The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1912-05-02
DRY FARMING
OPPORTUNITIES
THOUSANDS OF ACRES OF UTAH
LANDS BEING CULTIVATED
WITHOUT IRRIGATION.
II 10 an Indisputable Fact That Dry
|. Farming Pays, Failures Being Prac-
tlcaIly Unknown as Result OF
Scientific FILLING Of Soils.


matters not how many millions of
money we may spend on building irri
CATION projects and in conserving the
water supply of the state. There are
million of acres of our land that can
never be reached by the irrigation
canal-there are vast empires of soil
that VIII never blossom with anything
but sage, greasewood and cacti, ex.
cept they be redeemed by "dry-farm.
ing" methods.
or our 22,000,000 acres of arabic
land less than 5000 900 acres can ever
be irrigated-the remaining 100000
acres must produce, If at all, with only
such moisture as falls directly upon
them from the sky. The Mississippi
valley farmer would probably wonder
at such a statement. His acres get
more of such precipitation than they
need. Not so in Utah. Here our des.
ert lands are likely to receive ten and
seldom as much as twenty inches OF
precipitation in year. In order to
coax from these parched soils a suffi-
cient quantity of farm products 10 pay
for the trouble and yield a profit.
scientific methods must be followed. 1t
Is not enough to turn the crust and
plant the seed. The soil must first be
analyzed-the seed must be tested and
1t must be planted and cultivated with
due regard to the character of the
soil, the average precipitation In the
locality being cultivated and the needs
Of the variety of grain being grown.
This prospect is by no means dis.
oouraging. President John A. Wids-
toe of the Agricultural college of Utah
says In the preface to his able treatise
on DRY Farming" in "The Rural
Science Series"
The possibilities of dry farming
are stupendous. In the strength OF
youth we may have felt envious of the
great ones of old; of Columbus look.
ing upon the shadow OF the greatest
continent; of Balboa shouting greet
ings to the resting Pacific; of Father
Escalante. pondering upon the mys.
terry OF the world, alone, near the
shores of Americas dead sea- We
need harbor no envyings, for IN the
conquest of the non.irrigated and non
irrigable desert are offered as fine op
portunities as the world has known to
the makers and shapers of empires
Ave stand before an undiscovered land;
Through the restless, ascending cur
rents OF heated desert air the vision
comes and goes. With striving eyes
the desert is seen covered with bios.
soming fields, with churches and
homes and schools, and, In the dis
lance, with the vision is heard the
laughter of happy children. The des.
ert will be conquered.
Nearly six-tenths of the earth's
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 world.system of irrigation
will convert about one-tenth OF this
vast area into an incomparably fruit
tul garden. leaving about one-half OF
the earths land surface to be re-
claimed, II 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 given
scant attention, and dry-farming, with
Its world problem OF conquering one.
half OF the earth, was not considered"
The necessity of her people caused
Utah to become the pioneer of the
west In the adoption of irrigation
that was in 1S47 AS early as 1870
crops were grown successfully without
Irrigation in Bear River valley, Cache
valley and Davis county, In Salt Lake
valley.
During the sos the thoughts of
Utah farmers turned to the possibili.
Ties OF the dry lands, for the growth
OF the population was more rapid than
the construction OF canals. Many of
the conservative farmers began to
realize, too, that wheat production on
irrigated lands, considering the cost OF
water, did not return fair interest
on the capital invested. As a result
some attempts at dry farming were
made in the central part OF the state,
but with rather discouraging results"
Today many thousands Of acres are
being cultivated without the addition
Oh water by artificial means In every
valley In the state from Cache valley
on the north to the Kanab desert and
the Arizona strip on the south, and
from the Uintah country on the east
10 the Nevada line. Failures are prac.
ueally unknown. The proportion OF
Yield has depended mainly on the in
teiiigence used by the farmer IN pre-
pairing his soil and planting the seed
and the care used by him in cultiyat.
ing and gathering the yield. Precipi.
Atauon and weather conditions have
ODecome of minor, II not practically
neelglble quantities The prollts have
varied somewhat, according to the
varieties of grains grown. Many
farmers have not needed the gratis
auY!ce given out by the experiment
stauon experts They have either
plowed the soil too deeply or not deep.
~ enough, have grown varieties OF
gram not suited to their soil condi-
tiohs and climate and have refused to
soandon old and Improbable methods
ns consequence they have barely
more than paid expenses, while their
ueighbors have made handsome profits
ara farming cannot succeed on any
othef than a Thoroughly scientific plan