Show n nnnrnnnn DRY LAND EXTENT Is Found All Way from One Hundredth Hun-dredth Meridian to Pacifio Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson Wil-son Sends Interesting Letter to Fourth Dry Farming Congress Held Recentlyat Billings The following letter from James I Wilson secretary of agriculture waS cad at the Dry Farm congress recently I I re-cently held at Billings Mont Wo have dry lands with light rain fall over nearly half the American republic re-public This department has begun a cconnalsauco survey of these dry ands to ascertain the nature of the soil and what other facts may be of value to settlers Dry land Is found nil the way between the one hundredth dredth meridian and the Pacific ocean and It will take some tlmo to make naps of all the dry regions Wo have made surveys of time west half of both North and South Dakota and we are at work on the dry portions of southern south-ern and western Texas Wo have 21 dry land stations In tho territory mentioned men-tioned where scientists are located under the direct supervision of the department de-partment endeavoring to ascertain the best methods of managing these lands and securing plants that are best adapted to them The lands that can be Irrigated by the water now flowing to waste are limited After all the water has been applied thero will still be millions of acres that must be managed under what Is known as dry land farming I am glad that the people are meeting together In congresses to study these roblcms They vary as the soils vary and as the elevations vary The soils soil-s usually rich In mineral plant food being the disintegrated rocks As far is my observation goes the soil Is quite often deficient In organic matter mat-ter The native plants we find growing on those dry lands do not fill the soil with roo > s and It Is necessary that we should find such plants either at homo or abroad This department Is busily engaged In hunting tho world for legumes that will grow on your driest lands and on your highest line ands and wo tire having some success suc-cess Dry lands and lands highly elevated ele-vated and subject to low temperatures In the winter are found In other parts of the world and the Maker has sup plied them with plants that are good food for animals and these plants we lire bringing to the United States and propagating and getting ready to dls tribute them Dr Hanson of the South Dakota experIment station brought us three new alfalfas and a new clover Inst year from Siberia that we think when propagated will help solve dry land problems In the west It may be offering a challenge to your congress for me to say that I nm satisfied the system of fallowing or cultivating two years for one crop Is In the wrong direction It Is not necessary to adopt any plans for the purpose of Increasing mineral plant food that Is abundant generally but it is necessary to consider the replenishing re-plenishing of the soil with organic matter so that the decaying vegetation vegeta-tion coming from deep rooting plants may help In retaining tho moisture Wo look to the legume to help us out In making the dry areas of the great west productive because it not only enables tho soil to retain moisture but adds what Is not found among mineral plant foods the nitrogen that the legume le-gume brings from the atmosphere Your people will do doubt carefully care-fully consider methods of cultivation I will not go Into that at this time The necessity for retaining all rains that do fall upon the land and the methods by which this should be done are fairly well understood by most of our western people Wo will endeavor en-deavor here to make careful research and have It repeated sufficiently so that we will reach safe generalization and when we have this work done so that we are satisfied we aro on the right track wo will print extensively and send the matter out to your people peo-ple |