The Dickinson press., 1907-02-23
Dry Land Farming.

States which has attracted more attention
during the past year nor any which may
have greater importance to the nation as
a whole than the problem of the best
utilization of the semi-arid lands of the
western United States.
Several conditions have contributed to
the general interest in this subject. The
people of the United States have become
aware that Government lands suitable
for ordinary agriculture are almost a
thing of the past. With our rapidly in
creasing population it will soo become
necessary to utilize for crop production
a large amount of the rich, arabic land
of the West which has insufficient rain
fall for ordinary agriculture. Then, also,
during the last two or three years there
has been rather more than the average
amount of rainfall over the larger part of
the semi-arid region, and many people
acquainted with present conditions firmly
believe that the climate of this region is
rapidly becoming more humid. This
belief is without foundation in fact, and
it is surprising that it should exist, for
the precipitation records for the whole
country are given wide publicity, but
since this idea is generally held and has
been widely advertised it becomes i'm
portant to emphasize the fact that there
is no adequate basis for hoping that the
climate of the arid West is undergoing
any appreciate change as regards pre-
cipitation.
Within recent years, also, investiga-
ton and experimentation have been di.
rected toward the solution of some of
the complicated problems involved lin
the conservation of soil moisture in these
arid regions. Actual additions to ex-
listing knowledge of the subject have
been relatively few, but public attention
has been directed to the work to such an
extent that the idea prevails that much
is now possible in the way Of utilizing a
limited rainfall which was never possible
before. There is some foundation for
such a conclusion, but nothing to war
rant the many exaggerated statements
which are now current.
The conquest of the semi-arid West,
to be successful and to be accomplished
without large and costly failures, must
be made slowly, and by the careful
application of definitely ascertained sci
entiic facts. The boundaries of exist
ing settlements may be gradually ex-
tended, but any wholesale attempts to
c%olonize large areas Of this semi-arid
land with people accustomed to farming
only in humid regions or not accustomed
to farming at all must surely result in
disastrous failure, and such failures can
only hinder the real progress of western
development. When this development
can proceed gradually from already es-
tablished agricultural centers, instead of
by unsupported beginnings in the midst
of dry land, ultimate success is possible
without any great risk of complete fail
ure. Even where it is possible, by the
use of windmills or the development of
springs or small streams, to irrigate gar
dens and even parts of fields during pro-
tracted periods of drought the settler
may be able to tide over times when,
without such resources, complete failure
must be inevitable.
In considering the development of
dry land agriculture west of the o8th
meridian, it is desirable to recognize two
distinct areas, each of which has its
peculiarities of climate and soil. One
of these, known as the Great Plains area,
includes that portion of the country lying
between the o8th meridian on the east
and the Rocky mountains on the west,
and the other, known as the 1nter-moun-
tain area, extending from the Rocky
mountains westward to the Pacific ocean.
The Great Plains area includes the
western portion of the broad, rolling
prairie lands of the Mississippi valley.
1t is not broken by any considerable
mountain range, and consequently it is
subject to the same general climatic
conditions throughout. In this area SUBJ
stations have already been established
in cooperation with the various state
experiment stations at Dickinson and
Edgeley, N. D., Highmore and Belle
Fourche, S. D., North Platte, Neb., Hays
and Garden City, Kan, and Amarillo,
Tex. Negotiations are now under way
for the establishment of similar CO.
operative work in eastern Colorado and
eastern New Mexico. 1t is hoped also
that additional stations will soon be es.
tablished in Texas and in Oklahoma.
These sub-stations are under the joint
supervision of Mr.. E. c. Chileott of the
Office of Dry Land Agriculture, Bureau
of Plant Industry and the director Of
each state experiment station. At each
of these sub-stations carefully planned
experiments are being conducted for the
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