Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1907-06-29

of water annually is a desert. It is in
this region of low precipitation that
the irrigation movement is accom-
plishing so much for American agri-
culture. The government is spending
millions of dollars for the reclamation
of the arid lands by irrigation projects
and it is estimated that when all the
water available for irrigation has
been used at least ten per cent. Of
the arid lands will be used.
But is all land where the rainfall is
less than 20 inches to be regarded as
desert? That is a question which is
made important by the work done by
practical farmers of the west. The
plain farmers are not agreed with the
college farmers.
Prof H. T. French, of the UNIVERSE
ty of Idaho, states that ION account OF
the wonderful advancement in our
understanding of the science of soil
cultivation and soil metabolism, it is
possible to-day to grow crops where
a few years ago it was deemed an
utter impossibility." Prof Milton
Whitney, of the United States bureau
of soils, was astOnished to discover
that in California they are farming
where the rain ceases almost entirely
in the summer Yet the scientists
have been holding fast a long time
to the theory that anything less than
20 inches of rainfall means a desert
and such land can only be made by
irrigation.
Prof. w. M. Jardine, of the United
States bureau of plant industry, states
that a region lis considered arid when
the total precipitation is Is inches or
less" but he has been out west look
ing at conditions as they are and he
finds on investigation that recent in
vestigations in dry farming, or farm
ing without irrigation, have demon
strated that paying crops can be pro-
duced in regions where the annual
is as low as ten inches,
thus bringing under cultivation mil.
lions Of acres which up to the present
time have been considered useless ex.
cept for range purposes"
Prof. H. w. Campbell, of Lincoln,
Neb., who represents the practical
farmers in development of the best
systems of farming for the west, has
not pretended that farming could be
done with success every year on
ground with as low as ten inches of
but he has been for over 20
years stoutly insisting that good
farming can be done with less than
20 inches of rainfall. He would hard
ly fix a limit, for the limit is de-
pendent on things other than the ac-
tual number of inches of water per
year. He has gone on demonstrating
year by year that the application of
some common sense to the science OF
soil cultivation and intelligent care
Of the water which falls on the so
called semi-arid region, will enable a
farmer to do business year after
year.
If the practical farmers, under the |
leadership of Prof Campbell, go on |
rs they have in the past, encroaching |
upon the deserts, the general land Of |
ice at Washington will be forced to
revise its rule in regard to what is
desert and what is not. The 20-inch |
mark is not right, as the farmers
nave already demonstrated, and al
ready it is a question whether the 10
nch mark would be any better Ger
tain it is that farming is being sue.
carried on by thousands OF
farmers who are not favored by as
much as 20 inches Of precipitation |
each year.
The truth is. that the desert land
If America is growing beautifully less
each year. and tits only a question
ihtll It is'aii;to. be wiped on thu map. |
.st t -. ~srwv = 49,.