nations found it much easier to construct great irrigation systems which would make crops certain with a minimum of soil tillage, than so thoroughly to till the soil with imperfect implements as to produce certain yields without irrigation. ”

“ This view has been taken because of the well-known fact that in localities where dry-farming has been practiced on the same soils from twenty-five to forty-five years, without the addition of manures, the average crop yield has not only failed to diminish, but in most cases has increased. ”

“ But since no crop equals that obtainable from virgin soil, it is customary to include at least a small area of it in the operations of each year.
Each family cultivates its own patch of land, selecting it by arrangement with other families, and works as large an area as the strength and number of the roomhold permits. A hillside sloping down to the bank of a river or navigable stream is considered the choicest area for cultivation, partly because of the efficient drainage, partly because the felling is easier on the slope, and because the stream affords easy access to the field. ”

“ Still other crops, grown under humid conditions, may easily be adapted to dry-farming conditions, if the correct methods are employed, and in a few seasons may be made valuable dry-farm crops. The individual characteristics of each crop should be known as they relate themselves to a low rainfall and arid soils.
After a crop has been chosen, skill and knowledge are needed in the proper seeding, tillage, and harvesting of the crop. Failures frequently result from the want of adapting the crop treatment to arid conditions. ”

“ The other vegetables in our garden have yielded an increase, much in the same proportion, which is sufficient proof that the soil of the points of land along the river is good. Indeed, I am of the opinion, that wheat, rye, barley, oats, peas, etc., would grow well in the plains around us.”
It is very evident that all of the officials of the fur trading companies who were on duty in Peace river country did not devote the same intelligent attention to agriculture that Harmon and his colleagues did. ”

“ Over these flooded ridges the green grass and oak boughs are spread, when the fields are again plowed and the material worked into the wet soil. If this working is not completely successful men enter the fields and tramp the surface until every twig and blade is submerged. ”

“ CHAPTER XX DRY-FARMING IN A NUTSHELL Locate the dry-farm in a section with an annual precipitation of more than ten inches and, if possible, with small wind movement. One man with four horses and plenty of machinery cannot handle more than from 160 to 200 acres. Farm fewer acres and farm them better.
Select a clay loam soil. Other soils may be equally productive, but are cultivated properly with somewhat more difficulty.
Make sure, with the help of the soil auger, that the soil is of uniform structure to a depth of at least eight feet. ”

“ When the West river emerges from the high lands, with its burden of silt, to join its waters with those of the North and East rivers, it has entered a vast delta plain some eighty miles from east to west and nearly as many from north to south, and this has been canalized, diked, drained and converted into the most productive of fields, bearing three or more crops each year. As we passed westward through this delta region the broad flat fields, surrounded by dikes to protect them against high water, were being plowed and fitted for the coming crop of rice. ”

“ Population under normal circumstances settles in the narrow valleys between the ranges and along the borders of their drainage stream. Soon, however, the food supply becomes inadequate for the growing numbers, so that artificial means have to be employed to expand the area of arable land. The soil on the mountain slopes is so thin that it yields only a scanty return to the labor of tillage. ”

“ The production and removal of many successive bountiful crops would not have as marked an effect on arid as on humid soils, for both yield and composition change more slowly on fertile soils. The natural extraordinarily high fertility of dry-farm soils explains, therefore, primarily and chiefly, the increasing yields on dry-farm soils that receive proper cultivation. ”