Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1911-02-02
NEVADA HAS MILLIONS
OF ACRES OF FERTILE
LAMBS FOR SETTl. FRS

4
The biennial report of C. L.
Deadly sur"eyor-general and state
land register, for l9O9-l9lO, has
just been issued. and is an interest
ing document on account of the
large amount of information it
gives pertaining to the pLulic
lands of the state, especially the
agricultural, regarding which it
gives considerable valuable data
that should draw greater attention
to the settlement of lands for
agricultural purposes and dispel
the belief trat the so called arid
lands are fit only for the raising
of sgebrush, csctus and horned
toads. T.. .
Regarding the soil and its pro-
auctions, the report says:
1.-The best arabic lands are the
sagelands. Sagebrush grows almost
everywhere, from the low est valleys
to the mountain tops of the interior
Portions of the state The quality
of the soil is indicated by the size
and thriftiness of the sagebrush;
the larger, of course. indicating
a rich, deep soil, containing more
than an ordinary amount of
moisture. A short, dwarfed growth
indicates thinner soil, with less
moisture. Where thrifty sage
brush grows, and the natural
moisture is sufficient, grain can be
grown without irrigation, and
water can be found by digging,
at no great depth below the surface.
"Greasewood brush indicates a
soil impregnated to a greater or
less degree with alkali, and is
often found growing thriftily
where the ground is c-vered and
white with alkali.
'Greasewood lands usually indi.
cate a deep, rich soil. and are
protective where there is a moderate
amount of alkali. All that is
needed to make it 20 is a sufficient
amount of moisture, which, if not
found to exist naturally, must be
supplied by irrigation; and as a
rule, it may be said that all sage
brush lands, to be productive,
require to be irrigated. thus pro-
du"ing all the cereals, fruits anu
vegetables adopted to this lattuud de
east of the Rocky Mountains, which
can be raised in Nevada in
abundance and in superior per-
lection.
1.-THE prevailing opinion that
the, desert lands of Nevada are
productive of nothing useful to
mankind is rapidly feirg els.
credited.
1.-THE experience Of 25 to 80
years has proven that not only a
greater area of the public domain
of Nevada is susceptible of cultiva-
lion than was first supposed, but
that such land possesses within.
itself constant recuperative
power. Instances are numerous
where lands have been cultivated
for fifteen years and yet show no
signs of deterioration, and some
farmers claim that their lanus have
improved in productiveness during
that time, although no artificial
fertilizers have been applied to
them. This may be due, in part
to the fact that such land contains
a superabundance of silicaS and
alumina, and that through the
process of evaporation there are
annually brought to the surface a
proportion of the salt, alkalies.
nitrates and phosphates that Ii,
stored in inexbaustible deposits far
below the surface and produce such
conditions of the soil as to render
it prolific Of vegetation.
Tho best evidence Of this fact
is shown In the wonderful growth
of alfalfa, which crop instead of
diminishing, seems to increase In