The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1903-11-11

West has been pushed back three
whole degrees OF longitude and strip
OF territory 130 miles in width, ex-
tending fSom North Dakota southwark
to Texas, has been added to our tila-
BILE domain.
Agriculture, with science TO back
it," said Prof. W. J. Spillmea, the
Government agrostologist, yesterday,
'ia steadily invading the area known
as the Great American Desert, which
hitherto has seemed to say to the
farmer, Thus fer, and no farther,
shalt thou coraer Ten years ago the
geographical limit Of profitable agri.
culture coincided, practically, with
the 98th meridian Of longitude. To.
day it may be said to follow the line
Of the 1O1st meridian, having shifted
that far to the westward.
"This wonderful result has been 40.
complished chiefly by the selection,
for cultivation, Of plants that are able
to got along with minimum Of wa.
ter. The arid belt is not uuproduo.
tive because Of lack Of fertility; on
the contrary, its soil is extremely
rich. But plants will not grow with
out water, which contains the most
important elements Of their food sup
ply, and when the annual rainfall is
less than certain number of inches
successful farming is oua Of the ques-
tion.
"All plants, however, do not require
the same amount OF water. Some can
subsist and prosper with comparative
ly little Of that indispensable fluid
aad, taking any given species, one va
riety may be much more drought.ze-
sistsnt than another. A notable illus.
tEation oe this feet is afforded by
macaroni wheat, introduced through
the efforts Of Mark A. Carleton } which
has figured oonanieuously as CON.
queror OF the desert. This kind Of
wheat, which, while good for making
maearoni, furnishes frst.class bread
also, will thrive where ordinary wheats
would not grow, simply because it is
less thirsty.
"We have found number Of grass
es, native to the arid belt, which seem
to possess similar charaoteristios Be
longing I'd the region they are natural
" adapted for cultivation there and
some Of them are very valuable for
the feeding Of stock. For several
seasons past skilled men have been
busily employed in hunting for these
grasses, the seeds OF which are coll
leoted and utilized for planting exper.
imental patehes-the latter 70 be, as
is expected, source OF future seed
supply ffoF suoh varieties as prove
most satisfactory.
''Not content with this the depart
ment has sent It's agents TO the most
remote parts Of the world 10 look for
grasses, as well as other naegn!! plants,
which are specially adapted to. arid
conditions. Some particularly vslu-
able varieties have been obtained
from Central AAsis=, wbieh, on che dry
and treeless plains, there lie even less
water than is available in the Ameri-
can desert. The seeds Of these are
planted in like manner and eventually
the best Of them will be introduced
into the country to help in the sys-
tematic invasion Of the region Of
dfonaht. Il .s4 - 3s3 !.5
"The arid belt is NOS normally q de-.
aert. Originally it was covered with
nutritious, grasses, which afforded adj
mirable grazing. But the grazing was
conducted 30 reeklessly that the grass
es, eaten OFF CLOSE TO the ground, had
no chance TO make seed. They died
and the region once covered BY their
carpet was transformed into q waste,
producing nothing more useful or suc.
Oulent than cage brush-a miserable
crop, suggestive sof starvation, which
today covers thousands ON thousands
Of square miles of territory. whore
tho buffalo formerly roamed and
after them cattle, eating their whole.
some al &
{$s Itis thoug that new and simpor.
tant cereal grains may be developed
from some of the plants with which
The Government - now experimenting
"a the dry belt. After .all. 81 wheat,
cate rusI m Id - ~, . -. n.