The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1910-06-30
DRYFARM NO DREAM
Once Considered Somewhat OF a
Myth, Now Stern Reality.
Wonderful Things Have Been Achieved
In Growing Crops With Very Lit
tie Rain--Man Must Constant.
ly Conserve Moisture.

We acknowledge that we were once
of the opinion that dry farming was
considerable of a pipe dream, and we
still believe that II is sometimes con-
siderably magnified by the real estate
agent in planting settlers on the arid
lands of the west, writes A. w. Trow
in Dakota Farmer. Yet, notwithstand-
ing the fact that many people have
been deceived by the glowing stories
of raising crops with little rain, won
derful things have been achieved in
growing enormous crops with very
light rainfall. II is true that in many
of the semiarid districts the poor
homesteader has fallen down in his
attempts to raise crops This, in
measure, can be attributed to his lack
of knowledge of conservation of mois-
ture, or, to use another expression.
the lack of economy of moisture. The
man who is accustomed to farming
where there is a superabundance of
moisture cannot easily understand
how a farmer would go about it to
raise from 40 to so bushels of wheat
with from IL to Is inches of rain fall.
but there are few places in the far
west where this is actually done. II
was our privilege a few days ago
to see wheat turning out so bushels
10 the acre in a locality where the
United States weather bureau reports
but ~ inches of rain falling during
the past year: but the men who are
doing this are certainly scientific dry
farmers. On this same land many
farmers went broke 20 years ago.
They tried to follow the same plan of
growing wheat which they were ac-
customed to in the humid districts of
the east. and IL is said that at least
nine-tenths of them went to the wall,
and the land that was deserted at that
tine is now among the highest priced
wheat land in the United States, sell
ing at from $40 to $75 an acre. crop
failure In that locality of late years is
unknown, but practically half of all
of the land is summer fallowed every
year. We made the remark that it
seemed tough to farm land two years
to get one crop, but one of these farm
ers replied that he considered il a
mighty sight better to get a double
crop from one seeding and one plow-
Ing, even thought IL didn't come oft
ener than once in two years, than TO
get only half crop every year"
While one-half of the farm is into
wheat the other half is being plowed
and narrowed and prepared for the
succeeding year. II is here that the
corrugated roller Is used to make a
firm seed bed that will not dry out
and whenever a rain comes the ground
that is not in crop is narrowed TO
prevent its checking and to make the
dust mulch to conserve the moisture.
Umatilla county, Oregon, now boasts
of being the largest producer of wheat
of any country in the world and also
OF being one of the few places in the
world where single-crop farming is a
success, and in their success we see
hope for the thousands of acres of
short grass land that has heretofore
been considered of little account for
anything but range purposes. But il
7 goes without saying that he who at
| tempts to farm this dry land must
keep his eye constantly to the con-
servation of moisture. He must be a
/ scientific dry farmer.
We believe that the farmers of our
( humid districts will do well TO pay
some attention to the methods of these
| dry-land farmers. II one extreme fol-
| lows another, as II usually does, we
/ may expect series of dry seasons,
and some of the principles of the dry
I farmer may come in good play. These
/ principles are so safe and sound that
/ they must be regarded of great value,
and the general plan of successful
semiarid farming can be applied in
some degree to the growing of almost
every crop in large proportion of
that territory embraced within the
/ Missouri valley, and in dry seasons it
/ is also applicable to the growing of
most cultivated crops in the Missis-
/ sippi valley.