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. lr-a.
But is all land where the rainfall is
less than 20 inches to be regarded as
desert?l That is 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. TIErench, g If the UNIVERSE
t ty of states tna ay account OF . Of
s55l,sst j., 20 5se q j Fl i
possible tx, 10 grey Il crops where
few yeaH0eo IT leswas deemed an
utter imposNiht r." Prof. Milton
Whitney, of IN 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
lone 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 |
y fix limit, for the limit is de-
pendent on things other than the ac-
ual number of inches of water per |
rear. He has gone on demonstrating |
rear by year that the application Of
'ome common sense to the science OF
ioil cultivation and intelligent care
II the water which falls on the So
JAILED semi-arid region, will enable a
armer to do business year after
rear.
If the practical farmers, under the
leadership of Prof. Campbell, go on
IS they have in the past, encrOachlng
Ipon the deserts, the general land of,
Ice at Washington will be forced to
evise it's rule in regard to what is
Iesert and what is not. The 20-inch
mark is not right as the farmers
ave already demonstrated, and al.
eady it is a question whether the 10
nch mark would be any better Ger.
ain It is that farming is being sue
carried on by thousands Of
armers who are not favored by as
nuch as 20 inches of precipitation
ach year.
The truth is that the desert land
I America is growing beautifully less
ach year. and It 10 only question
NTH It Is all TO be wiped on TIA map.