The larger the quantity of water in the soil in the fall, the more
readily and quickly will the water that falls on the land during the
resting period of fall, winter, and early spring sink into the soil
and move away from the topsoil. The top or first foot will always
contain the largest percentage of water because it is the chief
receptacle of the water that falls as rain or snow but when the
subsoil is properly moist, the water will more completely leave the
topsoil. Further, crops planted on a soil saturated with water to a
depth of 8 feet are almost certain to mature and yield well.
If the field-water capacity has not been filled, there is always the
danger that an unusually dry season or a series of hot winds or
other like circumstances may either seriously injure the crop or
cause a complete failure. The dry-farmer should keep a surplus of
moisture in the soil to be carried over from year to year, just as
the wise business man maintains a sufficient working capital for the
needs of his business. In fact, it is often safe to advise the
prospective dry-farmer to plow his newly cleared or broken land
carefully and then to grow no crop on it the first year, so that,
when crop production begins, the soil will have stored in it an
amount of water sufficient to carry a crop over periods of drouth.
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