The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-12-30
to dos si b lie "a S the
o Hr dt

ployment OF a score OF men if horse ia
Dor We're employed. BY means of trac-
ton engines the labor problem on the
arid farms seems in a fair way TO be
solved. It is very fortunate that sew
eral makes of engines are at work at
the present time, Cor in that way the
relative merits of competing engines
will De determined by practical expe-
rience.
A Coming Need.
The need of arid farming today is no
longer that the people shall DE awak-
ened to the Importance of the industry:
it has now such an immense momentum
that il CO mot be stopped, and will so
on in spite of opposition.
Today tilc greatest need Of the indus
try is water for culinary purposes with
in a reasonable distance OF the 9arms
On Levan hill. for instance. water must
be hauled either from Nephi or Levan,
a distance of upwards of eight miles
In Deg valley the farm there operated
/ is obliged TO haul its water four mpes
Certain of the Cedar valley farmers ara
ten tc fifteen miles from water. This
hauling OF water adds greatly to the
expense OF the industry Far more Sc
Tious. however, is the fact that as Ions
as water cannot be found on these
farms homesteads will not be built on
them. The most Important considera-
tion of those who are watching the ie-
velopment of this Industry today is the
question Of how water can he o.
tanned i'm order to dot TIE deserts with
the homes Of happy men, women ana
children. \ bulletin recertiy issued by
the geological survey states that the
amount of underground water in the
world would make a layer of water 100
feet thick around The whole earth Host
of this water, it IL claimed. is within
LOGO feet Of the surface.
If this be true for Utah, the farmer
should have within reach a supply of
water sufficient for domestic and farm
uses. nay. even more, for if one foot
a year of the 100 feet, said to be within
1000 feet below US. could be brought
to the surface annually. our deserts
might be made everywhere to produce
the best irrigated crops In view of
such Information, and The coming i'm
portance of the dry farm industry of
this state, the Legislature which con-
venes next month. should certainly con-
slider the ACCESSIBILITY of setting aside
definite amount of money to be ex-
pended, under competent direction. for
the purpose of discovering if, in the dry
farm districts of the state, underground
supplies of water exist that may be de-
veloped and used. Cheap borings
should be made in as many places as
possible, in order to learn whether wa
ter exists at reasonable depths below
the surface Then private CAPITAL
could act on these findings, and larger
wells be sunk for the needs of the set
tiers. So far as arid farming is con-
cerned. no more important matter can
be considered by the present iegisla-
ture.
Effects Upon the Farmer.
In this review of the present condi-
ton of the arid farm industry of the
state it would hardly be proper to omit
mention of the important effect that
arid farming has had upon the farmer.
The development of this method of ag-
riclllture has done more than convert
thousands of acres of desert lands into
blossoming wheat fields; it has taught
the farmer careful and accurate meth
DDS of agriculture, which in turn has
reacted upon all that the farmer has to
do. Arid farming in that way has been
splendid schoolmaster, the effect of
which is felt in all departments of ag-
riculture within the state. The sugar
beet business has similarly benefited
the state, for the exact methods neces-
sary to produce beets successfully have
made better farmers. Arid farming is
making better farmers than the state
has ever had before.
A Warning to Investors.
Now that the era of arid farming is
upon us, an old word of warning needs