The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1906-08-10
DRY FARMING.
II Is the Hope Of the West-WiIi Re-
claim Arid Lands

4
fact that wherever in this great arid
empire the annual rainfall averages
as high as twelve inches, as good
crops can be raised without irriga-
ton as with it. This means that al
most every acre OF the great plains
between the Missouri river and the
Rocky mountains, and most of the
intermountain parks and plateaus be-
tween the Rockies and the Pacific will
produce as abundantly as viii the rich
prairie lands of Iowa, Missouri and
Illinois, and much more abundantIy
than the richest of the lands in any
of the older states along the Atlantic
seaboard; that there is enough land
now utilized, if at all, only for graz
ing, to make possible the trebling or
quadrupling of the present farming
population of the United States; that
outside of comparatively small areas
In western Texas and in portions Of
Utah, Nebraska, Arizona, Idaho, Wyo-
ming, South Dakota and southern Cal
fornia, there is little arabic land in
the great West that may not be di-
vided into forty-acre farms, each one
of which viii be capable of support
ing an average-sized family.
Probably there is no exaggeration
in the statement made by one writer
that the region between the foothills
of the Rocky mountains, bounded on
the south by the Rio Grande and on
the north by the Canadian border, is
capable of producing fruits, cereals.
vegetables and live stock sufficient
for the support of the entire present
population of the globe. The vast area
Of fertile and as yet almost untitled
land is the foundation upon which the
American people must build for the
continuance Of their prosperity for at
least a century to come. Properly
utilized, it may solve many perplex-
ing problems. 1t will relieve the con-
gestion of the cities, provide an outlet
for the superintendent capital and af-
ford opportunities for the enterpris-
ing and disconnected for decades. 1t
contains the richest mineral deposits,
the greatest forest resources, the
most fertile soil and the most genial
and salUbrious climate ON this CONT
nent. What its development and ex-
ploitation would mean TO the trans
portation, manufacturing, mercantile,
financial and labor interests of the
nation cannot be even dimly foreshad-
owed. 1t would furnish a stimulus that
would be felt not merely in the great
centers of population and industry,
but in the remotest hamlet and on the
most isolated farm in the republic.
What western people have become
accustomed to calling the Campbell
system of dry farming" consists sim
ply in the exercise of intelligence.
force, patience and tireless industry. 1t |
differs. in detail from the good farm
ing" methods practiced and taught at |
the agricultural experiment stations:
but the underlying principles are the
same. Il
These principles are two in number. |
First, to keep the surface of the land |
under cultivation loose and finely pull |
verified. This forms soil mulch that |
permits the rains and melting SHOWS |
TO percolate readily through the COM
pacted soil beneath, and that at the
same time prevents the moisture
stored in the ground from being
brought to the surface by capillary |
attraction, to be absorbed by the hot.
dry air. The second is to keep the sub
soil finely pulverized and firmly COM
pacted, increasing it's water-holding
capacity and its capillary attraction.
and placing it in the best possible
physical condition for the termination
Of seed and the development of plant
roots. The dry farmer" thus stores
water not in dams and artificial reser-
yoirs. but right where it can be
reached by the roots of growing
crops.
Through these principles a rainfall
Of twelve inches can be conserved so
effectively that it will produce better
results than are usually expected of
an annual precipitation of twenty-four
inches in humid America. The discoy-
erer and demonstrators of these princi-
pies deserves to rank among the
greatest of national benefactors. He
has not merely made two blades of
grass grow where only one grew be-
ore, but he has made it possible to
cover with wheat and corn, alfalfa
and other useful crops. tens of thou.
sands of square miles of fertile land
IN which nothing but sagebrush. cac-
i. Kansas sunfiowers and bunch grass
Are now found.
There is nothing inimical to irriga-
ion in the dry farming movement.