Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-06-22

of water annually is 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 1t 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 Universi- 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 1t 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 long time to the theory that anything less than 20 inches of rainfall means desert and such land can only be made by irrigation.
 Prof. w. M. Jardine, of the United States bureau of plant industry. states that region lis considered arid when the total precipitation Is 15 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 precipitation 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 rainfall, 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 Re 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 as they have in the past. encroaching upon the deserts. the general land of- flee at Washington will be forced to revise it's rule in regard to what is desert and what Is not The zo-inch mark is not right, as the farmers have already demonstrated. and ai- ready it Is a question whether the 15- inch mark would be any better. Ger tain 1t. Is that farming is being sue cessfully 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 of America is growing beautifully less each year. and it is only a question until it is all to be wiped of the map.