Bisbee daily review., 1908-01-25
OF
 DRY FARMING


en, their trees and vines have per ished, and their country is barren waste.
 Somewhat similar to the cultural methods of these ancient gardners is the practice followed by Papagos and Mexfcans in southern Arizona and So- nora, who, by means of diagonal em- bankments, catch the stormwater runoff from up-country slopes and ! concentrate it upon favorably situat- ! ed fields. In this well-soaked soil
 raise quick-growing crops of corn,
 melons, squasheS and grain. Unlike l dry farming in the ordinary sense of
 the term, however, these operations
 are possible only in occasional fay
 oTed localities.
 ''The underfiow valleys os southern
 Arizona offer agricultural opportuni- ties of distinctly different charac- ter. A number of these valleys, in cluding the Santa Cruz, Rillito, and Sulphur Springs, carry extensive bod ies of underground water within eco nomical pumping distance of the sur l face. This water supply, especially in the vicinity of mining towns where the demand for produce is great, can often be pumped with profit for the | irrigation of market gardens; and at | other times can be used to supple ment the rainfall in the cultivation of less intensive crops.
 "As an instance of the use to which l such waters may be put, attention is
 called to certain hardy eucalyptus
 which after being started on pumped
 water will take care of themselves on the rainfall and on the underflow in to which their strong roots will soon 1 find their way. Once started, such
 grove will be of little expense 10
 their owners, and in a few years will | afford a valuable supply of postsSties,
 mining timber and fuel to their own CTS.
 "The olive tree is equally suitable | to such situations, a remarkable illus
 tration of the drouth-resistant char acter of this tree being available near Casa Grande, where some fifteen years ago a large orchard was plant ed, but was afterwards abandoned
 when the Florence ditch failed. These trees. situated in the lower Santa Cruz valley, though unirrigated for years, have apparently not suffered, and have even produced considerable crops of fruit.
 III yet OlutE lOCdllllGS lnG
 water rises so as to keep the surface
 moist; but these localities are usual ly very alkaline, so that alkali-resist- ant plants and trees must be chosen, such as palms, salt bushes. pears and pomegranates.
 All this is not dry farming as the term Is understood in the north; but is the form which the idea will prob al, faI- tfons In Arizona, with her immense
 expanse of grazing territory and her comparatively small cuItivable areas, | it would seem that dry farming may often be made to supplement the
 grazing industry, acting as a balance wheel to the usually uncertain re i sources of the range. In this connec- 1 tion it is of vital importance that l stcckmen or others interested in the l improvement of this splendid semi arid country should be siven such control presumably by means of
 long-term leases, of sufficient areas 1 from which to secure satisfactory living Such an administration of the
 range will in this country, as it has | in Australia, lead to the improvement rather than the destruction of graz | ing and dry farming resources. The second Trans-Missoui Dry Farming congress now in session at Salt Lake City, and the National Live Stock association, also in session at ! Denver, are engaged in the promo | tion of the interests of stockmen and | dry farmers throughout the semfarid
 region. These meetings are of very | great importance to the welfare of | the west and their proceedings are worthy of the closest attention"