Away from the sagebrush country the virgin dry-farm land is usually

covered with a more or less dense growth of grass, though true sod

is seldom found under dry-farm conditions. The ordinary breaking

plow, characterized by a long sloping moldboard, is the best known

implement for breaking all kinds of sod. (See Fig. 7a a.) Where the

sod is very light, as on the far western prairies, the more ordinary

forms of plows may be used. In still other sections, the dry-farm

land is covered with a scattered growth of trees, frequently pinion

pine and cedars, and in Arizona and New Mexico the mesquite tree and

cacti are to be removed. Such clearing has to be done in accordance

with the special needs of the locality.

Plowing

Plowing, or the turning over of the soil to a depth of from seven to

ten inches for every crop, is a fundamental operation of

dry-farming. The plow, therefore, becomes one of the most important

implements on the dry-farm. Though the plow as an agricultural

implement is of great antiquity, it is only within the last one

hundred years that it has attained its present perfection. It is a

question even to-day, in the minds of a great many students, whether

the modern plow should not be replaced by some machine even more

suitable for the proper turning and stirring of the soil. The

moldboard plow is, everything considered, the most satisfactory plow

for dry-farm purposes. A plow with a moldboard possessing a short

abrupt curvature is generally held to be the most valuable for

dry-farm purposes, since it pulverizes the soil most thoroughly, and

in dry-farming it is not so important to turn the soil over as to

crumble and loosen it thoroughly. Naturally, since the areas of

dry-farms are very large, the sulky or riding plow is the only kind

to be used. The same may be said of all other dry-farm implements.

As far as possible, they should be of the riding kind since in the

end it means economy from the resulting saving of energy.

The disk plow has recently come into prominent use throughout the

land. It consists, as is well known, of one or more large disks

which are believed to cause a smaller draft, as they cut into the

ground, than the draft due to the sliding friction upon the

moldboard. Davidson and Chase say, however, that the draft of a disk

plow is often heavier in proportion to the work done and the plow

itself is more clumsy than the moldboard plow. For ordinary dry-farm

purposes the disk plow has no advantage over the modern moldboard

plow. Many of the dry-farm soils are of a heavy clay and become very

sticky during certain seasons of the year. In such soils the disk

plow is very useful. It is also true that dry-farm soils, subjected

to the intense heat of the western sun become very hard. In the

handling of such soils the disk plow has been found to be most

useful. The common experience of dry-farmers is that when sagebrush

lands have been the first plowing can be most successfully done with

the disk plow, but that after. the first crop has been harvested,

the stubble land can be best handled with the moldboard plow. All

this, however, is yet to be subjected to further tests.

While subsoiling results in a better storage reservoir for water and

consequently makes dry-farming more secure, yet the high cost of the

practice will probably never make it popular. Subsoiling is

accomplished in two ways: either by an ordinary moldboard plow which

follows the plow in the plow furrow and thus turns the soil to a

greater depth, or by some form of the ordinary subsoil plow. In

general, the subsoil plow is simply a vertical piece of cutting

iron, down to a depth of ten to eighteen inches, at the bottom of

which is fastened a triangular piece of iron like a shovel, which,

when pulled through the ground, tends to loosen the soil to the full

depth of the plow.

The subsoil plow does not turn the soil; it simply loosens the soil

so that the air and plant roots can penetrate to greater depths.

In the choice of plows and their proper use the dryfarmer must be

guided wholly by the conditions under which he is working. It is

impossible at the present time to lay down definite laws stating

what plows are best for certain soils. The soils of the arid region

are not well enough known, nor has the relationship between the plow

and the soil been sufficiently well established. As above remarked,

here is one of the great fields for investigation for both

scientific and practical men for years to come.

Making and maintaining a soil-mulch

After the land has been so well plowed that the rains can enter

easily, the next operation of importance in dry-farming is the

making and maintaining of a soil-mulch over the ground to prevent

the evaporation of water from the soil. For this purpose some form

of harrow is most commonly used. The oldest and best-known harrow is

the ordinary smoothing harrow, which is composed of iron or steel

teeth of various shapes set in a suitable frame. (See Fig. 79.) For

dry-farm purposes the implement must be so made as to enable the

farmer to set the harrow teeth to slant backward or forward. It

frequently happens that in the spring the grain is too thick for the

moisture in the soil, and it then becomes necessary to tear out some

of the young plants. For this purpose the harrow teeth are set

straight or forward and the crop can then be thinned effectively. At

other times it may be observed in the spring that the rains and

winds have led to the formation of a crust over the soil, which must

be broken to let the plants have full freedom of growth and

development. This is accomplished by slanting the harrow teeth

backward, and the crust may then be broken without serious injury to

the plants. The smoothing harrow is a very useful implement on the

dry-farm. For following the plow, however, a more useful implement

is the disk harrow, which is a comparatively recent invention. It

consists of a series of disks which may be set at various angles

with the line of traction and thus be made to turn over the soil

while at the same time pulverizing it. The best dry-farm practice is

to plow in the fall and let the soil lie in the rough during the

winter months. In the spring the land is thoroughly disked and

reduced to a fine condition. Following this the smoothing harrow is

occasionally used to form a more perfect mulch. When seeding is to

be done immediately after plowing, the plow is followed by the disk

harrow, and that in turn is followed by the smoothing harrow. The

ground is then ready for seeding. The disk harrow is also used

extensively throughout the summer in maintaining a proper mulch. It

does its work more effectively than the ordinary smoothing harrow

and is, therefore, rapidly displacing all other forms of harrows for

the purpose of maintaining a layer of loose soil over the dry-farm.

There are several kinds of disk harrows used by dry-farmers. The

full disk is, everything considered, the most useful. The cutaway

harrow is often used in cultivating old alfalfa land; the spade disk

harrow has a very limited application in dry-farming; and the

orchard disk harrow is simply a modlfication of the full disk harrow

whereby the farmer is able to travel between the rows of trees and

so to cultivate the soil under the branches of the trees without

injuring the leaves or fruit.

One of the great difficulties in dry-farming concerns itself with

the prevention of the growth of weeds or volunteer crops. As has

been explained in previous chapters, weeds require as much water for

their growth as wheat or other useful crops. During the fallow

season, the farmer is likely to be overtaken by the weeds and lose

much of the value of the fallow by losing soil-moisture through the

growth of weeds. Under the most favorable conditions weeds are

difficult to handle. The disk harrow itself is not effective. The

smoothing harrow is of less value. There is at the present time

great need for some implement that will effectively destroy young

weeds and prevent their further growth. Attempts are being made to

invent such implements, but up to the present without great success.

Hogenson reports the finding of an implement on a western dry-farm

constructed by the farmer himself which for a number of years has

shown itself of high efficiency in keeping the dry-farm free from

weeds. Several improved modifications of this implement have been

made and tried out on the famous dry-farm district at Nephi, Utah,

and with the greatest success. Hunter reports a similar implement in

common use on the dry-farms of the Columbia Basin. Spring tooth

harrows are also used in a small way on the dry-farms.

They have no special advantage over the smoothing harrow or the disk

harrow, except in places where the attempt is made to cultivate the

soil between the rows of wheat. The curved knife tooth harrow is

scareely ever used on dry-farms. It has some value as a pulverizer,

but does not seem to have any real advantage over the ordinary disk

harrow.

Cultivators for stirring the land on which crops are growing are not

used extensively on dry-farms. Usually the spring tooth harrow is

employed for this work. In dry-farm sections, where corn is grown,

the cultivator is frequently used throughout the season. Potatoes

grown on dry-farms should be cultivated throughout the season, and

as the potato industry grows in the dry-farm territory there will be

a greater demand for suitable cultivators. The cultivators to be

used on dry-farms are all of the riding kind. They should be so

arranged that the horse walking between two rows carries a

cultivator that straddles several rows of plants and cultivates the

soil between. Disks, shovels, or spring teeth may be used on

cultivators. There is a great variety on the market, and each farmer

will have to choose such as meet most definitely his needs.

The various forms of harrows and cultivators are of the greatest

importance in the development of dry-farming. Unless a proper mulch

can be kept over the soil during the fallow season, and as far as

possible during the growing season, first-class crops cannot be

fully respected.

The roller is occasionally used in dry-farming, especially in the

uplands of the Columbia Basin. It is a somewhat dangerous implement

to use where water conservation is important, since the packing

resulting from the roller tends to draw water upward from the lower

soil layers to be evaporated into the air. Wherever the roller is

used, therefore, it should be followed immediately by a harrow. It

is valuable chiefly in the localities where the soil is very loose

and light and needs packing around the seeds to permit perfect

germination.

Subsurface packing

The subsurface packer invented by Campbell is [shown in Figure

83--not shown--ed.]. The wheels of this machine eighteen inches in

diameter, with rims one inch thick at the inner part, beveled two

and a half inches to a sharp outer edge, are placed on a shaft, five

inches apart. In practice about five hundred pounds of weight are

added.

This machine, according to Campbell, crowds a one-inch wedge into

every five inches of soil with a lateral and a downward pressure and

thus packs firmly the soil near the bottom of the plow-furrow.

Subsurface packing aims to establish full capillary connection

between the plowed upper soil and the undisturbed lower soil-layer;

to bring the moist soil in close contact with the straw or organic

litter plowed under and thus to hasten decomposition, and to provide

a firm seed bed.

The subsurface packer probably has some value where the plowed soil

containing the stubble is somewhat loose; or on soils which do not

permit of a rapid decay of stubble and other organic matter that may

be plowed under from season to season. On such soils the packing

tendency of the subsurface packer may help prevent loss of soil

water, and may also assist in furnishing a more uniform medium

through which plant roots may force their way. For all these

purposes, the disk is usually equally efficient.

Sowing

It has already been indicated in previous chapters that proper

sowing is one of the most important operations of the dry-farm,

quite comparable in importance with plowing or the maintaining of a

mulch for retaining soil-moisture. The old-fashioned method of

broadcasting has absolutely no place on a dry-farm. The success of

dry-farming depends entirely upon the control that the farmer has of

all the operations of the farm. By broadcasting, neither the

quantity of seed used nor the manner of placing the seed in the

ground can be regulated. Drill culture, therefore, introduced by

Jethro Tull two hundred years ago, which gives the farmer full

control over the process of seeding, is the only system to be used.

The numerous seed drills on the market all employ the same

principles. Their variations are few and simple. In all seed drills

the seed is forced into tubes so placed as to enable the seed to

fall into the furrows in the ground. The drills themselves are

distinguished almost wholly by the type of the furrow opener and the

covering devices which are used. The seed furrow is opened either by

a small hoe or a so-called shoe or disk. At the present time it

appears that the single disk is the coming method of opening the

seed furrow and that the other methods will gradually disappear. As

the seed is dropped into the furrow thus made it is covered by some

device at the rear of the machine. One of the oldest methods as well

as one of the most satisfactory is a series of chains dragging

behind the drill and covering the furrow quite completely. It is,

however, very desirable that the soil should be pressed carefully

around the seed so that germination may begin with the least

difficulty whenever the temperature conditions are right. Most of

the drills of the day are, therefore, provided with large light

wheels, one for each furrow, which press lightly upon the soil and

force the soil into intimate contact with the seed The weakness of

such an arrangement is that the soil along the drill furrows is left

somewhat packed, which leads to a ready escape of the soil-moisture.

Many of the drills are so arranged that press wheels may be used at

the pleasure of the farmer. The seed drill is already a very useful

implement and is rapidly being made to meet the special requirements

of the dry-farmer. Corn planters are used almost exclusively on

dry-farms where corn is the leading crop. In principle they are very

much the same as the press drills. Potatoes are also generally

planted by machinery. Wherever seeding machinery has been

constructed based upon the principles of dry-farming, it is a very

advantageous adjunct to the dry-farm.

Harvesting

The immense areas of dry-farms are harvested almost wholly by the

most modern machinery. For grain, the harvester is used almost

exclusively in the districts where the header cannot be used, but

wherever conditions permit, the header is and should be used. It has

been explained in previous chapters how valuable the tall header

stubble is when plowed under as a means of maintaining the fertility

of the soil. Besides, there is an ease in handling the header which

is not known with the harvester. There are times when the header

leads to some waste as, for instance, when the wheat is very low and

heads are missed as the machine passes over the ground. In many

sections of the dry-farm territory the climatic conditions are such

that the wheat cures perfectly while still standing. In such places

the combined harvester and thresher is used. The header cuts off the

heads of the grain, which are passed up into the thresher, and bags

filled with threshed grain are dropped along the path of the

machine, while the straw is scattered over the ground. Wherever such

a machine can be used, it has been found to be economical and

satisfactory. Of recent years corn stalks have been used to better

advantage than in the past, for not far from one half of the feeding

value of the corn crop is in the stalks, which up to a few years ago

were very largely wasted. Corn harvesters are likewise on the market

and are quite generally used. It was manifestly impossible on large

places to harvest corn by hand and large corn harvesters have,

therefore, been made for this purpose.

Steam and other motive power

Recently numerous persons have suggested that the expense of running

a dry-farm could be materially reduced by using some motive power

other than horses. Steam, gasoline, and electricity have all been

suggested. The steam traction engine is already a fairly

well-developed machine and it has been used for plowing purposes on

many dry-farms in nearly all the sections of the dry-farm territory.

Unfortunately, up to the present it has not shown itself to be very

satisfactory. First of all it is to be remembered that the

principles of dry-farming require that the topsoil be kept very

loose and spongy. The great traction engines have very wide wheels

of such tremendous weight that they press down the soil very

compactly along their path and in that way defeat one of the

important purposes of tillage. Another objection to them is that at

present their construction is such as to result in continual

breakages. While these breakages in themselves are small and

inexpensive, they mean the cessation of all farming operations

during the hour or day required for repairs. A large crew of men is

thus left more or less idle, to the serious injury of the work and

to the great expense of the owner. Undoubtedly, the traction engine

has a place in dry-farming, but it has not yet been perfected to

such a degree as to make it satisfactory. On heavy soils it is much

more useful than on light soils. When the traction engine works

satisfactorily, plowing may be done at a cost considerably lower

than when horses are employed.

In England, Germany, and other European countries some of the

difficulties connected with plowing have been overcome by using two

engines on the two opposite sides of a field. These engines move

synchronously together and, by means of large cables, plows,

harrows, or seeders, are pulled back and forth over the field. This

method seems to give good satisfaction on many large estates of the

old world. Macdonald reports that such a system is in successful

operation in the Transvaal in South Africa and is doing work there

at a very knew cost. The large initial cost of such a system will,

of course, prohibit its use except on the very large farms that are

being established in the dry-farm territory.

Gasoline engines are also being tried out, but up to date they have

not shown themselves as possessing superior advantages over the

steam engines. The two objections to them are the same as to the

steam engine: first, their great weight, which compresses in a

dangerous degree the topsoil and, secondly, the frequent breakages,

which make the operation slow and expensive.

Over a great part of the West, water power is very abundant and the

suggestion has been made that the electric energy which can be

developed by means of water power could be used in the cultural

operations of the dry-farm. With the development of the trolley car

which does not run on rails it would not seem impossible that in

favorable localities electricity could be made to serve the farmer

in the mechanical tillage of the dry-farm.

The substitution of steam and other energy for horse power is yet in

the future. Undoubtedly, it will come, but only as improvements are

made in the machines. There is here also a great field for being of

high service to the farmers who are attempting to reclaim the great

deserts of the world. As stated at the beginning of this chapter,

dry-farming would probably have been an impossibilityfifty or a

hundred years ago because of the absence of suitable machinery. The

future of dry-farming rests almost wholly, so far as its profits are

concerned, upon the development of new and more suitable machinery

for the tillage of the soil in accordance with the established

principles of dry-farming.

Finally, the recommendations made by Merrill may here be inserted. A

dry-farmer for best work should be supplied with the following

implements in addition to the necessary wagons and hand tools:--

One Plow.

One Disk.

One Smoothing Harrow.

One Drill Seeder.

One Harvester or Header.

One Mowing Machine.

CHAPTER XVI

IRRIGATION AND DRY-FARMING

Irrigation-farming and dry-farming are both systems of agriculture

devised for the reclamation of countries that ordinarily receive an

annual rainfall of twenty inches or less. Irrigation-farming cannot

of itself reclaim the arid regions of the world, for the available

water supply of arid countries when it shall have been conserved in

the best possible way cannot be made to irrigate more than one fifth

of the thirsty land. This means that under the highest possible

development of irrigation, at least in the United States, there will

be five or six acres of unirrigated or dry-farm land for every acre

of irrigated land. Irrigation development cannot possibly,

therefore, render the dry-farm movement valueless. On the other

hand, dry-farming is furthered by the development of irrigation

farming, for both these systems of agriculture are characterized by

advantages that make irrigation and dry-farming supplementary to

each other in the successful development of any arid region.

Under irrigation, smaller areas need to be cultivated for the same

crop returns, for it has been amply demonstrated that the acre

yields under proper irrigation are very much larger than the best

yields under the most careful system of dry-farming. Secondly, a

greater variety of crops may be grown on the irrigated farm than on

the dry-farm. As has already been shown in this volume, only certain

drouth resistant crops can be grown profitably upon dry-farms, and

these must be grown under the methods of extensive farming. The

longer growing crops, including trees, succulent vegetables, and a

variety of small fruits, have not as yet been made to yield

profitably under arid conditions without the artificial application

of water. Further, the irrigation-farmer is not largely dependent

upon the weather and, therefore, carries on this work with a feeling

of greater security. Of course, it is true that the dry years affect

the flow of water in the canals and that the frequent breaking of

dams and canal walls leaves the farmer helpless in the face of the

blistering heat. Yet, all in all, a greater feeling of security is

possessed by the irrigation farmer than by the dry-farmer.

Most important, however, are the temperamental differences in men

which make some desirous of giving themselves to the cultivation of

a small area of irrigated land under intensive conditions and others

to dry-farming under extensive conditions. In fact, it is being

observed in the arid region that men, because of their temperamental

differences, are gradually separating into the two classes of

irrigation-farmers and dry-farmers. The dry-farms of necessity cover

much larger areas than the irrigated farms. The land is cheaper and

the crops are smaller. The methods to be applied are those of

extensive farming. The profits on the investment also appear to be

somewhat larger. The very necessity of pitting intellect against the

fierceness of the drouth appears to have attracted many-men to the

dry-farms. Gradually the certainty of producing crops on dry-farms

from season to season is becoming established, and the essential

difference between the two kinds of farming in the arid districts

will then he the difference between intensive and extensive methods

of culture. Men will be attracted to one or other of these systems

of agriculture according to their personal inclinations.

The scarcity of water

For the development of a well-rounded commonwealth in an arid region

it is, of course, indispensable that irrigation be practiced, for

dry-farming of itself will find it difficult to build up populous

cities and to supply the great variety of crops demanded by the

modern family. In fact, one of the great problems before those

engaged in the development of dry-farming at present is the

development of homesteads in the dry-farms. A homestead is possible

only where there is a sufficient amount of free water available for

household and stock purposes. In the portion of the dry-farm

territory where the rainfall approximates twenty inches, this

problem is not so very difficult, since ground water may be reached

easily. In the drier portions, however, where the rainfall is

between ten and fifteen inches, the problem is much more important.

The conditions that bring the district under the dry-farm

designation imply a scarcity of water. On few dry-farms is water

available for the needs of the household and the barns. In the Rocky

Mountain states numerous dry-farms have been developed from seven to

fifteen miles from the nearest source of water, and the main expense

of developing these farms has been the hauling of water to the farms

to supply the needs of the men and beasts at work on them.

Naturally, it is impossible to establish homesteads on the dry-farms

unless at least a small supply of water is available; and

dry-farming will never he what it might be unless happy homes can be

established upon the farms in the arid regions that grow crops

without irrigation. To make a dry-farm homestead possible enough

water must be available, first of all, to supply the culinary needs

of the household. This of itself is not large and, as will be shown

hereafter, may in most cases be obtained. However, in order that the

family may possess proper comforts, there should be around the

homestead trees, and shrubs, and grasses, and the family garden. To

secure these things a certain amount of irrigation water is

required. It may be added that dry-farms on which such homesteads

are found as a result of the existence of a small supply of

irrigation water are much more valuable, in case of sale, than

equally good farms without the possibility of maintaining

homesteads. Moreover, the distinct value of irrigation in producing

a large acre yield makes it desirable for the farmer to use all the

water at his disposal for irrigation purposes. No available water

should be allowed to flow away unused.

Available surface water

The sources of water for dry-farms fall readily into classes:

surface waters and subterranean waters. The surface waters, wherever

they may be obtained, are generally the most profitable. The

simplest method of obtaining water in an irrigated region is from

some irrigation canal. In certain districts of the intermountain

region where the dry farms lie above the irrigation canals and the

irrigated lands below, it is comparatively easy for the farmers to

secure a small but sufficient amount of water from the canal by the

use of some pumping device that will force the water through the

pipes to the homestead. The dry-farm area that may be so supplied by

irrigation canals is, however, very limited and is not to be

considered seriously in connection with the problem.

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.

Many dry-farmers in the intermountain country have piped water seven

or eight miles from small springs that were considered practically

worthless and thereby have formed the foundations for small village

communities.

Of perhaps equal importance with the utilization of the naturally

occurring springs is the proper conservation of the flood waters. As

has been stated before, arid conditions allow a very large loss of

the natural precipitation as run-off. The numerous gullies that

characterize so many parts of the dry-farm territory are evidences

of the number and vigor of the flood waters. The construction of

small reservoirs in proper places for the purpose of catching the

flood waters will usually enable the farmer to supply himself with

all the water needed for the homestead. Such reservoirs may already

be found in great numbers scattered over the whole western America.

As dry-farming increases their numbers will also increase.

When neither canals, nor springs, nor flood waters are available for

the supply of water, it is yet possible to obtain a limited supply

by so arranging the roof gutters on the farm buildings that all the

water that falls on the roofs is conducted through the spouts into

carefully protected cisterns or reservoirs. A house thirty by thirty

feet, the roof of which is so constructed that all that water that

falls upon it is carried into a cistern will yield annually under a

a rainfall of fifteen inches a maximum amount of water equivalent to

about 8800 gallons. Allowing for the unavoidable waste due to

evaporation, this will yield enough to supply a household and some

live stock with the necessary water. In extreme cases this has been

found to be a very satisfactory practice, though it is the one to be

resorted to only in case no other method is available.

It is indispensable that some reservoir be provided to hold the

surface water that may be obtained until the time it may be needed.

The water coming constantly from a spring in summer should be

applied to crops only at certain definite seasons of the year. The

flood waters usually come at a time when plant growth is not active

and irrigation is not needed.

The rainfall also in many districts comes most largely at seasons of

no or little plant growth. Reservoirs must, therefore, be provided

for the storing of the water until the periods when it is demanded

by crops. Cement-lined cisterns are quite common, and in many places

cement reservoirs have been found profitable. In other places the

occurrence of impervious clay has made possible the establishment

and construction of cheap reservoirs. The skillful and permanent

construction of reservoirs is a very important subject. Reservoir

building should be undertaken only after a careful study of the

prevailing conditions and under the advice of the state or

government officials having such work in charge. In general, the

first cost of small reservoirs is usually somewhat high, but in view

of their permanent service and the value of the water to the

dry-farm they pay a very handsome interest on the investment. It is

always a mistake for the dry-farmer to postpone the construction of

a reservoir for the storing of the small quantities of water that he

may possess, in order to save a little money. Perhaps the greatest

objection to the use of the reservoirs is not their relatively high

cost, but the fact that since they are usually small and the water

shallow, too large a proportion of the water, even under favorable

conditions, is lost by evaporation. It is ordinarily assumed that

one half of the water stored in small reservoirs throughout the year

is lost by direct evaporation.

Available subterranean water

Where surface waters are not readily available, the subterranean

water is of first importance. It is generally known that, underlying

the earth's surface at various depths, there is a large quantity of

free water. Those living in humid climates often overestimate the

amount of water so held in the earth's crust, and it is probably

true that those living in arid regions underestimate the quantity of

water so found. The fact of the matter seems to be that free water

is found everywhere under the earth's surface. Those familiar with

the arid West have frequently been surprised by the frequency with

which water has been found at comparatively shallow depths in the

most desert locations. Various estimates have been made as to the

quantity of underlying water. The latest calculation and perhaps the

most reliable is that made by Fuller, who, after a careful analysis

of the factors involved, concludes that the total free water held in

the earth's crust is equivalent to a uniform sheet of water over the

entire surface of the earth ninety-six feet in depth. A quantity of

water thus held would be equivalent to about one hundredth part of

the whole volume of the ocean. Even though the thickness of the

water sheet under arid soils is only half this figure there is an

amount, if it could be reached, that would make possible the

establishment of homesteads over the whole dry-farm territory. One

of the main efforts of the day is the determination of the

occurrence of the subterranean waters in the dry-farm territory.

Ordinary dug wells frequently reach water at comparatively shallow

depths. Over the cultivated Utah deserts water is often found at a

depth of twenty-five or thirty feet, though many wells dug to a

depth of one hundred and seventy-five and two hundred feet have

failed to reach water. It may be remarked in this connection that

even where the distance to the water is small, the piped well has

been found to be superior to the dug well. Usually, water is

obtained in the dry-farm territory by driving pipes to comparatively

great depths, ranging from one hundred feet to over one thousand

feet. At such depths water is nearly always found. Often the

geological conditions are such as to force the water up above the

surface as artesian wells, though more often the pressure is simply

sufficient to bring the water within easy pumping distance of the

surface. In connection with this subject it must be said that many

of the subterranean waters of the dry-farm territory are of a saline

character. The amount of substances held in solution varies largely,

but frequently is far above the limits of safety for the use of man

or beast or plants. The dry-farmer who secures a well of this type

should, therefore, be careful to have a proper examination made of

the constituents of the water before ordinary use is made of it.

Now, as has been said, the utilization of the subterranean waters of

the land is one of the living problems of dry-farming. The tracing

out of this layer of water is very difficult to accomplish and

cannot be done by individuals. It is a work that properly belongs to

the state and national government. The state of Utah, which was the

pioneer in appropriating money for dry-farm experiments, also led

the way in appropriating money for the securing of water for the

dry-farms from subterranean sources. The world has been progressing

in Utah since 1905, and water has been secured in the most

unpromising localities. The most remarkable instance is perhaps the

finding of water at a depth of about five hundred and fifty feet in

the unusually dry Dog Valley located some fifteen miles west of

Nephi.

Pumping water

The use of small quantities of water on the dry-farms carries with

it, in most cases, the use of small pumping plants to store and to

distribute the water properly. Especially, whenever subterranean

sources of water are used and the water pressure is not sufficient

to throw the water above the ground, pumping must be resorted to.

The pumping of water for agricultural purposes is not at all new.

According to Fortier, two hundred thousand acres of land are

irrigated with water pumped from driven wells in the state of

California alone. Seven hundred and fifty thousand acres are

irrigated by pumping in the United States, and Mead states that

there are thirteen million acres of land in India which are

irrigated by water pumped from subterranean sources. The dry-farmer

has a choice among several sources of power for the operation of his

pumping plant. In localities where winds are frequent and of

sufficient strength windmills furnish cheap and effective power,

especially where the lift is not very great. The gasoline engine is

in a state of considerable perfection and may be used economically

where the price of gasoline is reasonable. Engines using crude oil

may be most desirable in the localities where oil wells have been

found. As the manufacture of alcohol from the waste products of the

farms becomes established, the alcohol-burning engine could become a

very important one. Over nearly the whole of the dry-farm territory

coal is found in large quantities, and the steam engine fed by coal

is an important factor in the pumping of water for irrigation

purposes. Further, in the mountainous part of the dry-farm territory

water Power is very abundant. Only the smallest fraction of it has

as yet been harnessed for the generation of the electric current. As

electric generation increases, it should be comparatively easy for

the farmer to secure sufficient electric power to run the pump. This

has already become an established practice in districts where

electric power is available.

During the last few years considerable work has been done to

determine the feasibility of raising water for irrigation by

pumping. Fortier reports that successful results have been obtained

in Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. He declares that a good type of

windmill located in a district where the average wind movement is

ten miles per hour can lift enough water twenty feet to irrigate

five acres of land. Wherever the water is near the surface this

should be easy of accomplishment. Vernon, Lovett, and Scott, who

worked under New Mexico conditions, have reported that crops can be

produced profitably by the use of water raised to the surface for

irrigation. Fleming and Stoneking, who conducted very careful

experiments on the subject in New Mexico, found that the cost of

raising through one foot a quantity of water corresponding to a

depth of one foot over one acre of land varied from a cent and an

eighth to nearly twenty-nine cents, with an average of a little more

than ten cents. This means that the cost of raising enough water to

cover one acre to a depth of one foot through a distance of forty

feet would average $4.36. This includes not only the cost of the

fuel and supervision of the pump but the actual deterioration of the

plant. Smith investigated the same problem under Arizona conditions

and found that it cost approximately seventeen cents to raise one

acre foot of water to a height of one foot. A very elaborate

investigation of this nature was conducted in California by Le Conte

and Tait. They studied a large number of pumping plants in actual

operation under California conditions, and determined that the total

cost of raising one acre foot of water one foot was, for gasoline

power, four cents and upward; for electric power, seven to sixteen

cents, and for steam, four cents and upward. Mead has reported

observations on seventy-two windmills near Garden City, Kansas,

which irrigated from one fourth to seven acres each at a cost of

seventy-five cents to $6 per acre. All in all, these results justify

the belief that water may be raised profitably by pumping for the

purpose of irrigating crops. When the very great value of a little

water on a dry-farm is considered, the figures here given do not

seem at all excessive. It must be remarked again that a reservoir of

some sort is practically indispensable in connection with a pumping

plant if the irrigation water is to be used in the best way.

The use of small quantities of water in irrigation

Now, it is undoubtedly true that the acre cost of water on

dry-farms, where pumping plants or similar devices must be used with

expensive reservoirs, is much higher than when water is obtained

from gravity canals. It is, therefore, important that the costly

water so obtained be used in the most economical manner. This is

doubly important in view of the fact that the water supply obtained

on dry-farms is always small and insufficient for all that the

farmer would like to do. Indeed, the profit in storing and pumping

water rests largely upon the economical application of water to

crops. This necessitates the statement of one of the first

principles of scientific irrigation practices, namely, that the

yield of a crop under irrigation is not proportional to the amount

of water applied in the form of irrigation water. In other words,

the water stored in the soil by the natural precipitation and the

water that falls during the spring and summer can either mature a

small crop or bring a crop near maturity. A small amount of water

added in the form of irrigation water at the right time will usually

complete the work and produce a well-matured crop of large yield.

Irrigation should only be supplemented to the natural precipitation.

As more irrigation water is added, the increase in yield becomes

smaller in proportion to the amount of water employed. This is

clearly shown by the following table, which is taken from some of

the irrigation experiments carried on at the Utah Station:--

Effect of Varying Irrigations on Crop Yields Per Acre

Depth of Water Wheat Corn Alfalfa Potatoes Sugar Beets

Applied (Inches) (Bushels) (Bushels) (Pounds) (Bushels) (Tons)

5.0 40 194 25

7.5 41 65

10.0 41 80 213 26

15.0 46 78 253 27

25.0 49 77 10,056 258

35.0 55 9,142 291 26

50 60 84 13,061

The soil was a typical arid soil of great depth and had been so

cultivated as to contain a large quantity of the natural

precipitation. The first five inches of water added to the

precipitation already stored in the soil produced forty bushels of

wheat. Doubling this amount of irrigation water produced only

forty-one bushels of wheat. Even with an irrigation of fifty inches,

or ten times that which produced forty bushels, only sixty bushels

of wheat, or an increase of one half, were produced. A similar

variation may be observed in the case of the other crops. The first

lesson to be drawn from this important principle of irrigation is

that if the soil be so treated as to contain at planting time the

largest proportion of the natural precipitation,--that is, if the

ordinary methods of dry-farming be employed,--crops will be produced

with a very small amount of irrigation water. Secondly, it follows

that it would be a great deal better for the farmer who raises

wheat, for instance, to cover ten acres of land with water to a

depth of five inches than to cover one acre to a depth of fifty

inches, for in the former case four hundred bushels and in the

second sixty bushels of wheat would be produced. The farmer who

desires to utilize in the most economical manner the small amount of

water at his disposal must prepare the land according to dry-farm

methods and then must spread the water at his disposal over a larger

area of land. The land must be plowed in the fall if the conditions

permit, and fallowing should be practiced wherever possible. If the

farmer does not wish to fallow his family garden he can achieve

equally good results by planting the rows twice as far apart as is

ordinarily the case and by bringing the irrigation furrows near the

rows of plants. Then, to make the best use of the water, he must

carefully cover the irrigation furrow with dry dirt immediately

after the water has been applied and keep the whole surface well

stirred so that evaporation will be reduced to a minimum. The

beginning of irrigation wisdom is always the storage of the natural

precipitation. When that is done correctly, it is really remarkable

how far a small amount of irrigation water may be made to go.

Under conditions of water scarcity it is often found profitable to

carry water to the garden in cement or iron pipes so that no water

may be lost by seepage or evaporation during the conveyance of the

water from the reservoir to the garden. It is also often desirable

to convey water to plants through pipes laid under the ground,

perforated at various intervals to allow the water to escape and

soak into the soil in the neighborhood of the plant roots. All such

refined methods of irrigation should be carefully investigated by

the who wants the largest results from his limited water supply.

Though such methods may seem cumbersome and expensive at first, yet

they will be found, if properly arranged, to be almost automatic in

their operation and also very profitable.

Forbes has reported a most interesting experiment dealing with the

economical use of a small water supply under the long season and

intense water dissipating conditions of Arizona. The source of

supply was a well, 90 feet deep. A 3 by 14-inch pump cylinder

operated by a 12-foot geared windmill lifted the water into a

5000-gallon storage reservoir standing on a support 18 feet high.

The water was conveyed from this reservoir through black iron pipes

buried 1 or 2 feet from the trees to be watered. Small holes in the

pipe 332 inch in diameter allowed the water to escape at desirable

intervals. This irrigation plant was under expert observation for

considerable time, and it was found to furnish sufficient water for

domestic use for one household, and irrigated in addition 61 olive

trees, 2 cottonwoods, 8 pepper trees, 1 date palm, 19 pomegranates,

4 grapevines, 1 fig tree, 9 eucalyptus trees, 1 ash, and 13

miscellancous, making a total of 87 useful trees, mainly

fruit-bearing, and 32 vines and bushes. (See Fig. 95.) If such a

result can be obtained with a windmill and with water ninety feet

below the surface under the arid conditions of Arizona, there should

be little difficulty in securing sufficient water over the larger

portions of the dry-farm territory to make possible beautiful

homesteads.

The dry-farmer should carefully avoid the temptation to decry

irrigation practices. Irrigation and dry-farming of necessity must

go hand in hand in the development of the great arid regions of the

world. Neither can well stand alone in the building of great

commonwealths on the deserts of the earth.

CHAPTER XVII

THE HISTORY OF DRY-FARMING

The great nations of antiquity lived and prospered in arid and

semiarid countries. In the more or less rainless regions of China,

Mesopotamia, Palestine, Egypt, Mexico, and Peru, the greatest cities

and the mightiest peoples flourished in ancient days. Of the great

civilizations of history only that of Europe has rooted in a humid

climate. As Hilgard has suggested, history teaches that a high

civilization goes hand in hand with a soil that thirsts for water.

To-day, current events point to the arid and semiarid regions as the

chief dependence of our modern civilization.

In view of these facts it may be inferred that dry-farming is an

ancient practice. It is improbable that intelligent men and women

could live in Mesopotamia, for example, for thousands of years

without discovering methods whereby the fertile soils could be made

to produce crops in a small degree at least without irrigation.

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. Thus is explained the fact that

the historians of antiquity speak at length of the wonderful

irrigation systems, but refer to other forms of agriculture in a

most casual manner. While the absence of agricultural machinery

makes it very doubtful whether dry-farming was practiced extensively

in olden days, yet there can be little doubt of the high antiquity

of the practice.

Kearney quotes Tunis as an example of the possible extent of

dry-farming in early historical days. Tunis is under an average

rainfall of about nine inches, and there are no evidences of

irrigation having been practiced there, yet at El Djem are the ruins

of an amphitheater large enough to accommodate sixty thousand

persons, and in an area of one hundred square miles there were

fifteen towns and forty-five villages. The country, therefore, must

have been densely populated. In the seventh century, according to

the Roman records, there were two million five hundred thousand

acres of olive trees growing in Tunis and cultivated without

irrigation. That these stupendous groves yielded well is indicated

by the statement that, under the Caesar's Tunis was taxed three

hundred thousand gallons of olive oil annually. The production of

oil was so great that from one town it was piped to the nearest

shipping port. This historical fact is borne out by the present

revival of olive culture in Tunis, mentioned in Chapter XII.

Moreover, many of the primitive peoples of to-day, the Chinese,

Hindus, Mexicans, and the American Indians, are cultivating large

areas of land by dry-farm methods, often highly perfected, which

have been developed generations ago, and have been handed down to

the present day. Martin relates that the Tarahumari Indians of

northern Chihuahua, who are among the most thriving aboriginal

tribes of northern Mexico, till the soil by dry-farm methods and

succeed in raising annually large quantities of corn and other

crops. A crop failure among them is very uncommon. The early

American explorers, especially the Catholic fathers, found

occasional tribes in various parts of America cultivating the soil

successfully without irrigation. All this points to the high

antiquity of agriculture without irrigation in arid and semiarid

countries.

Modern dry-farming in the United States

The honor of having originated modern dry-farming belongs to the

people of Utah. On July 24th, 1847, Brigham Young with his band of

pioneers entered Great Salt Lake Valley, and on that day ground was

plowed, potatoes planted, and a tiny stream of water led from City

Creek to cover this first farm. The early endeavors of the Utah

pioneers were devoted almost wholly to the construction of

irrigation systems. The parched desert ground appeared so different

from the moist soils of Illinois and Iowa, which the pioneers had

cultivated, as to make it seem impossible to produce crops without

irrigation. Still, as time wore on, inquiring minds considered the

possibility of growing crops without irrigation; and occasionally

when a farmer was deprived of his supply of irrigation water through

the breaking of a canal or reservoir it was noticed by the community

that in spite of the intense heat the plants grew and produced small

yields.

Gradually the conviction grew upon the Utah pioneers that farming

without irrigation was not an impossibility; but the small

population were kept so busy with their small irrigated farms that

no serious attempts at dry-farming were made during the first seven

or eight years. The publications of those days indicate that

dry-farming must have been practiced occasionally as early as 1854

or 1855.

About 1863 the first dry-farm experiment of any consequence occurred

in Utah. A number of emigrants of Scandinavian descent had settled

in what is now known as Bear River City, and had turned upon their

farms the alkali water of Malad Creek, and naturally the crops

failed. In desperation the starving settlers plowed up the sagebrush

land, planted grain, and awaited results. To their surprise, fair

yields of grain were obtained, and since that day dry-farming has

been an established practice in that portion of the Great Salt Lake

Valley. A year or two later, Christopher Layton, a pioneer who

helped to build both Utah and Arizona, plowed up land on the famous

Sand Ridge between Salt Lake City and Ogden and demonstrated that

dry-farm wheat could be grown successfully on the deep sandy soil

which the pioneers had held to be worthless for agricultural

purposes. Since that day the Sand Ridge has been famous as a

dry-farm district, and Major J. W. Powell, who saw the ripened

fields of grain in the hot dry sand, was moved upon to make special

mention of them in his volume on the "Arid Lands of Utah," published

in 1879.

About this time, perhaps a year or two later, Joshua Salisbury and

George L. Farrell began dry-farm experiments in the famous Cache

Valley, one hundred miles north of Salt Lake City. After some years

of experimentation, with numerous failures these and other pioneers

established the practice of dry-farming in Cache Valley, which at

present is one of the most famous dry-farm sections in the United

States. In Tooele County, Just south of Salt Lake City, dry-farming

was practiced in 1877--how much earlier is not known. In the

northern Utah counties dry-farming assumed proportions of

consequence only in the later '70's and early '80's. During the

'80's it became a thoroughly established and extensive business

practice in the northern part of the state.

California, which was settled soon after Utah, began dry-farm

experiments a little later than Utah. The available information

indicates that the first farming without irrigation in California

began in the districts of somewhat high precipitation. As the

population increased, the practice was pushed away from the

mountains towards the regions of more limited rainfall. According to

Hilgard, successful dry-farming on an extensive scale has been

practiced in California since about 1868. Olin reports that

moisture-saving methods were used on the Californian farms as early

as 1861. Certainly, California was a close second in originating

dry-farming.

The Columbia Basin was settled by Mareus Whitman near Walla Walla in

1836, but farming did not gain much headway until the railroad

pushed through the great Northwest about 1880. Those familiar with

the history of the state of Washington declare that dry-farming was

in successful operation in isolated districts in the late '70's. By

1890 it was a well-established practice, but received a serious

setback by the financial panic of 1892-1893. Really successful and

extensive dry-farming in the Columbia Basin began about 1897. The

practice of summer fallow had begun a year or two before. It is

interesting to note that both in California and Washington there are

districts in which dry-farming has been practiced successfully under

a precipitation of about ten inches whereas in Utah the limit has

been more nearly twelve inches.

In the Great Plains area the history of dry-farming Is hopelessly

lost in the greater history of the development of the eastern and

more humid parts of that section of the country. The great influx of

settlers on the western slope of the Great Plains area occurred in

the early '80's and overflowed into eastern Colorado and Wyoming a

few years later. The settlers of this region brought with them the

methods of humid agriculture and because of the relatively high

precipitation were not forced into the careful methods of moisture

conservation that had been forced upon Utah, California, and the

Columbia Basin. Consequently, more failures in dry-farming are

reported from those early days in the Great Plains area than from

the drier sections of the far West Dry-farming was practiced very

successfully in the Great Plains area during the later '80's.

According to Payne, the crops of 1889 were very good; in 1890, less

so; in 1891, better; in 1892 such immense crops were raised that the

settlers spoke of the section as God's country; in 1893, there was a

partial failure, and in 1894 the famous complete failure, which was

followed in 1895 by a partial failure. Since that time fair crops

have been produced annually. The dry years of 1893-1895 drove most

of the discouraged settlers back to humid sections and delayed, by

many years, the settlement and development of the western side of

the Great Plains area. That these failures and discouragements were

due almost entirely to improper methods of soil culture is very

evident to the present day student of dry-farming. In fact, from the

very heart of the section which was abandoned in 1893-1895 come

reliable records, dating back to 1886, which show successful crop

production every year. The famous Indian Head experimental farm of

Saskatchewan, at the north end of the Great Plains area, has an

unbroken record of good crop yields from 1888, and the early '90's

were quite as dry there as farther south. However, in spite of the

vicissitudes of the section, dry-farming has taken a firm hold upon

the Great Plains area and is now a well-established practice.

The curious thing about the development of dry-farming in Utah,

California, Washington, and the Great Plains is that these four

sections appear to have originated dry-farming independently of each

other. True, there was considerable communication from 1849 onward

between Utah and California, and there is a possibility that some of

the many Utah settlers who located in California brought with them

accounts of the methods of dry-farming as practiced in Utah. This,

however, cannot be authenticated. It is very unlikely that the

farmers of Washington learned dry-farming from their California or

Utah neighbors, for until 1880 communication between Washington and

the colonies in California and Utah was very difficult, though, of

course, there was always the possibility of accounts of agricultural

methods being carried from place to place by the moving emigrants.

It is fairly certain that the Great Plains area did not draw upon

the far West for dry-farm methods. The climatic conditions are

considerably different and the Great Plains people always considered

themselves as living in a very humid country as compared with the

states of the far West. It may be concluded, therefore, that there

were four independent pioneers in dry-farming in United States.

Moreover, hundreds, probably thousands, of individual farmers over

the semiarid region have practiced dry-farming thirty to fifty years

with methods by themselves.

Although these different dry-farm sections were developed

independently, yet the methods which they have finally adopted are

practically identical and include deep plowing, unless the subsoil

is very lifeless; fall plowing; the planting of fall grain wherever

fall plowing is possible; and clean summer fallowing. About 1895 the

word began to pass from mouth to mouth that probably nearly all the

lands in the great arid and semiarid sections of the United States

could be made to produce profitable crops without irrigation. At

first it was merely a whisper; then it was talked aloud, and before

long became the great topic of conversation among the thousands who

love the West and wish for its development. Soon it became a

National subject of discussion. Immediately after the close of the

nineteenth century the new awakening had been accomplished and

dry-farming was moving onward to conquer the waste places of the

earth.

H. W. Campbell

The history of the new awakening in dry-farming cannot well be

written without a brief account of the work of H. W. Campbell who,

in the public mind, has become intimately identified with the

dry-farm movement. H. W. Campbell came from Vermont to northern

South Dakota in 1879, where in 1882 he harvested a banner

crop,--twelve thousand bushels of wheat from three hundred acres. In

1883, on the same farm he failed completely. This experience led him

to a study of the conditions under which wheat and other crops may

be produced in the Great Plains area. A natural love for

investigation and a dogged persistence have led him to give his life

to a study of the agricultural problems of the Great Plains area. He

admits that his direct inspiration came from the work of Jethro

Tull, who labored two hundred years ago, and his disciples. He

conceived early the idea that if the soil were packed near the

bottom of the plow furrow, the moisture would be retained better and

greater crop certainty would result. For this purpose the first

subsurface packer was invented in 1885. Later, about 1895, when his

ideas had crystallized into theories, he appeared as the publisher

of Campbell's "Soil Culture and Farm Journal." One page of each

issue was devoted to a succinct statement of the "Campbell Method."

It was in 1898 that the doctrine of summer tillage was begun to be

investigated by him.

In view of the crop failures of the early '90's and the gradual

dry-farm awakening of the later '90's, Campbell's work was received

with much interest. He soon became identified with the efforts of

the railroads to maintain demonstration farms for the benefit of

intending settlers. While Campbell has long been in the service of

the railroads of the semiarid region, yet it should be said in all

fairness that the railroads and Mr. Campbell have had for their

primary object the determination of methods whereby the farmers

could be made sure of successful crops.

Mr. Campbell's doctrines of soil culture, based on his accumulated

experience, are presented in Campbell's "Soil Culture Manual," the

first edition of which appeared about 1904 and the latest edition,

considerably extended, was published in 1907. The 1907 manual is the

latest official word by Mr. Campbell on the principles and methods

of the "Campbell system." The essential features of the system may

be summarized as follows: The storage of water in the soil is

imperative for the production of crops in dry years. This may be

accomplished by proper tillage. Disk the land immediately after

harvest; follow as soon as possible with the plow; follow the plow

with the subsurface packer; and follow the packer with the smoothing

harrow. Disk the land again as early as possible in the spring and

stir the soil deeply and carefully after every rain. Sow thinly in

the fall with a drill. If the grain is too thick in the spring,

harrow it out. To make sure of a crop, the land should be "summer

tilled," which means that clean summer fallow should be practiced

every other year, or as often as may be necessary.

These methods, with the exception of the subsurface packing, are

sound and in harmony with the experience of the great dry-farm

sections and with the principles that are being developed by

scientific investigation. The "Campbell system" as it stands to-day

is not the system first advocated by him. For instance, in the

beginning of his work he advocated sowing grain in April and in rows

so far apart that spring tooth harrows could be used for cultivating

between the rows. This method, though successful in conserving

moisture, is too expensive and is therefore superseded by the

present methods. Moreover, his farm paper of 1896, containing a full

statement of the "Campbell method," makes absolutely no mention of

"summer tillage," which is now the very keystone of the system.

These and other facts make it evident that Mr. Campbell has very

properly modified his methods to harmonize with the best experience,

but also invalidate the claim that he is the author of the dry-farm

system. A weakness of the "Campbell system" is the continual

insistence upon the use of the subsurface packer. As has already

been shown, subsurface packing is of questionable value for

successful crop production, and if valuable, the results may be much

more easily and successfully obtained by the use of the disk and

harrow and other similar implements now on the market. Perhaps the

one great weakness in the work of Campbell is that he has not

explained the principles underlying his practices. His publications

only hint at the reasons. H. W. Campbell, however, has done much to

popularize the subject of dry-farming and to prepare the way for

others. His persistence in his work of gathering facts, writing, and

speaking has done much to awaken interest in dry-farming. He has

been as "a voice in the wilderness" who has done much to make

possible the later and more systematic study of dry-farming. High

honor should be shown him for his faith in the semiarid region, for

his keen observation, and his persistence in the face of

difficulties. He is justly entitled to be ranked as one of the great

workers in behalf of the reclamation, without irrigation, of the

rainless sections of the world.

The experiment stations

The brave pioneers who fought the relentless dryness of the Great

American Desert from the memorable entrance of the Mormon pioneers

into the valley of the Great Salt Lake in 1847 were not the only

ones engaged in preparing the way for the present day of great

agricultural endeavor. Other, though perhaps more indirect, forces

were also at work for the future development of the semiarid

section. The Morrill Bill of 1862, making it possible for

agricultural colleges to be created in the various states and

territories, indicated the beginning of a public feeling that modern

methods should be applied to the work of the farm. The passage in

1887 of the Hatch Act, creating agricultural experiment stations in

all of the states and territories, finally initiated a new

agricultural era in the United States. With the passage of this

bill, stations for the application of modern science to crop

production were for the first time authorized in the regions of

limited rainfall, with the exception of the station connected with

the University of California, where Hilgard from 1872 had been

laboring in the face of great difficulties upon the agricultural

problems of the state of California. During the first few years of

their existence, the stations were busy finding men and problems.

The problems nearest at hand were those that had been attacked by

the older stations founded under an abundant rainfall and which

could not be of vital interest to arid countries. The western

stations soon began to attack their more immediate problems, and it

was not long before the question of producing crops without

irrigation on the great unirrigated stretches of the West was

discussed among the station staffs and plans were projected for a

study of the methods of conquering the desert.

The Colorado Station was the first to declare its good intentions in

the matter of dry-farming, by inaugurating definite experiments. By

the action of the State Legislature of 1893, during the time of the

great drouth, a substation was established at Cheyenne Wells, near

the west border of the state and within the foothills of the Great

Plains area. From the summer of 1894 until 1900 experiments were

conducted on this farm. The experiments were not based upon any

definite theory of reclamation, and consequently the work consisted

largely of the comparison of varieties, when soil treatment was the

all-important problem to be investigated. True in 1898, a trial of

the "Campbell method" was undertaken. By the time this Station had

passed its pioneer period and was ready to enter upon more

systematic investigation, it was closed. Bulletin 59 of the Colorado

Station, published in 1900 by J. E. Payne, gives a summary of

observations made on the Cheyenne Wells substation during seven

years. This bulletin is the first to deal primarily with the

experimental work relating to dry-farming in the Great Plains area.

It does not propose or outline any system of reclamation. Several

later publications of the Colorado Station deal with the problems

peculiar to the Great Plains.

At the Utah Station the possible conquest of the sagebrush deserts

of the Great Basin without irrigation was a topic of common

conversation during the years 1894 and 1895. In 1896 plans were

presented for experiments on the principles of dry-farming. Four

years later these plans were carried into effect. In the summer of

1901, the author and L. A. Merrill investigated carefully the

practices of the dry-farms of the state. On the basis of these

observations and by the use of the established principles of the

relation of water to soils and plants, a theory of dry-farming was

worked out which was published in Bulletin 75 of the Utah Station in

January, 1902. This is probably the first systematic presentation of

the principles of dry-farming. A year later the Legislature of the

state of Utah made provision for the establishment and maintenance

of six experimental dry-farms to investigate in different parts of

the state the possibility of dry-farming and the principles

underlying the art. These stations, which are still maintained, have

done much to stimulate the growth of dry-farming in Utah. The credit

of first undertaking and maintaining systematic experimental work in

behalf of dry-farming should be assigned to the state of Utah. Since

dry-farm experiments began in Utah in 1901, the subject has been a

leading one in the Station and the College. A large number of men

trained at the Utah Station and College have gone out as

investigators of dry-farming under state and Federal direction.

The other experiment stations in the arid and semi-arid region were

not slow to take up the work for their respective states. Fortier

and Linfield, who had spent a number of years in Utah and had become

somewhat familiar with the dry-farm practices of that state,

initiated dry-farm investigations in Montana, which have been

prosecuted with great vigor since that time. Vernon, under the

direction of Foster, who had spent four years in Utah as Director of

the Utah Station, initiated the work in New Mexico. In Wyoming the

experimental study of dry-farm lands began by the private enterprise

of H. B. Henderson and his associates. Later V. T. Cooke was placed

in charge of the work under state auspices, and the demonstration of

the feasibility of dry-farming in Wyoming has been going on since

about 1907. Idaho has also recently undertaken dry-farm

investigations. Nevada, once looked upon as the only state in the

Union incapable of producing crops without irrigation, is

demonstrating by means of state appropriations that large areas

there are suitable for dry-farming. In Arizona, small tracts in this

sun-baked state are shown to be suitable for dry-farm lands. The

Washington Station is investigating the problems of dry-farming

peculiar to the Columbia Basin, and the staff of the Oregon Station

is carrying on similar work. In Nebraska, some very important

experiments dry-farming are being conducted. In North Dakota there

were in 1910 twenty-one dry-farm demonstration farms. In South

Dakota, Kansas, and Texas, provisions are similarly made for

dry-farm investigations. In fact, up and down the Great Plains area

there are stations maintained by the state or Federal government for

the purpose of determining the methods under which crops can be

produced without irrigation.

At the head of the Great Plains area at Saskatchewan one of the

oldest dry-farm stations in America is located (since 1888). In

Russia several stations are devoted very largely to the problems of

dry land agriculture. To be especially mentioned for the excellence

of the work done are the stations at Odessa, Cherson, and Poltava.

This last-named Station has been established since 1886.

In connection with the work done by the experiment stations should

be mentioned the assistance given by the railroads. Many of the

railroads owning land along their respective lines are greatly

benefited in the selling of these lands by a knowledge of the

methods whereby the lands may be made productive. However, the

railroads depend chiefly for their success upon the increased

prosperity of the population along their lines and for the purpose

of assisting the settlers in the arid West considerable sums have

been expended by the railroads in cooperation with the stations for

the gathering of information of value in the reclamation of arid

lands without irrigation.

It is through the efforts of the experiment stations that the

knowledge of the day has been reduced to a science of dry-farming.

Every student of the subject admits that much is yet to be learned

before the last word has been said concerning the methods of

dry-farming in reclaiming the waste places of the earth. The future

of dry-farming rests almost wholly upon the energy and intelligence

with which the experiment stations in this and other countries of

the world shall attack the special problems connected with this

branch of agriculture.

The United States Department of Agriculture

The Commissioner of Agriculture of the United States was given a

secretaryship in the President's Cabinet in 1889. With this added

dignity, new life was given to the department. Under the direction

of J. Sterling Morton preliminary work of great importance was done.

Upon the appointment of James Wilson as Secretary of Agriculture,

the department fairly leaped into a fullness of organization for the

investigation of the agricultural problems of the country. From the

beginning of its new growth the United States Department of

Agriculture has given some thought to the special problems of the

semiarid region, especially that part within the Great Plains.

Little consideration was at first given to the far West. The first

method adopted to assist the farmers of the plains was to find

plants with drouth resistant properties. For that purpose explorers

were sent over the earth, who returned with great numbers of new

plants or varieties of old plants, some of which, such as the durum

wheats, have shown themselves of great value in American

agriculture. The Bureaus of Plant Industry, Soils, Weather, and

Chemistry have all from the first given considerable attention to

the problems of the arid region. The Weather Bureau, long

established and with perfected methods, has been invaluable in

guiding investigators into regions where experiments could be

undertaken with some hope of success. The Department of Agriculture

was somewhat slow, however, in recognizing dry-farming as a system

of agriculture requiring special investigation. The final

recognition of the subject came with the appointment, in 1905, of

Chilcott as expert in charge of dry-land investigations. At the

present time an office of dry-land investigations has been

established under the Bureau of Plant Industry, which cooperates

with a number of other divisions of the Bureau in the investigation

of the conditions and methods of dry-farming. A large number of

stations are maintained by the Department over the arid and semiarid

area for the purpose of studying special problems, many of which are

maintained in connection with the state experiment stations. Nearly

all the departmental experts engaged in dry-farm investigation have

been drawn from the service of the state stations and in these

stations had received their special training for their work. The

United States Department of Agriculture has chosen to adopt a strong

conservatism in the matter of dry-farming. It may be wise for the

Department, as the official head of the agricultural interests of

the country, to use extreme care in advocating the settlement of a

region in which, in the past, farmers had failed to make a living,

yet this conservatism has tended to hinder the advancement of

dry-farming and has placed the departmental investigations of

dry-farming in point of time behind the pioneer investigations of

the subject.

The Dry-farming Congress

As the great dry-farm wave swept over the country, the need was felt

on the part of experts and laymen of some means whereby dry-farm

ideas from all parts of the country could be exchanged. Private

individuals by the thousands and numerous state and governmental

stations were working separately and seldom had a chance of

comparing notes and discussing problems. A need was felt for some

central dry-farm organization. An attempt to fill this need was made

by the people of Denver, Colorado, when Governor Jesse F. McDonald

of Colorado issued a call for the first Dry-farming Congress to be

held in Denver, January 24, 25, and 26, 1907. These dates were those

of the annual stock show which had become a permanent institution of

Denver and, in fact, some of those who were instrumental in the

calling of the Dry-farming Congress thought that it was a good

scheme to bring more people to the stock show. To the surprise of

many the Dry-farming Congress became the leading feature of the

week. Representatives were present from practically all the states

interested in dry-farming and from some of the humid states. Utah,

the pioneer dry-farm state, was represented by a delegation second

in size only to that of Colorado, where the Congress was held. The

call for this Congress was inspired, in part at least, by real

estate men, who saw in the dry-farm movement an opportunity to

relieve themselves of large areas of cheap land at fairly good

prices. The Congress proved, however, to be a businesslike meeting

which took hold of the questions in earnest, and from the very first

made it clear that the real estate agent was not a welcome member

unless he came with perfectly honest methods.

The second Dry-farming Congress was held January 22 to 25, 1908, in

Salt Lake City, Utah, under the presidency of Fisher Harris. It was

even better attended than the first. The proceedings show that it

was a Congress at which the dry-farm experts of the country stated

their findings. A large exhibit of dry-farm products was held in

connection with this Congress, where ocular demonstrations of the

possibility of dry-farming were given any doubting Thomas.

The third Dry-farming Congress was held February 23 to 25, 1909, at

Cheyenne, Wyoming, under the presidency of Governor W. W. Brooks of

Wyoming. An unusually severe snowstorm preceded the Congress, which

prevented many from attending, yet the number present exceeded that

at any of the preceding Congresses. This Congress was made notable

by the number of foreign delegates who had been sent by their

respective countries to investigate the methods pursued in America

for the reclamation of the arid districts. Among these delegates

were representatives from Canada, Australia, The Transvaal, Brazil,

and Russia.

The fourth Congress was held October 26 to 28, 1909, in Billings,

Montana, under the presidency of Governor Edwin L. Morris of

Montana. The uncertain weather of the winter months had led the

previous Congress to adopt a time in the autumn as the date of the

annual meeting. This Congress became a session at which many of the

principles discussed during the three preceding Congresses were

crystallized into definite statements and agreed upon by workers

from various parts of the country. A number of foreign

representatives were present again. The problems of the Northwest

and Canada were given special attention. The attendance was larger

than at any of the preceding Congresses.

The fifth Congress will be held under the presidency of Hon. F. W.

Mondell of Wyoming at Spokane, Washington, during October, 1910. It

promises to exceed any preceding Congress in attendance and

interest.

The Dry-farming Congress has made itself one of the most important

factors in the development of methods for the reclamation of the

desert. Its published reports are the most valuable publications

dealing with dry-land agriculture. Only simple justice is done when

it is stated that the success of the Dry-farming Congress is due in

a large measure to the untiring and intelligent efforts of John T.

Burns, who is the permanent secretary of the Congress, and who was a

member of the first executive committee.

Nearly all the arid and semiarid states have organized state

dry-farming congresses. The first of these was the Utah Dry-farming

Congress, organized about two months after the first Congress held

in Denver. The president is L. A. Merrill, one of the pioneer

dry-farm investigators of the Rockies.

Jethro Tull (see frontispiece)

A sketch of the history of dry-farming would be incomplete without a

mention of the life and work of Jethro Tull. The agricultural

doctrines of this man, interpreted in the light of modern science,

are those which underlie modern dry-farming. Jethro Tull was born in

Berkshire, England, 1674, and died in 1741. He was a lawyer by

profession, but his health was so poor that he could not practice

his profession and therefore spent most of his life in the seclusion

of a quiet farm. His life work was done in the face of great

physical sufferings. In spite of physical infirmities, he produced a

system of agriculture which, viewed in the light of our modern

knowledge, is little short of marvelous. The chief inspiration of

his system came from a visit paid to south of France, where he

observed "near Frontignan and Setts, Languedoc" that the vineyards

were carefully plowed and tilled in order to produce the largest

crops of the best grapes. Upon the basis of this observation he

instituted experiments upon his own farm and finally developed his

system, which may be summarized as follows: The amount of seed to be

used should be proportional to the condition of the land, especially

to the moisture that is in it. To make the germination certain, the

seed should be sown by drill methods. Tull, as has already been

observed, was the inventor of the seed drill which is now a feature

of all modern agriculture. Plowing should be done deeply and

frequently; two plowings for one crop would do no injury and

frequently would result in an increased yield. Finally, as the most

important principle of the system, the soil should be cultivated

continually, the argument being that by continuous cultivation the

fertility of the soil would be increased, the water would be

conserved, and as the soil became more fertile less water would be

used. To accomplish such cultivation, all crops should be placed in

rows rather far apart, so far indeed that a horse carrying a

cultivator could walk between them. The horse-hoeing idea of the

system became fundamental and gave the name to his famous book, "The

Horse Hoeing Husbandry," by Jethro Tull, published in parts from

1731 to 1741. Tull held that the soil between the rows was

essentially being fallowed and that the next year the seed could be

planted between the rows of the preceding year and in that way the

fertility could be maintained almost indefinitely. If this method

were not followed, half of the soil could lie fallow every other

year and be subjected to continuous cultivation. Weeds consume water

and fertility and, therefore, fallowing and all the culture must be

perfectly clean. To maintain fertility a rotation of crops should be

practiced. Wheat should be the main grain crop; turnips the root

crop; and alfalfa a very desirable crop.

It may be observed that these teachings are sound and in harmony

with the best knowledge of to-day and that they are the very

practices which are now being advocated in all dry-farm sections.

This is doubly curious because Tull lived in a humid country.

However, it may be mentioned that his farm consisted of a very poor

chalk soil, so that the conditions under which he labored were more

nearly those of an arid country than could ordinarily be found in a

country of abundant rainfall. While the practices of Jethro Tull

were in themselves very good and in general can be adopted to-day,

yet his interpretation of the principles involved was wrong. In view

of the limited knowledge of his day, this was only to be expected.

For instance, he believed so thoroughly in the value of cultivation

of the soil, that he thought it would take the place of all other

methods of maintaining soil-fertility. In fact, he declared

distinctly that "tillage is manure," which we are very certain at

this time is fallacious. Jethro Tull is one of the great

investigators of the world. In recognition of the fact that, though

living two hundred years ago in a humid country, he was able to

develop the fundamental practices of soil culture now used in

dry-farming, the honor has been done his memory of placing his

portrait as the frontispiece of this volume.

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. If streaks of

loose gravel or layers of hardpan are near the surface, water may be

lost to the plant roots.

After the land has been cleared and broken let it lie fallow with

clean cultivation, for one year. The increase in the first and later

crops will pay for the waiting.

Always plow the land early in the fall, unless abundant experience

shows that fall plowing is an unwise practice in the locality.

Always plow deeply unless the subsoil is infertile, in which case

plow a little deeper each year until eight or ten inches are reached

Plow at least once for each crop. Spring plowing; if practiced,

should be done as early as possible in the season.

Follow the plow, whether in the fall or spring, with the disk and

that with the smoothing harrow, if crops are to be sown soon

afterward. If the land plowed in the fall is to lie fallow for the

winter, leave it in the rough condition, except in localities where

there is little or no snow and the winter temperature is high.

Always disk the land in early spring, to prevent evaporation. Follow

the disk with the harrow. Harrow, or in some other way stir the

surface of the soil after every rain. If crops are on the land,

harrow as long as the plants will stand it. If hoed crops, like corn

or potatoes, are grown, use the cultivator throughout the season. A

deep mulch or dry soil should cover the land as far as possible

throughout the summer. Immediately after harvest disk the soil

thoroughly.

Destroy weeds as soon as they show themselves. A weedy dry-farm is

doomed to failure.

Give the land an occasional rest, that is, a clean summer fallow.

Under a rainfall of less than fifteen inches, the land should be

summer fallowed every other year; under an annual rainfall of

fifteen to twenty inches, the summer fallow should occur every third

or fourth year. Where the rainfall comes chiefly in the summer, the

summer fallow is less important in ordinary years than where the

summers are dry and the winters wet. Only an absolutely clean fallow

should be permitted.

The fertility of dry-farm soils must be maintained. Return the

manure; plow under green leguminous crops occasionally and practice

rotation. On fertile soils plants mature with the least water.

Sow only by the drill method. Wherever possible use fall varieties

of crops. Plant deeply--three or four inches for grain. Plant early

in the fall, especially if the land has been summer fallowed. Use

only about one half as much seed as is recommended for

humid-farming.

All the ordinary crops may be grown by dry-farming. Secure seed that

has been raised on dry-farms. Look out for new varieties, especially

adapted for dry-farming, that may be brought in. Wheat is king in

dry-farming; corn a close second. Turkey wheat promises the best.

Stock the dry-farm with the best modern machinery. Dry-farming is

possible only because of the modern plow, the disk, the drill

seeder, the harvester, the header, and the thresher.

Make a home on the dry-farm. Store the flood waters in a reservoir;

or pump the underground waters, for irrigating the family garden.

Set out trees, plant flowers, and keep some live stock.

Learn to understand the reasons back of the principles of

dry-farming, apply the knowledge vigorously, and the crop cannot

fail.

Always farm as if a year of drouth were coming.

Man, by his intelligence, compels the laws of nature to do his

bidding, and thus he achieves joy.

"And God blessed them--and God said unto them, Be fruitful and

multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it."

CHAPTER XIX

THE YEAR OF DROUTH

The Shadow of the Year of Drouth still obscures the hope of many a

dry-farmer. From the magazine page and the public platform the

prophet of evil, thinking himself a friend of humanity, solemnly

warns against the arid region and dry-farming, for the year of

drouth, he says, is sure to come again and then will be repeated the

disasters of 1893-1895. Beware of the year of drouth. Even

successful dry-farmers who have obtained good crops every year for a

generation or more are half led to expect a dry year or one so dry

that crops will fail in spite of all human effort. The question is

continually asked, "Can crop yields reasonably be expected every

year, through a succession of dry years, under semiarid conditions,

if the best methods of dry-farming be practiced?" In answering this

question, it may be said at the very beginning, that when the year

of drouth is mentioned in connection with dry-farming, sad reference

is always made to the experience on the Great Plains in the early

years of the '90's. Now the fact of the matter is, that while the

years of 1893,1894, and 1895 were dry years, the only complete

failure came in 1894. In spite of the improper methods practiced by

the settlers, the willing soil failed to yield a crop only one year.

Moreover, it should not be forgotten that hundreds of farmers in the

driest section during this dry period, who instinctively or

otherwise farmed more nearly right, obtained good crops even in

1894. The simple practice of summer fallowing, had it been practiced

the year before, would have insured satisfactory crops in the driest

year. Further, the settlers who did not take to their heels upon the

arrival of the dry year are still living in large numbers on their

homesteads and in numerous instances have accumulated comfortable

fortunes from the land which has been held up so long as a warning

against settlement beyond a humid climate. The failure of 1894 was

due as much to a lack of proper agricultural information and

practice as to the occurrence of a dry year.

Next, the statement is carelessly made that the recent success in

dry-farming is due to the fact that we are now living in a cycle of

wet years, but that as soon as the cycle of dry years strikes the

country dry-farming will vanish as a dismal failure. Then, again,

the theory is proposed that the climate is permanently changing

toward wetness or dryness and the past has no meaning in reading the

riddle of the future. It is doubtless true that no man may safely

predict the weather for future generations; yet, so far as human

knowledge goes, there is no perceptible average change in the

climate from period to period within historical time; neither are

there protracted dry periods followed by protracted wet periods. The

fact is, dry and wet years alternate. A succession of somewhat wet

years may alternate with a succession of somewhat dry years, but the

average precipitation from decade to decade is very nearly the same.

True, there will always be a dry year, that is, the driest year of a

series of years, and this is the supposedly fearful and fateful year

of drouth. The business of the dry-farmer is always to farm so as to

be prepared for this driest year whenever it comes. If this be done,

the farmer will always have a crop: in the wet years his crop will

be large; in the driest year it will be sufficient to sustain him.

So persistent is the half-expressed fear that this driest year makes

it impossible to rely upon dry-farming as a permanent system of

agriculture that a search has been made for reliable long records of

the production of crops in arid and semiarid regions. Public

statements have been made by many perfectly reliable men to the

effect that crops have been produced in diverse sections over long

periods of years, some as long as thirty-five or forty year's,

without one failure having occurred. Most of these statements,

however, have been general in their nature and not accompanied by

the exact yields from year to year. Only three satisfactory records

have been found in a somewhat careful search. Others no doubt exist.

The first record was made by Senator J. G. M. Barnes of Kaysville,

Utah. Kaysville is located in the Great Salt Lake Valley, about

fifteen miles north of Salt Lake City. The climate is semiarid; the

precipitation comes mainly in the winter and early spring; the

summers are dry, and the evaporation is large. Senator Barnes

purchased ninety acres of land in the spring of 1887 and had it

farmed under his own supervision until 1906. He is engaged in

commercial enterprises and did not, himself, do any of the work on

the farm, but employed men to do the necessary labor. However, he

kept a close supervision of the farm and decided upon the practices

which should be followed. From seventy-eight to eighty-nine acres

were harvested for each crop, with the exception of 1902, when all

but about twenty acres was fired by sparks from the passing railroad

train. The plowing, harrowing, and weeding were done very carefully.

The complete record of the Barnes dry-farm from 1887 to 1905 is

shown in the table on the following page.

Record of the Barnes Dry-farm, Salt Lake Valley, Utah (90 acres)

Year Annual Yield When When

Rainfall per Acre Plowed Sown

(Inches) (Bu.)

1887 11.66 --- May Sept.

1888 13.62 Failure May Sept.

1889 18.46 22.5 --- Volunteer+

1890 10.38 15.5 --- ---

1891 15.92 Fallow May Fall

1892 14.08 19.3 --- ---

1893 17.35 Fallow May Fall

1894 15.27 26.0 --- ---

1895 11.95 Fallow May Aug.

1896 18.42 22.0 --- ---

1897 16.74 Fallow Spring Fall

1898 16.09 26.0 --- ---

1899 17.57 Fallow May Fall

1900 11.53 23.5 --- ---

1901 16.08 Fallow Spring Fall

1902 11.41 28.9 Sept. Fall

1903 14.62 12.5 --- ---

1904 16.31 Fallow Spring Fall

1905 14.23 25.8 --- ---

+About four acres were sown on stubble.

The first plowing was given the farm in May of 1887, and, with the

exception of 1902, the land was invariably plowed in the spring.

With fall plowing the yields would undoubtedly have been better. The

first sowing was made in the fall of 1887, and fall grain was grown

during the whole period of observation. The seed sown in the fall of

1887 came up well, but was winter-killed. This is ascribed by

Senator Barnes to the very dry winter, though it is probable that

the soil was not sufficiently well stored with moisture to carry the

crop through. The farm was plowed again in the spring of 1888, and

another crop sown in September of the same year. In the summer of

1889, 22-1/2 bushels of wheat were harvested to the acre. Encouraged

by this good crop Mr. Barnes allowed a volunteer crop to grow that

fall and the next summer harvested as a result 15-1/2 bushels of

wheat to the acre. The table shows that only one crop smaller than

this was harvested during the whole period of nineteen years,

namely, in 1903, when the same thing was done, and one crop was made

to follow another without an intervening fallow period. This

observation is an evidence in favor of clean summer fallowing. The

largest crop obtained, 28.9 bushels per acre in 1902, was gathered

in a year when the next to the lowest rainfall of the whole period

occurred, namely, 11.41 inches.

The precipitation varied during the nineteen years from 10.33 inches

to 18.46 inches. The variation in yield per acre was considerably

less than this, not counting the two crops that were grown

immediately after another crop. All in all, the unique record of the

Barnes dry-farm shows that through a period of nineteen years,

including dry and comparatively wet years, there was absolutely no

sign of failure, except in the first year, when probably the soil

had not been put in proper condition to support crops. In passing it

maybe mentioned that, according to the records furnished by Senator

Barnes, the total cost of operating the farm during the nineteen

years was $4887.69; the total income was $10,144.83. The difference,

$5257.14, is a very fair profit on the investment of $1800--the

original cost of the farm.

The Indian Head farm

An equally instructive record is furnished by the experimental farm

located at Indian Head in Saskatchewan, Canada, in the northern part

of the Great Plains area. According to Alway, the country is in

appearance very much like western Nebraska and Kansas; the climate

is distinctly arid, and the precipitation comes mainly in the spring

and summer. It is the only experimental dry-farm in the Great Plains

area with records that go back before the dry years of the early

'90's. In 1882 the soil of this farm was broken, and it was farmed

continuously until 1888, when it was made an experimental farm under

government supervision. The following table shows the yields

obtained from the year 1891, when the precipitation records were

first kept, to 1909:--

RECORD OF INDIAN HEAD EXPERIMENTAL FARM AND MOTHERWELL'S FARM,

SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA

Year Annual Bushels of Wheat Bushels of Wheat Bushels of Wheat

Rainfall per Acre per Acre per Acre

(Inches)+ Experimental Experimental Motherwell's Farm

Farm--Fallow Farm--Stubble

1891 14.03 35 32 30

1892 6.92 28 21 28

1893 10.11 35 22 34

1894 3.90 17 9 24

1895 12.28 41 22 26

1896 10.59 39 29 31

1897 14.62 33 26 35

1898 18.03 32 --- 27

1899 9.44 33 --- 33

1900 11.74 17 5 25

1901 20.22 49 38 51

1902 10.73 38 22 28

1903 15.55 35 15 31

1904 11.96 40 29 35

1905 19.17 42 18 36

1906 13.21 26 13 38

1907 15.03 18 18 15

1908 13.17 29 14 16

1909 13.96 28 15 23

+Snowfall not included. This has varied from 2.3 to 1.3 inches of water.

The annual rainfall shown in the second column does not include the

water which fell in the form of snow. According to the records at

hand, the annual snow fall varied from 2.3 to 1.3 inches of water,

which should be added to the rainfall given in the table. Even with

this addition the rainfall shows the district to be of a distinctly

semiarid character. It will be observed that the precipitation

varied from 3.9 to 20.22 inches, and that during the early '90's

several rather dry years occurred. In spite of this large variation

good crops have been obtained during the whole period of nineteen

years. Not one failure is recorded. The lowest yield of 17 bushels

per acre came during the very dry year of 1894 and during the

somewhat dry year of 1900. Some of the largest yields were obtained

in seasons when the rainfall was only near the average. As a record

showing that the year of drouth need not be feared when dry-farming

is done right, this table is of very high interest. It may be noted,

incidentally, that throughout the whole period wheat following a

fallow always yielded higher than wheat following the stubble. For

the nineteen years, the difference was as 32.4 bushels is to 20.5

bushels.

The Mother well farm

In the last column of the table are shown the annual yields of wheat

obtained on the farm of Commissioner Motherwell of the province of

Saskatchewan. This private farm is located some twenty-five miles

away from Indian Head, and the rainfall records of the experimental

farm are, therefore, only approximately accurate for the Motherwell

farm. The results on this farm may well be compared to the Barnes

results of Utah, since they were obtained on a private farm. During

the period of nineteen years good crops were invariably obtained;

even during the very dry year of 1894, a yield of twenty-four

bushels of wheat to the acre was obtained. Curiously enough, the

lowest yields of fifteen and sixteen bushels to the acre were

obtained in 1907 and 1908 when the precipitation was fairly good,

and must be ascribed to some other factor than that of

precipitation. The record of this farm shows conclusively that with

proper farming there is no need to fear the year of drouth.

The Utah drouth of 1910

During the year of 1910 only 2.7 inches of rain fell in Salt Lake

City from March 1 to the July harvest, and all of this in March, as

against 7.18 inches during the same period the preceding year. In

other parts of the state much less rain fell; in fact, in the

southern part of the state the last rain fell during the last week

of December, 1909. The drouth remained unbroken until long after the

wheat harvests. Great fear was expressed that the dry-farms could

not survive so protracted a period of drouth. Agents, sent out over

the various dry-farm districts, reported late in June that wherever

clean summer fallowing had been practiced the crops were in

excellent condition; but that wherever careless methods had been

practiced, the crops were poor or killed. The reports of the harvest

in July of 1910 showed that fully 85 per cent of an average crop was

obtained in spite of the protracted drouth wherever the soil came

into the spring well stored with moisture, and in many instances

full crops were obtained.

Over the whole of the dry-farm territory of the United States

similar conditions of drouth occurred. After the harvest, however,

every state reported that the crops were well up to the average

wherever correct methods of culture had been employed.

These well-authenticated records from true semi-arid districts,

covering the two chief types of winter and summer precipitation,

prove that the year of drouth, or the driest year in a twenty-year

period, does not disturb agricultural conditions seriously in

localities where the average annual precipitation is not too low,

and where proper cultural methods arc followed. That dry-farming is

a system of agricultural practice which requires the application of

high skill and intelligence is admitted; that it is precarious is

denied. The year of drouth is ordinarily the year in which the man

failed to do properly his share of the work.

CHAPTER XVIII

THE PRESENT STATUS OF DRY-FARMING

It is difficult to obtain a correct view of the present status of

dry-farming, first, because dry-farm surveys are only beginning to

be made and, secondly, because the area under dry-farm cultivation

is increasing daily by leaps and bounds. All arid and semiarid parts

of the world are reaching out after methods of soil culture whereby

profitable crops may be produced without irrigation, and the

practice of dry-farming, according to modern methods, is now

followed in many diverse countries. The United States undoubtedly

leads at present in the area actually under dry-farming, but, in

view of the immense dry-farm districts in other parts of the world,

it is doubtful if the United States will always maintain its

supremacy in dry-farm acreage. The leadership in the development of

a science of dry-farming will probably remain with the United States

for years, since the numerous experiment stations established for

the study of the problems of farming without irrigation have their

work well under way, while, with the exception of one or two

stations in Russia and Canada, no other countries have experiment

stations for the study of dry-farming in full operation. The reports

of the Dry-farming Congress furnish practically the only general

information as to the status of dry-farming in the states and

territories of the United States and in the countries of the world.

California

In the state of California dry-farming has been firmly established

for more than a generation. The chief crop of the California

dry-farms is wheat, though the other grains, root crops, and

vegetables are also grown without irrigation under a comparatively

small rainfall. The chief dry-farm areas are found in the Sacramento

and the San Joaquin valleys. In the Sacramento Valley the

precipitation is fairly large, but in the San Joaquin Valley it is

very small. Some of the most successful dry-farms of California have

produced well for a long succession of years under a rainfall of ten

inches and less. California offers a splendid example of the great

danger that besets all dry-farm sections. For a generation wheat has

been produced on the fertile Californian soils without manuring of

any kind. As a consequence, the fertility of the soils has been so

far depleted that at present it is difficult to obtain paying crops

without irrigation on soils that formerly yielded bountifully. The

living problem of the dry-farms in California is the restoration of

the fertility which has been removed from the soils by unwise

cropping. All other dry-farm districts should take to heart this

lesson, for, though crops may be produced on fertile soils for one,

two, or even three generations without manuring, yet the time will

come when plant-food must be added to the soil in return for that

which has been removed by the crops. Meanwhile, California offers,

also, an excellent example of the possibility of successful

dry-farming through long periods and under varying climatic

conditions. In the Golden State dry-farming is a fully established

practice; it has long since passed the experimental stage.

Columbia River Basin

The Columbia River Basin includes the state of Washington, most of

Oregon, the northern and central part of Idaho, western Montana, and

extends into British Columbia. It includes the section often called

the Inland Empire, which alone covers some one hundred and fifty

thousand square miles. The chief dry-farm crop of this region is

wheat; in fact, western Washington or the "Palouse country" is

famous for its wheat-producing powers. 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. In one section of the district where the rainfall for the

last few years has been only about ten or eleven inches, wheat has

been produced successfully. This corroborates the experience of

California, that wheat may really be grown in localities where the

annual rainfall is not above ten inches. The most modern methods of

dry-farming are followed by the farmers of the Columbia River Basin,

but little attention has been given to soil-fertility, since soils

that have been farmed for a generation still appear to retain their

high productive powers. Undoubtedly, however, in this district, as

in California, the question of soil-fertility will be an important

one in the near future. This is one of the great dry-farm districts

of the world.

The Great Basin

The Great Basin includes Nevada, the western half of Utah, a small

part of southern Oregon and Idaho, and also a part of Southern

California. It is a great interior basin with all its rivers

draining into salt lakes or dry sinks. In recent geological times

the Great Basin was filled with water, forming the great Lake

Bonneville which drained into the Columbia River. In fact, the Great

Basin is made up of a series of great valleys, with very level

floors, representing the old lake bottom. On the bench lands are

seen, in many places, the effects of the wave action of the ancient

lake. 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. 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.

Dry-farming, however, is well established. There are large areas,

especially in Nevada, that receive less than ten inches of rainfall

annually, and one of the leading problems before the dry-farmers of

this district is the determination of the possibility of producing

crops upon such lands without irrigation. On the older dry-farms,

which have existed in some cases from forty to fifty years, there

are no signs of diminution of soil-fertility. Undoubtedly, however,

even under the conditions of extremely high fertility prevailing in

the Great Basin, the time will soon come when the dry-farmer must

make provision for restoring to the soil some of the fertility taken

away by crops. There are millions of acres in the Great Basin yet to

be taken up and subjected to the will of the dry-farmer.

Colorado and Rio Grande River Basins

The Colorado and Rio Grande River Basins include Arizona and the

western part of New Mexico. The chief dry-farm crops of this dry

district are wheat, corn, and beans. Other crops have also been

grown in small quantities and with some success. The area suitable

for dry-farming in this district has not yet been fully determined

and, therefore, the Arizona and New Mexico stations are undertaking

dry-farm surveys of their respective states. In spite of the fact

that Arizona is generally looked upon as one of the driest states of

the Union, dry-farming is making considerable headway there. In New

Mexico, five sixths of all the homestead applications during the

last year were for dry-farm lands; and, in fact, there are several

prosperous communities in New Mexico which are subsisting almost

wholly on dry-farming. It is only fair to say, however, that

dry-farming is not yet well established in this district, but that

the prospects are that the application of scientific principles will

soon make it possible to produce profitable crops without irrigation

in large parts of the Colorado and Rio Grande River Basins.

The mountain states

This district includes a part of Montana, nearly the whole of

Wyoming and Colorado, and part of eastern Idaho. It is located along

the backbone of the Rocky Mountains. The farms are located chiefly

in valleys and on large rolling table-lands. The chief dry-farm crop

is wheat, though the other crops which are grown elsewhere on

dry-farms may be grown here also. In Montana there is a very large

area of land which has been demonstrated to be well adapted for

dry-farm purposes. In Wyoming, especially on the eastern as well as

on the far western side, dry-farming has been shown to be

successful, but the area covered at the present time is

comparatively small. In Idaho, dry-farming is fairly well

established. In Colorado, likewise, the practice is very well

established and the area is tolerably large. All in all, throughout

the mountain states dry-farming may be said to be well established,

though there is a great opportunity for the extension of the

practice. The sparse population of the western states naturally

makes it impossible for more than a small fraction of the land to be

properly cultivated.

The Great Plains Area

This area includes parts of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota,

Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and

Texas. It is the largest area of dry-farm land under approximately

uniform conditions. Its drainage is into the Mississippi, and it

covers an area of not less than four hundred thousand square miles.

Dry-farm crops grow well over the whole area; in fact, dry-farming

is well established in this district. In spite of the failures so

widely advertised during the dry season of 1894, the farmers who

remained on their farms and since that time have employed modern

methods have secured wealth from their labors. The important

question before the farmers of this district is that of methods for

securing the best results. From the Dakotas to Texas the farmers

bear the testimony that wherever the soil has been treated right,

according to approved methods, there have been no crop failures.

Canada

Dry-farming has been pushed vigorously in the semiarid portions of

Canada, and with great success. Dry-farming is now reclaiming large

areas of formerly worthless land, especially in Alberta,

Saskatchewan, and the adjoining provinces. Dry-farming is

comparatively recent in Canada, yet here and there are semiarid

localities where crops have been raised without irrigation for

upwards of a quarter of a century. In Alberta and other places it

has been now practiced successfully for eight or ten years, and it

may be said that dry-farming is a well-established practice in the

semiarid regions of the Dominion of Canada.

Mexico

In Mexico, likewise, dry-farming has been tried and found to be

successful. The natives of Mexico have practiced farming without

irrigation for centuries--and modern methods are now being applied

in the zone midway between the extremely dry and the extremely humid

portions. The irregular distribution of the precipitation, the late

spring and early fall frosts, and the fierce winds combine to make

the dry-farm problem somewhat difficult, yet the prospects are that,

with government assistance, dry-farming in the near future will

become an established practice in Mexico. In the opinion of the best

students of Mexico it is the only method of agriculture that can be

made to reclaim a very large portion of the country.

Brazil

Brazil, which is greater in area than the United States, also has a

large arid and semiarid territory which can be reclaimed only by

dry-farm methods. Through the activity of leading citizens

experiments in behalf of the dry-farm movement have already been

ordered. The dry-farm district of Brazil receives an annual

precipitation of about twenty-five inches, but irregularly

distributed and under a tropical sun. In the opinion of those who

are familiar with the conditions the methods of dry-farming may be

so adapted as to make dry-farming successful in Brazil.

Australia

Australia, larger than the continental United States, is vitally

interested in dry-farming, for one third of its vast area is under a

rainfall of less than ten inches, and another third is under a

rainfall of between ten and twenty inches. Two thirds of the area of

Australia, if reclaimed at all, must be reclaimed by dry-farming.

The realization of this condition has led several Australians to

visit the United States for the purpose of learning the methods

employed in dry-farming. The reports on dry-farming in America by

Surveyor-General Strawbridge and Senator J. H. McColl have done much

to initiate a vigorous propaganda in behalf of dry-farming in

Australia. Investigation has shown that occasional farmers are found

in Australia, as in America, who have discovered for themselves many

of the methods of dry-farming and have succeeded in producing crops

profitably. Undoubtedly, in time, Australia will be one of the great

dry-farming countries of the world.

Africa

Up to the present, South Africa only has taken an active interest in

the dry-farm movement, due to the enthusiastic labors of Dr. William

Macdonald of the Transvaal. The Transvaal has an average annual

precipitation of twenty-three inches, with a large district that

receives between thirteen and twenty inches. The rain comes in the

summer, making the conditions similar to those of the Great Plains.

The success of dry-farming has already been practically

demonstrated. The question before the Transvaal farmers is the

determination of the best application of water conserving methods

under the prevailing conditions. Under proper leadership the

Transvaal and other portions of Africa will probably join the ranks

of the larger dry-farming countries of the world.

Russia

More than one fourth of the whole of Russia is so dry as to be

reclaimable only by dry-farming. The arid area of southern European

Russia has a climate very much like that of the Great Plains.

Turkestan and middle Asiatic Russia have a climate more like that of

the Great Basin. In a great number of localities in both European

and Asiatic Russia dry-farming has been practiced for a number of

years. The methods employed have not been of the most refined kind,

due, possibly, to the condition of the people constituting the

farming class. The government is now becoming interested in the

matter and there is no doubt that dry-farming will also be practiced

on a very large scale in Russia.

Turkey

Turkey has also a large area of arid land and, due to American

assistance, experiments in dry-farming are being carried on in

various parts of the country. It is interesting to learn that the

experiments there, up to date, have been eminently successful and

that the prospects now are that modern dry-farming will soon be

conducted on a large scale in the Ottoman Empire.

Palestine

The whole of Palestine is essentially arid and semi-arid and

dry-farming there has been practiced for centuries. With the

application of modern methods it should be more successful than ever

before. Dr. Aaronsohn states that the original wild wheat from which

the present varieties of wheat have descended has been discovered to

be a native of Palestine.

China

China is also interested in dry-farming. The climate of the drier

portions of China is much like that of the Dakotas. Dry-farming

there is of high antiquity, though, of course, the methods are not

those that have been developed in recent years. Under the influence

of the more modern methods dry-farming should spread extensively

throughout China and become a great source of profit to the empire.

The results of dry-farming in China are among the best.

These countries have been mentioned simply because they have been

represented at the recent Dry-farming Congresses. Nearly all of the

great countries of the world having extensive semiarid areas are

directly interested in dry-farming. The map on pages 30 and 31 shows

that more than 55 per cent of the world's surface receives an annual

rainfall of less than twenty inches. Dry-farming is a world problem

and as such is being received by the nations.