Bisbee daily review., 1910-04-23
DRY FARMING HAS
DONE WONDERS

Tie following article by David r.
Ham chairman Of the board Of con
,rsI of the dry farming congress. to
meet this year at Spokane. is an
eniightening showing of what this
brsneh Of agriculture is accomplish
ing for the west
Probably no subject OF public in
terest in recent years has attracted
such wide attention or spread so rap
idly as that dry farming. Four
gatherings have been held fer the
discussion of this subject. and prep
srati0ns are now going forward for
The 9th convention Of the Dry
Farming congress and International
Dry Farming exposition. which will
be held in Spokane the first week in
October.
livery safe and territory in the
soealIed arid and semiarid west. and
many OF the states in the humid dis
tricts Of the United States. is pre-
pairing to send delegates to this con-
gress. and the provinces Of western
Canada and the prOStnces and NJ
items on every continent ==v also
making arrangements for represen-
tation with delegates and exhibits.
Not only agricultural and opera
tive farmers. but scientists OF the
foremost agricultural colleges and ex-
pertinent stations, OF the national de-
parlments of agriculture OF various
countries aud officials OF many gov
erzments. as wen as economists and
pubIlcists everywhere are interested
in chs movement
The growth Of the dry farming
Increment is one Of the wonders Of
the present age. A term that was
provocative of incredulous smiles and
deprecatory Jests five years ago. to
day is recognized as symbolic Of
the higher agriculture toward which
an nations are striving The first
meeting at which the Trans-Missouri
Dry Farming congress was formed.
was regarded as a Joke. the fifth
Dry Farming congress. which viii
meet in Spokane, holds the serious
attention OF nations
Phenomenal Growth
The growth of the dry farming
movement has been phenomenal in
tEat it has spread TO all quarters OF
the globe in four years. but its ad-
Vancement to the front rank Of pub
lie questions in economic importance
is particularly noticeable in the west
ern United States and Canada
Five years ago there were a few
farmers struggling against adversely
on the plains OF eastern Colorado. in
New Mexico. Utah and elsewhere in
the semi-arid west. The settlers WIN
took up land in nonirrigable sections
C the west were regarded as fool
hardy. or worse. Their efforts to
make the dry lands productive were
condemned as inviting nothing but
failure
Many settlers who had gene into
the dry regions did not fail and many
struggled along for years, eking out
a bare existence with the aid OF
few exceptionally propitious years.
but many succeeded. Scattered
throughout the west in Utah. Wyo-
ming Montana. Colorado and in
ether states were mere or less fso-
lated exceptions 10 the expectations
Of the pessimists Ia some sections.
notably in eastern Washington and
Oregon AID Utah. there we're nota-
bic exceptions. and in these states
dry land farming vas accepted as
a TACT.
Five years ago the newspapers Of
the country were loath to publish
articles Of the successes or dry farm
ing There was a prevalent idea
throughout the east that he greater
part OF the west was useless for
farming. that desert land would re-
main barren and desoiate where the
irrigating ditch was unknown. and
that so-called dry farming was ridic-
ulous IN conception and impractical
bic in appliance.
The failures that have been re-
corded among the prejudice in the
ninds OF eastern aud western skep-
tics against dry farming had a com
mon origin-in ignorance of the con
citizens under which dry farming was
attempted and Of the methods nee
essary to successful dry farming
The settlers who found the cond'-
lions on the dry lands too hard. did
not know how to combat those con
aftions. They did not know how TO