Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1906-04-03

these factors First. the prscipiia
ton: Is there or y there mol normal
precipitation sufficient upon the
plains about Las Vegas = make farm
Ing possible and pr0ntab1o9
Through the courtesy Of Mr., Y, u
OF Depver district fore
caster OF the Rocky Mountain region
| learned. after several hours spent
by his clerical force. In carefully conf
piling the statistics for the past eigh'
teen years. that you have here a.
Las Vegas a most excellent precipita
lion. In fact. you have here a great
deal higher average precipitation
than we do In eastern Coloradoi YET
we produce good crops there yearly
under careful cultivation.
For the past eighteen years your
precipitation here has averaged 1872
a.mOst 10 inches. And during the
growing season from February hrst
I'll September first inclusive, nearly
fourteen inches Of this precipitation
occurs. During last year you had
a precipitation much In excess OF
normal. You had 1886 inches.
But nineteen inches Of precipitation
In New Mexico Is one thing and the
same amount Of precipitation 10 Iowa.
for instance, Is quite another thing,
Here we have TO reckon with the facs
tor Of evaporation. Regardless Of what
efforts we may make to retain the
moisture, a given precipitation will
not 60 40 far with us as II Will In
Iowa. II the same efforts are made to
conserve the moisture. But have we
any way at all Of getting at what
nineteen inches OF precipitation may
be depended upon TO do, II careful ef-
fort Is made to conserve II. The au-
thorities Of the State Agricultural
college OF Utah have undertaken, by
experiment, TO determine just how
much water Is necessary In a semi.
arid region TO bring 10 maturity one
|bushel Of wheat. And II Is agreed by
experts that the amount Of moisture
required to mature q bushel Of
wheat is the maximum amount re-
quired to mature any farm crop 10
a semi-arid country.
II was found in this series OF ex.
periments that nifty tons Of water are
required to mature a single bushel
OF wheat. This statement means no
thing particular to the laymen's mind,
50 far as helping him to understand
what IL to be expected in the way Of
crops from q normal annual rainfall
Of a given number Of inches is con.
cerned, unless we can learn what an
inch Of water, spread over an acre,
for instance, means In terms OF tons
Of water. The same authority from
Utah assures us than an inch Of rain
fall spread over an acre means one
hundred and thirteen tons Of water.
Nineteen inches mean 2.047 tons OF
water TO the acre--enough according
to this authority. to bring to maturit
40.95, almost exactly Al bushels OF
wheat. or course, this Is on the as.
sumption that every drop of water be
conserved and enter into the plant.
This Is impossible. There is, 50 far
as | know, no authority, that enables
us to say exactly what percentage OF
the water that falls upon the soil can
with care. be conserved In the soil.
Some people who have made and are
making a very careful study Of his
Question have told me that seventy
5p4r cent of the moisture can be con
served. But suppose even afty per
cent can be conserved in the soil and
utiliYed by the plant. what does that
mean? It means that you have nc-.
mai precipitation enough, p yeeT
with another, to produce 20.4E hnsn'
els OF wheat to the acre, md this
means nearly eight bushels n excess
81 the average wheat crop IN the
great wheat belt OF this nation.
II you follow closely this discusst'''
you will see that II Is not the fault
Of nature that the wheat crop OF th'.
, country Is not three times as large
as It Is every year. 1t could just as
p! well be.
Now to the second factor: a seed
adapted to semi-arid conditions. We
viii not dwell long here II you vii
consult the reports Of the depart
ment ~ agriculture you can satisfy
yourselves what can be done In the wa.
LOT breeding drouth resistent seeds
of all sorts. Mature from the be
ginning provided" that all forms O
! life could be gradually trained to ad
lust themselves to their environment
and only those forms can survive tha'
possess the tendency that enables
T. JCon7Inued On Page seven).
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