Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1912-06-07
DRY FARMING
OPPORTUNITIES
THOUSANDS or ACRES OF UTAH
LANDS BEING CULTIVATED
WITHOUT IRRIGATION.
it is an IndIsputabIe Fact That Dry
Farming Pays, Failures Being Prac-
tieally Unknown as Result OF
Scientific TillIng Of Soils.

The agricultural future OF Utah must
depend largely upon arid farming. It
matters not how many millions Of
money We may spend on building irri-
Bstlon projects aud In conserving the
water supply OF the state. There are
million OF acres OF our land that can
aever be reached by the irrigation
Gnal--there are vast empires OF soil
nat will never blossom with anything
)ut sege. greasewood aud cacti ex-
! ept trey be redeemed by "dry.faTm-
nB" methods.
or our 22,00O.000 acres of arabic
and lcas than 100000 acres can ever
| e irrigated-the remaining 10000 600
tcles must produce. " al ell. WITH on,y
| 5uch moisture rs falls directly upon
them from the sky The Mississippi
valley farmer would probably wonder
~ such a statement Ills acres get
more OF such precipitation than they
need. Not so In Utah Here our des-
rt lands are likely to receive ten and
seldom ms much as twenty inches of
ip.tation In q year In order to
coax from these parched soils stuff.
lcient quantity OF farm plC ucts 70 pay
or the trosb,c and yield a prodt.
scientific methods mn 5o followed. 1t
Us not enough 10 tLn the crust and
plant the seed. Tho soil must first be
analyzed the seed must be tested and
u must be plarted and cultivated with
due regard to the character OF the
soil, the average precipitation in the
| locality being cultivated and he needs
q UT 4ha tfnYfafu = ~
This prospect is by no means dis
couragirg. President John A. Wd5.
toe OF the Agricultural COLLEGE OF Utal.
says la The preface to his able t,aati e
on DRY Farming" in The Rural
Science Series"
The possibilities OF dry rarnine
are stupendous. In the strength OF
youth we may Have felt envlous OF the
great ones OF old; OF Columbus look.
ing upon the shadow OF the greatest
continent; OF Balboa shouting greet
lngs to the reslpg Pacific: OF Father
,EscalanlG. por,fring upon the mys.
terry or tne Wild. alone, near The
shores OF Americas dead sea. We
need harbor no cnyyings, FOR N the
conquest OF The non-irrigated and non
Iirrigahle desert are offered as fine OBJ
portunities as the world has known 10
the makers and shaIers OF empu es
We stand before an und, seoyered land
through the restless, ASCENDING CUP
rents OF heated desert air the vision
comes and goes With striving eyes
tho desert is seen covered with bios
soming fields with churches and
homes and schools. and, in he dis.
lance, with the vision is heard the
laughter OF happy children. The des
ert, will be conquered
Nearly sX-tenths OF the earth 3
surface receive an annual rainfall OF
less than twenty inches, and can be
reclaimed for agricultural purposes
only by irrigation and dry-farming A
perfected worldsystem of irrigation
will convert about one-tenth of this
vast area into an incomparably fruit.
full garden, leaving about one-half OF
the earth's land surface TO be re-
claimed, IL at all, by the methods OF
dry farming The noble system OF
modern agriculture has been con
strued almost wholly in countries OF
abundant rainfall, and its applications
are those demanded for the agricul.
tural development OF humid regions.
Until recently, irrigation was giyeE
scant attention. and dry.farming, with
It's world problem of conquering one
half OF the earth, was not considered. -
The necessity OF her people caused
Utah 70 become the pioneer az the
west In the adoption OF irrigation
that was In 1917 AS early as 1870
crops were Grown successfully without
'rn alton IN Pear River valley Cache
valley ana DAVIS county, in Salt Lake
valley.
During the NGs ,s r-1ghts o.
. Ut.h tyIwors turned 10 a.. 0sihil
ties Of gre cry g Is for N yowth
OF the population W." '0 re rrT.i team
the GO t~rotion O. canals, any OF
the consery. farmers an TO
.re'tse 'co that wheat proc ton on
irrSatCy jGria "slderiug cost OF
water d'd not lrn fy interest
ON ,he ca isl invested. - a result
some atttUq'F mo 'al ng were
made in the Ceuua, pr o the state,
bur >i,h rather tiscouray x results
Tot~y % 70 no '"Gs II acres are
being cultivated withcut he addition
OF water ly @liGCial means In every
valley in the state from Cache valley
on the uCuh % the Kraab desert md
the Arizona strip On the south, aud
trcm TIE Iln,eh country ON the east
20 the Nevada Inc. Failures are prac
t>aly m DoNC The proportion OF
yield has te.tGd ! rainly ON the In
teliiCtr,e JstG ,yltha farmer N pre-
pairing his soil au4 planting the seed
|, and The care used ~ him IN cultlvat
ing and gathering ne yield. Preeipi
tSton and weatbet conditions have
become o. refocr n not practically
ntgliriNle ga nj; h The pronts have
varied s1Wg Nh~t according TO th'
Cr;tGCs ~ &s .r0wn. MANY