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Show ARID-LAND FARMING Much Ground Cultivated Where Rainfall Is Deficient. Some of the More Important Facts Bearing Upon Subject as Brought Out by U. S. Department of Agriculture. (By W. H. BE A I.. Office of Experiment Station.) The importance of extending the productive area of farm lands in the United States has been especially emphasized em-phasized in recent years, with the result that much land hitherto considered consid-ered unsuited to farming has been brought under cultivation. In this class are the large areas in the western west-ern half of the United States, where the rainfall is deficient. It was evident evi-dent that If these lands were to be profitably utilized for agricultural purposes pur-poses other than grazing, new methods meth-ods of farming must be adopted. With this object in view this department and several of the experiment sta tions situated in arid or seml-arld regions re-gions have carefully studied the agricultural agri-cultural conditions and possibilities of these regions and made extensive tests of the crops and methods of culture cul-ture adapted to them. These investigations, investi-gations, as well as the practical experience ex-perience of settlers on dry lands, have now gone far enough to make it possible pos-sible to lay down some general principles prin-ciples and to Indicate certain methods meth-ods which must be observed in order to guard against failure in dry farming. farm-ing. The following is a summary of some of the more important facts bearing upon this subject as brought out by recent reports of this work by the department and the experiment experi-ment stations: Dry farming is also called dry-land farming or arid-land farming. It is generally defined as farming without Irrigation in regions where the annual rainfall is between eight and twenty inches. The fact that rainfall alone is not the only moisture condition which determines the crop production of a given locality is Indicated by the Investigations of the office of forage crop investigations of the bureau of plant industry of the department, which states that for the production of such drought-resistant crops as alfalfa, slender-wheat grass, tall-oat grass and brome grass the "investigations "investiga-tions indicate that the minimum rainfall rain-fall is approximately 16 Inches In the Dakotas, 18 Inches In Nebraska, 20 Inches in Kansas . . . and up to 30 inches farther south." In other words, to produce a given crop the I amount of rainfall necessary is much greater In the warmer regions, where evaporation removes so much moisture. mois-ture. Dry farming Is made possible In two ways: (1) By careful tillage, and (2) by the Introduction of drought-resistant drought-resistant crops or drough-reslstant varieties. va-rieties. Even where dry farming Is followed, irrigation is usually recommended recom-mended for the small areas to be devoted de-voted to garden crops to carry the household through years of crop failure, which are more frequent In these semi-arid regions than in regions re-gions where the rainfall Is greater. The principles of tillage are almost exactly the same as for other regions, or even for the semi-arid regions where irrigation Is practised, with emphasis laid upon the conservation of moisture: (1) Because the supply Is low, and (2) because one and one-half one-half times as much water -is required to produce, a pound of dry matter in the plant in these drier regions as is required In more humid climates, gust. |