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Show DRY FARMING ON UTAH ARID LAND Experiment Stations Reach Results. ' , Thrifty Cereals on Exhibition, Exhibi-tion, Grown at th Six State Farms. Dr. Widtsoe Tells What Has Been ' and What May Bo Accomplished. Accom-plished. WITH samples of rye. more than five feet in height, and wheat, oats, barley, alfalfa and sugar beets, all as vigorous, thrifty and healthy looking as any of the same grains raised on Irrigated farms could be at this time of the year, representatives representa-tives of the Government Experiment station at Logan were Inst night entertaining en-tertaining callers at their rooms in tho Kcnyon hotel in this city -with almost marvelous object lessons of the possibilities possi-bilities of dry farming in Utah. The gentlemen who had the sample products In charge were Dr. J A. Widtsoe, Widt-soe, director of the Government Experiment Ex-periment station at Logan, and Prof. L. A. Merrill,' Government agronomist at the same station, and the samples came from the State's experimental dry farm In Juab county, which, together to-gether with five other similar farms in Washington. Iron. Sevier. Tooele and San Juan counties, was placed In their charge last fall. Desert Land Crops. These gentlemen have, for the last ten years, been telling the farmers of Utah that by merely adopting scientific methods of cultivation, planting and selection of seeds, the desert lands of the State could be made to produce bountiful crops, and the farmers have persistently laughed them to scorn. The last Legislature decided, however, to crive their "methods a trial, and tho sum of $12,500 was appropriated for the purchase of the six expcrimctnal farms and the conducting of the experiments. The farms, each comprising forty acres of sage brush land, were purchased about a year ago, and the plowing for the crops was begun In September. Each farm was subdivided Into from 100 to 170 separate "plants." on which different kinds and varieties of grain are planted, and a complete record la kept of every' "plant." Results Exceed Hopes. The results have been even more than the agricultural specialists themselves them-selves had dared to hope for. It must be remembered that In Juab counts', where the samples shown here were grown, the precipitation of the year has been even less than normal, and yet these samples, which have not ween a drop of -water except that which fell from heaven, shows plants which will evidently yield at least three-fourths three-fourths as much as any of tho same kinds that have been Irrigated will yield. The wheat, oats, rye and barley are all headed out full and strong, and the alfalfa and sugar beets are deep-iooted deep-iooted and healthy. The sugar beets are not yet made, as a matter of course, but the grain crops are assured and there Is a good prospect for the beots to mature. The "stand" of all these experimental crops Is good, and the experlmontors claim that all of the other fine fartns are showing up as well I ns fh nni 5n .Tiinh eminfV- Profltable Side Issue. "We do not anticipate that on account ac-count of our experiments dry farming will supplant farming by Irrigation to any considerable extent," said Dr. Widtsoe last night, "but we do purpose showing the farmers that It can be made a profitable side issue. Irrigation Irriga-tion is best, principally on account of the element of the certainty which accompanies ac-companies It, where water can be secured se-cured at a reasonable cost. But when three-fourths as great a crop can be raised on land which costs Improved not to exceed $10 an acre, it Is likely to be more profitable than the full crop raised on land which costs $50 an acre, with a water right costing from $50 to $150 an acre, and tho cost of watering it each year added. Special Methods Employed. "Tho special methods of farming by which we have accomplished these results re-sults may be embraced under three heads deep plowing, planting with drills, Instead of solving broadcast, and tho careful selection of seeds. We plow ten Inches deep instead of the usual depth of about four inches. This permits per-mits the water to get deep into the soil. By the use of drills we get the eoed planted at a uniform depth, and also use less than one-half the amount of seed with better results. We use three pecks of seeds to the ncre, where the average farmer uses about two bushels. The cultivable crops we cultivate culti-vate often but not unusually deep. The matter of selecting good seed Is one of very great importance, and we expect to attain even better results after having hav-ing made our own tests and after wo are able to use only seeds which have been raised without irrigation " |