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Show DRY FARM CONGRESS (t Is As Yet a Comparatively " Young Institution. Great Things Have Been Accomplished, Accom-plished, However, in Its Brief Period Pe-riod of Existence Collects and Distributes Best Theories. The dry farming congress Is a comparatively com-paratively young institution, but five annual conventions having been held, Great things have been accomplished, however, during the brief period of its existence, not least of which is the general awakening of the public, not only to the cecesslty of enlarging the productive area of the western half of the United Statei, but to the possibility possi-bility of doing so. The dry farming congress collects and distributes the best theories, as well as the actual experience of practical prac-tical men engaged in agricultural and horticultural pursuits where the normal nor-mal precipitation is light. This embraces em-braces an area covering several hundred hun-dred million acres. The principles of dry farming also apply to vast areas usually considered within the humid belt. Enough data has already been gathered gath-ered to insure the success of agriculture agricul-ture over vast regions heretofore considered con-sidered barren and non-productive. The future, without question, will see even greater agricultural development along this line than its most ardent advocates now dream of. Foreign countries, such as Australia, Aus-tralia, Russia, Hungary, South Africa, and Mexico, all are engaged in the dry farming propaganda. Out of all the experimental and research work of these countries our own leading them there, unquestionably, will be evolved a system of agriculture adapted to the smallest amount of moisture that will produce a profitable crop. This will involve not only methods of tillage, but the selection and breeding breed-ing of drought-resistant crops adapted to the various latitudes of the countries coun-tries interested. Moisture conservation has become ' a science, and the last word has not j been said that reveals the exact amount of water, all things consid- I ered, necessary to produce a profitable crop. Locality, fertility of soil, presence pres-ence of weeds, character of plants, etc., all must be taken into account, and everything or agency that dissipates dissi-pates moisture, except the growing plant Itself, must, as nearly as possible, be eliminated. Special tools must be Invented to properly cultivate the soil, and drought-resistant strains of cereals ce-reals bred to adapt themselves to limited lim-ited moisture conditions. If two drops of water have hitherto been doing the work that one could do as well, we must ascertain that fact, and how to doubly energize the smaller amount. Because we have wasted water simply sim-ply on account of its superabundance as we wasted our timber is no argument ar-gument against successful agriculture where economy is practiced with water wa-ter as well as with labor. Plants, even, can be taught to be economical of what is scarce if we reciprocate by giving more of what is more abundant, abund-ant, as with less water and more manure. |