Dry-Farming : A System of Agriculture for Countries under a Low RainfallWidtsoe, John Andreas
Science
Dry-Farming : A System of Agriculture for Countries under a Low Rainfall
Widtsoe, John Andreas
Dry farming
The Colorado and Rio Grande River Basins include Arizona and the
western part of New Mexico. The chief dry-farm crops of this dry
district are wheat, corn, and beans. Other crops have also been
grown in small quantities and with some success. The area suitable
for dry-farming in this district has not yet been fully determined
and, therefore, the Arizona and New Mexico stations are undertaking
dry-farm surveys of their respective states. In spite of the fact
that Arizona is generally looked upon as one of the driest states of
the Union, dry-farming is making considerable headway there. In New
Mexico, five sixths of all the homestead applications during the
last year were for dry-farm lands; and, in fact, there are several
prosperous communities in New Mexico which are subsisting almost
wholly on dry-farming. It is only fair to say, however, that
dry-farming is not yet well established in this district, but that
the prospects are that the application of scientific principles will
soon make it possible to produce profitable crops without irrigation
in large parts of the Colorado and Rio Grande River Basins.
The mountain states
This district includes a part of Montana, nearly the whole of
Wyoming and Colorado, and part of eastern Idaho. It is located along
the backbone of the Rocky Mountains. The farms are located chiefly
in valleys and on large rolling table-lands. The chief dry-farm crop
is wheat, though the other crops which are grown elsewhere on
dry-farms may be grown here also. In Montana there is a very large
area of land which has been demonstrated to be well adapted for
dry-farm purposes. In Wyoming, especially on the eastern as well as
on the far western side, dry-farming has been shown to be
successful, but the area covered at the present time is
comparatively small. In Idaho, dry-farming is fairly well
established. In Colorado, likewise, the practice is very well
established and the area is tolerably large. All in all, throughout
the mountain states dry-farming may be said to be well established,
though there is a great opportunity for the extension of the
practice. The sparse population of the western states naturally
makes it impossible for more than a small fraction of the land to be
properly cultivated.
The Great Plains Area
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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