Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-12-20

WI THIN the borders OF our state
N.Y. are many hundreds OF thousands
w of acres OF desert land. part
of this desert lana may In time DC
brought under irrigation canals, Us Wy
art Of conserving ana using Wa.ei 20
improved, but by far the larger posuon
VIII, forever, receive water ohiy llon,
the SHOWS and rains, ana N rev Gases
from the seepage from the ad'oihi"s
mountains.
Many a traveller over these desert
wastes has asked himself the question,
"Shall these lands ever remain as they
are today, or will they In time DC
brought TO serve some useful purpose
Today that query Is perhape stronger
and more insstent than II has ever
been before, and those who have STUD,
led the conditions that surround ana
influence desert lands, are beginning 10
believe that In a not far distant future
the deserts, in large measure, VIII Do
converted into cultivated fields, yielding
profit TO the tiller,
II may be observed on any OF these
desert lands that the sdgebrush, me
rabbitbrush and the greasewood are
prolific growers. 1t Is not unusual 10
find vast areas over which the sage
brush grows TO q mans height; ana, as
a rule, Il is only when artiiicially ad-
verse conditions prevail that the sage
brush Is stunted. The same holds true
with the rabbitbrush and greasWood'
though II must be remembered that
where CROSSWORD predominates there u
a likelihood OF alkali being abundant Ia
Al aal ofaA No "a
conditions are less favorable for the
growth Of useful crops.
Water is the life blood Of all yegeta-
ton. II is pumped from the soil through
the roots and stems OF plants 10 De
eyaporated finally from the leaves.
Where no water exists there can be no
plant life. This fact should make II
clear that where there Is a luxuriant
growth OF sagebrush or raDpitDrush'
there must be, also. considerable mos,
ture In the soil. The great masses OF
sage, even though each leaf evaporate
comparatively small quantities Oh wa
ter. require as much water per acre as
Is necessary for the growth and matur-
ing Of a fair crop OF wheat or barley
Investigations OF these desert soils have
shown that In the great majority OF
cases they are comparatively moist ar
Ter the first or second foot has been
passed Behring'S made on the dry des-
erts OF Utah during the month OF Aug
ust and early September, after a long
drouth. have shown sufficient water In
the soil. TO a depth OF eight or ten feet.
10 mature the more drouth resistant
crops. IL has also been observed that
n great majority Of Utah soils are un-
derlayed by water. IL was great sur
prise TO the writer 20 find that even on
Inc so-called deserts. water was found
within 6 TO 20 feet OF the surface. The
top soil gave no Indications OF the
proximity Of the water except that the
native vegetation appeared to do eN-
ceptionally well.
The average rainfall in Utah Is sum
Client, II 1t could be properly conserved
ana stored IN the soils, 20 mature al
most any OF the ordinary grain crops
and 10 produce fair yield OF various
forage crops. BY the proper culllya-
tlon Of the soil II Is possible to store
within the soil very large portion OF
the annual precipitation. The feaslDil-
ity OF this has been demonstrated IN
any OF the northern counties OF the
state where dry or arid farming Is now
widely practlced. The average yield OF
wheat on these dry farms Is not far
from 20 bushels 10 the acre, and. ordln-
arliy. the only source OF water Is at
mospheric precipitation IN the form OF
rain or snow Even In the central
counties. where the rainfall Is some
what less than In the north. crops have
been raised without Irrigation In fact