The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1910-10-04
DELEGATES GATHERED FOR BUS
MESS AT SPOKANE, WASH,
YESTERDAY.
ADDRESS BY MONDELL
Was Principal Incident of First Ses-
sion--Urges Home'Making on
Dry Farms--New Method
Fays Biggest.

Spokane, Wash, Oct 3.-The Amer
lean Dry Farming Congress opened
here today, and the first session was
devoted to routine matters. organlza-
tion etc. II. w. Mandell delivered
the principal address, He said in
part:
In all the years since we began
the conquest of the sub-hnmid lands
we have had no such experience
as that OF the present season. over
large portion OF the territory from
the Gulf to the Saskatchewan, from
Yhe Coast Range to the Father OF
Waters we have had an unusual con-
dition OF dcouth and not winds. rms
condition has not been uniform, IL
is true. Here and there regions
have had normal or approximately
normal, conditions Taken as
whole, however, our Western coun
TRY having ordinarily limited rain
fall has suffered from drouth such
as has seldom been known.
One would naturally suppose that
such a condition as this would nave
been most disastrous to the dry
farming movement and discouraging
to the dry farmer. To a certain
extent this is true. cut one who has
kept in touch with the dry farming
movement and with the dry farmers,
must have been struck with the
wonderful spirit of hopefulness and
confidence generally prevailing.
Wherever | have been, wherever
have met dry farmers, the almost.
universal sentiment has been. When
we can do as we'll as we have in
such an extraordinarily dry year
we are more confident than ever OF
the success of dry farming methods
am not altogether certain that
the present year of drouth, hail
storms and frosts, has not been
blessing in disguise, though | admit
that the average dry farmer VIII
insist that the disguise is complete.
The fact is, for the past few years,
it has been found so easy to produce
crops without any unusual effort, in
large portion Of our sub-humid
territory, that men were beginning
to get careless; they were loath to
depai from their old established
ways when reasonable crops might
be produced without adopting dry
farming methods, In other words,
many farmers under limited rainfall
have been laying up for themselves
the wrath that comes to him who
is unprepared in year like this.
The men who have come triumphant
ly, at least hopefully. through the
ordeal have been those whose prac-
tices we're the most thorough and
scientific.
The essentials can be summed up
in a few words-deep plowing to
create a sufficient reservoir; a period
for water storage; surface cultiva-
tion to conserve the moisture thus
stored; careful seed selection ans
plant:ng--result harvest certain
and satisfactory My experience is
that the first essential in securing
the adoption by the new dry farmer,
or the reformed rancher turned
farmer, in the sub-humid region, OF
scientific and practical dry farming
methods is to prove to him that in
the long run it not only pays, but
as matter of fact, the outlay in
time and labor Is less in proportion
to the results obtained under dry
farming methods than under the
methods ordinarily practiced In
humid regions. And when say
this have in mind the practice OF
biennial croppage. ! am simply ex
pressing.osan individual opinion ant
one with regard to which ! realize
there are numerous exceptions and
qualifications, all of which, however
in my opinion, simply serve to EN-
phasize and prove the virtue of tht
rule.
Above all things let us preaci
homemaking on the dry farms. Th
fact that shade trees, orchard am
garden must in many instances b.
carefully tended in order to produo'
satisfactory results has tendenc,
to discourage these valuable ad
iuncts to homemaking, but DIR.
farming shall be most genuinely sue
cessful In proposition as we shal
make 1t basis Of attractive home
making. and this means Oversize
farming, fruit growing wherever
can be made profitable, planting o
trees, growing of vegetables, an
the cultivation Of wide variet
of crops. All these are first essen
t'als In the development Of any CON
munity through dry farming methods