East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1906-05-11

The agricultural appropriation bill,
which passed the house only few
DAYS ago and is now pending in the
senate, carries no provision for dry
farming experiments in the arid and
semi-arid regions OF the west, for
which purpose $4,000 was asked at
one time by Representative Marshall,
OF North Dakota and Representative
Mondell of Wyoming. Western men,
bers made hard fight for the appro-
priation. but lost
The scene of action now shifts to
the senate where the fight for an ap-
preparation to investigate methods of
dry land farming in the west will be
continued and probably pushed to
successful end. The chances of the
provision in the senate are much bet
ter than they were in the house. The
senate committee on agriculture,
which is now considering the agricul-
tural hill as passed by the house, is
composed of II senators.
Chairman Redfield Proctor. of ver-
mont, and Senator Henry Burnham,
of New Hampshire. are the only east
ern members on the committee. Five
members are from the west and four
from the south. Representative Mon
dell, chairman of the house commit
tee on irrigation. is confident the sem
ate will vote money for the much
needed experiment investigation.
Secretary Wilson. of the department
of agriculture, made the following re-
port on the Marshall bill, providing
for this work:
at is the evident intention of the
framer of this bill to provide addi-
extension of the work in dry farming
already begun under the appropria-
ton made last session for cereal in
vestigations.
This work has developed so rapid
ly and the demands from the people
in the semi arid portions of the coun-
try have become so urgent within the
last few months, that it is now evil
dent that additional funds will be
necessary IL the work is to be develop
ed to the extent demanded by he con-
ditions which exist in this vast area,
which cannot be reclaimed by irriga-
ton, but which must be utilized by
some method of dry land farming. in
order to provide homes for the peo-
pie who are flocking to these unoccu-
pied lands in such large numbers, and
20 prevent as far as possible the dis
astrous failures that have heretofore
been the result of attempts to settle
TING region. haze n number Of times
called attent. III in my annual report
10 the Importance of this line of i:.-
vestigation."
Representative Marshall, of North
Dakota, referring to his bill the other
day. said:
{. Government Aid.
'I appeared before the agricultural
committee recently and made a strong
statement of the conditions prevailing
in an immense tract Of country, about
200 miles in width, which extends
from the Canadian line to the Gulf of
Mexico. For several years prelimi-
nary work has been in progress by the
department of agriculture in the
study OF dry land agriculture. Nearly
one-third Of the area of the United
States has insufficient rainfall for the
best culture of the ordinary crop
plants. '---'-..
st has been pointed out in previ-
Gus reports that after all possible ex-
tension is made of irrigation there
must remain enormous areas, approx
imating a fourth of the entire land
surface Of this country. which will
necessarily remain perpetually in Their
present arid or semi-arid condition
for want of an adequate supply Of
water for irrigation.
DRY farming is a necessity in or
der TO utilize such lands where irri
cation can never be precticed. Enough
preliminary work has now been ac
complished to show that large area
of such dry, but often extremely fer
tile lands can ultimately be utilized