The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-05-25
DRY FARMING"
WHAT It WILL. Do
GREAT IRRIGATION PROJECT MAY
BECOME USELESS.
New System of the Semi-Arid Regions
Is Ridiculously Simple, but the Re-
suits Are, There-Cities and Rail-
roads Make Liberal Provision for
Thoro Experiments.

Special to The Journal.
Omaha, Neb., May 25.-The "short-
grass - country of western Nebraska
and Wyoming, together with northern
Colorado is thoroly aroused over "dry
farming and is seeing visions of a
time to come when the short-grass'
country will disappear and in place of
land upon which cattle now Craze,
there will be great crops of wheat, corn,
| alfalfa and sugar beets. The great ir-
rigation projects now fathered by the
government and private capital will
be useless, because no water will be
needed to produce the crops" dry
farming will have taken the place
of the water.
The Board of Trade and business
men of Cheyenne, Wyo., have just ap-
propriated $4,000 to ex pertinent along
the line of the new system in Wyom-
ing; the Union Pacific railroad has or
to work under the directions Of the in
dustrial department of the Hartman
system; the Burlington road is con-
Quoting experiments Of its own on a
farm of 500 acres in western Nebraska :;
one Colorado firm has employed an ex-
pert to make Investigations on its big
cattle ranch of 10000 acres; North
Platte, Neb., business men have sub
scribed several thousand dollars toward
experimenting. in that section, and 100
different farmers and ranchmen in Lar
annie county, Wyo., have signed a
pledge agreeing to cultivate at least
five acres each according to directions
issued from central body, and to re-
port the results to that body. Alto,
gether, "dry farming' is attracting
more attention in the semi arid belt
than anything which has ever come be-
fore the citizens Of that portion Of the
western states.
What Is Meant.
By "dry farming' is meant the cul
tivation, without irrigation in any form
whatever, of those millions of acres OF
semi-arid lands in the great west
which are now turned over to the cat
! tlemen, the prairie dogs, the rattle
snakes and the owls. A small portion
of these lands have been placed under
ditches' and are being irrigated, pro
ducin1g heavy returns on all crops. But
| if the efforts of those interested in
will be added to the cultivated areas
hundreds of millions of acres now con
sidered valuable only for grazing pur
poses.
The system used in dry farming is
ridiculously simple. Late in the sum
mer the soil is plowed very deep. It is
then laid over in loose burrows, anC
when the meager rainfall comes, the
loose soil retains the moisture where
it would not even remain damp in hare
ground. To prevent evaporation, the
soil is loosely scratched. The follow
ing spring the crop is put in and cul
| fnI iy,& h~ 141 o,
states. Crops are raised only every
other year, however, under this sys
tenn, the ground being permitted tc
rest each alternating year.
Already several small farmers il
eastern Wyoming have succeeded il
securing yield Of thirty-five bushels
an acre of frst-class wheat, where for
merly no wheat whatever was grow
except under the irrigating ditch
Equally as large crops of corn, alfalf;
| and sugar beets are promised to thos
who follow the same course of cultiva
. ton.
Those who have been experimenting
with the system for several years de
clare their lands increase in power t
hold water from year to year, and stat
, that with five years of dry farmin
they will produce crops equal, if nc
: larger, than are produced in Illinois an
+ Iowa under the most favorable cOnd
, tions.
] U. P. Wise to New Plan.
d: One significant point is the fact tha
E the Union Pacific railroad has will
drawn from sale much Of it's land i
the territory where the experiments al
: now going on The Union Pacific W.
!. government land "aided' road, an
. was given millions of acres along il
right of way from Omaha to Ogden, an
while large part Of these lands hay
- been sold, it was not easy to dispo'
of those in the semi-arid sections. Til;
the road should withdraw much of tn
land from sale indicates that it expec
it's acreage to increase in value fro
the new system of farming.
" At a meeting, recently, of the Che
enne, Wyo., city council, Alderms
b. Vaughan, in advocating large appr
- priation for experimental work in d.
- farming said: "There is more in tn
n proposition, gentlemen, than any Of
r, realize at this time. I have given tn
re much thought and have followed close
ne the experiments in different sections
W, the 'short-grass country, and l. a
~ convinced that we have at last foul
~ the solution Of the question as to VIII
Ut we are to do with our millions of u
~ watered acres. I am firmly convinc
US US that within five years we will be "a
~ ing forty bushels to the acre Of co
- and wheat and fifteen bushels Of sug
1,vy beets. - f
n And if Mr.. Vaughan g predict
no comes true, the great projects for if
af cation which the government is NJ
"A spending millions Of dollars upon, W