Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1910-08-26
USE FOR DRY LAND
Necessary to Develop Barren
Plains and Conserve Resources.
With Advantages Of Modern AmerI
can Machinery There Is No
Reason Why semI-ArId Por-
tlonof Country Cannot BE
Utilized.


CBy MANLEY cHAMPLTN. South DaRo-
ia Agricultural Coliege)
There is nothing new under the
sun" In the United States. in recent
years there has been much valuable
work done toward reclaiming or more
properly toward opening for mixed
farming purposes all that magnificent
area of the plains that lies between
the Tooth meridian and the Rocky
mountains This territory includes
the western half OF the Dakotas. Ne
braska, Kansas. Oklahoma and Texas.
as well as the eastern part OF Mon
tana, Wyoming, Colorado. and New
Mexico. Then, too, there are many
fertile valleys and table lands OF the
Rocky mountain region that will lend
themselves encouragiugly to this sys.
tenn of farming.
Anyone who lives along the lines OF
railroad that lead to the various regis
tration points and has seen train aft
err train OF seven to nine coaches filled
with earnest homeseekers who are
looking for a farm of their own In the
newly opened reservations will not
need to be told that there is a need
for dry farming The population OF
the entire world has been increasing
by leaps and bounds during the past
century since the Improvement In
medical and surgical science as well
as the improved conditions In life
have made 1t possible for much high.
err per cent. of the children born 10
reach maturity and old age Europe
has settled America. Australia. many
Islands OF the sea and much of ART
ca during this brief hundred years and
still there are more than double the
people there than were extant 100
years ago. II has become necessary
then to find new means of support. to
develop hitherto barren lands. and to
conserve In every way the resources
about us. Dry farming is one OF these
developments. While II is new In the
United States, II has been practised
for ages in certain parts of the world
and much has been done in the way OF
developing drought resistant plants
and In finding methods of tillage to
hold the scanty moisture for the use
of crops. AS quoted at the beginning
there is nothing new under the sun
and ! wish TO say at the outset thai
when the Algerians are cultivating the
sand dunes of the Sahara desert
when the Arabs are raising abundan
crops of dates and grapes and Olives
In their own rugged peninsula. whei
the Russians of the east are supply
ing large part of Europe with whea
and rye from their semi-arid steppes
when thousands OF Americans are al
ready at work upon their dry farms
that with the advantages of moderi
American machinery at our dispose
there Is no reason why the semi-ari'
portion OF the great plains area can
not be utilized as a mixed farming
country
Moisture is the great need; moist
ure conservation the great problem. Il
large part of this territory sufficen
rain falls every year to raise a Gro
II II can be saved from the sun an
wind In an equally large portion o
the territory II has been found profit
able to fallow the land one year an
thus save moisture for the crop OF tn
following year The rainfall to a yer
large extent comes In the form OF Il
cal showers. Some townships will b
visited by abundant showers Will
their neighbors on each side may b
barched.