The Bad River news. [volume] (Philip, Stanley County, S.D.) 19??-1912, 1911-10-05
Twelve Inches of Rain


wealthy New York man who was
having financial trouble said to
: the elder Astor, II think | can
, save half a million" "WelI' said
the old man, "a man with half a
million is Just as we'll off as he
was rich.' To the people of that
: day it seemed man worth a half
! million was already immensely
rich but half million compared
to same of the immense fortunes
of today shrinks almost to a baga-
telle. Stand in central avenue and
look at the top of the water tank
and it seems pretty high. Ii
Washington monument stood by
the side of it, it would be dwarfed
to a pigmy. The annual rainfall
in tropical America is 115 inches.
At the mouth of the AmiZOn river
as high as 276 inches have been
known. This seems a very large
amount but when we read IN the
mountains of Cossyah 61O inches
or 81 feet have been collected IN
one year the amount at the mouth
of the Amazon is somewhat be-
Titled. The highest rainfall in the
United States is in the Gulf states
and in western Oregon and is
somewhere between fifty and sixty
inches. By the side of this the
twelve inches of Stanley county
looks pretty small, but is it really
small or onl Y relatively small by
contrast! Let US look at this very
carefully. Possibly we have de-
ceived ourselves by viewing this
by contrast with more moist eli
mates. If we can stretch our
imagination to suppose the surface
of Stanley county to be reduced to
water level and the average pre-
cipitation for one year on it, it
would form a lake as broad as the
county and something over foot
deep. An immense amount of
water. The most disgusted home
steader that ever abandoned his
claim would admit if all this could
be utilized for our wants, there
would be superabundance for all
our needs. If this is true and it
looks so to me. then the reason
we are so often in want of water
for our crops, for our cattle and
for ourselves, is not because too
little has fallen but because very
large part of it has been dissipated
without any practical benefit to
US. The inquiry is now forced
upon us whether the conditions
are such that this loss of water
must continue or whether by a
judicious directing of natural fore
es part at least may be conserved
to supply our needs. 1t is said
God helps them that help them
selves" We cannot increase the
amount of rainfall nor tell the
time when it will come. suppose
all these things are regulated by
natural laws, but so far as our
knowledge goes it is matter of
chance. When we plant our seed
-, in the spring we are buying a
y lottery ticket with no means of
determining our chances to draw a
crop or blank. If we could know
. our soil had a goodly amount of
q water stored in it we would be
! comparatively sure of success.
4 The dissipation of our rainfall is
q in two ways. 1st by running of
+ before being absorbed by the
l ground and End by evaporation.
4 We may do much in both cases
q to lessen the loss by carefully di-
n recting natural forces. In a letter
r from Prof. Hume to Mr.. Wag.
: goner, read "Only areas should
J. be plowed and put into crops
r. which are certainly adapted tc
q cropping. If an attempt is made
q to farm wide areas which are bet
J. ter adapted to grazing there will
d be apparent success perhaps foI
n some years of sufficient rainfall
L.. L. 4