The Greeley tribune., 1905-10-05
ABOUT RIGHT
COMMON SENSE TALK BY
SENATOR McCREERY
Dry Farming Alright But There
is an "if" Not Found in r.
rigation Farming so Ex-
perts Say

Irrigation experts and lawyers as
we'll as the vast ditch interests in
this and adjoining states are not
showing any jealousy, as might per-
haps be expected. because of the re-
cent wide advertising of what is
now being called the Campbell
system" of farming arid lands with
out irrigation. This so-called
Campbell system may rise and fall,
but the irrigation interests will
move steadily onward.
Former Senator James w. Nc
Creerv of Greeley Is one of the best
posted irrigation lawyers of the west
and during the past few weeks he
has examined all the claims and re-
suits of the system. H. w. Camp
bell comes from Nebraksa, but most
of his explorations have been in
Kansas and Colorado and a Colorado
man, j. F. Pomeroy of Colorado
Springs, is interested with him and
is helping the work.
1--WE all know that the ideas in
volved in this so-called system are
good ones,' said Senator McCreery
but they are not new by any means.
The underlying principles of the
scheme are to keep the top of the
soil soft all the time so as to prevent
evaporation, to plow very deep and
thus hold all the water as long as
possible. These ideas are good ones
and ever since I was boy can re-
member that all farmers, where it
was necessary, paid attention to
these matters and to certain de-
gree profited by the excellent results
obtained. There is not thing new
about it that l have heard of or
found out in looking into the mat
ter.
Don't misunderstood me; l have
nothing to say against such a pro-
cedure, but have praise for it in
stead. But the Campbell system,
or any other system you want to
call it, can never take the place Of
irrigation. This past season winter
wheat, for instance. has been great
success. all over the country on prin-
ciples the same as embodied in the
new advertised system. And every
year somewhere the system is used
to advantage and can be depended
upon for excellent results wherever
conditions are right. But there is
nothing certain about it. Compared
with the production of irrigated
| tracts, the output cannot be but
about half on the average and the
yield will fail almost altogether in
about half of the years SO it becomes
question of whether man can
live better on an irrigated tract with
big yield every season or on tract
under the Campbell system where he
will secure about half of the best
! pDSSIDle oilput illSA SNSly
other year.
Several other prominent irrigation
authorities have expressed them
selves in similar manner and re-
gard the recent notoriety of this
system merely as we'll directed
effort to dispose of real estate which
is not blessed with water rights.
Some of them go further than Sem
ator McCreery and admit that much
land which can never be placed
under ditch may be materially i'm
proved in this manner. but they
claim there is nothing new in the
programme.
There seems to be no chance of a
conflict between the irrigation sys-
TEN and the Campbell system as the
advocates of each speak favorably.
although perhaps patronizingly, of
the other. Campbell himself says
he has no fight against irrigation,
although he thinks it unnecessary
where there Is any considerable
amount of rainfall.
"And that is just where the
beauty of irrigation comes in" said
Senator McCreery, in summing up
the whole matter. '''In the old
system which is now being called the
Campbell system, there is an if
and in the irrigation system there Is
not any if If there is rainfall
enough the old system is all right,
but those of us who have tried irri-