The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1909-11-26
ARID SOIL CULTURE
Dry Farming Produces Crops
Where Rainfall Is Limited.
lrnn,ense Tracts Of Land Which Can
not Be Brought Under Irrigation
and Utilization as Farms
Vastly Important.

Dry farming, sometimes called
arid" or soil culture" farming. is the
production of crops without irrigation
in regions that possess but a limited
rainfall. The economic importance of
the problem will be obvious to anyone
who considers how much land in the
west comes under this category. The
results attained by individual farmers
and government agricultural stations
are such as to encourage effort and in
spire hope on the part Of those direct
ly interested in dry farming. And the
community at large is hardly less in
terested than the farmers who are
toiling at a solution Of the problem.
A considerable portion of the west
is desert land. now, or soon to be, UNI,
der irrigation and wonderfully fertile.
A large portion is irreclaimably bad.
And there are immense semi-arid re-
gions which cannot he brought under
irrigation and where there is less
than 20 inches average annual rain
fall. The utilization of these lands for
other agricultural purposes than graz
lib NOulu ilCdll lll6llly HpOl tuuG az
cession of wealth to the United
States
Farming in the semi-arid regions
was formerly of the .ht or miss" vari-
ety-the growing of wide acreage of
crops with rough husbandry and with
profits practically wiped out in dry
years. But better. farming methods
are being applied, the aim of which are
mainly to secure the collection within
the soil of all the water falling on it,
the retention within the soil of all the
water, absorbed, and the : growth Of
crops suitable to semi-arid conditions.
The method pursued is summer
following planting every other year,
but cultivating every year. The soil
is plowed deep, narrowed three. or
four times a year and covered with a
blanket of soil mulch" to conserve
the moisture.
The selection of the right crops and
the right variety of each is of prime
Importance. The durum or macaroni
wheat and Turkey Red are we'll adapt.
ed to semi-arid regions. In corn, a
small, early maturing variety is recon-
mended by experts, with Kafflr corn
and sorghum for feed crops. There is
great likelihood that certain varieties
Of alfalfa are widely suitable. Oats,
barley, millet, field peas, western
wheat grass, potatoes and. other root
vegetables have given good results on
the plains.
The necessity (under proper meth
DDS of dry farming) Of cropping the
soil in alternate years, made the 100
acre limit Of the homestead law seem
unsuitable to the needs of the farm
:er Of the semi-arid regions. IA recent
amendment to the land laws permits
the homesteader to enter 800 acres of
dry land in specified localities, that
amount being generally considered as
needfnl for the successful application
OF the Summer following" method.
The results of dry farming must. OBJ
sviously be proportioned to the thor
#oughness, experience and intelligence
of the individual farmer-a condition
which, Of course, applies more or less
to all farming. Those about to en-
gage in dry farming are reminded by
the United States department of agri-
culture that the farmer should inves.
stigate carefully the possibilities Of the
particular region in which he expects
to settle; he should have clearly in
mind beforehand the kind of crop
which he will produce, and he should
not undertake dry farming If a fail
ure of crops at the beginning will
mean to him a complete and perma.
nent disaster"