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
This area includes parts of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota,
Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and
Texas. It is the largest area of dry-farm land under approximately
uniform conditions. Its drainage is into the Mississippi, and it
covers an area of not less than four hundred thousand square miles.
Dry-farm crops grow well over the whole area; in fact, dry-farming
is well established in this district. In spite of the failures so
widely advertised during the dry season of 1894, the farmers who
remained on their farms and since that time have employed modern
methods have secured wealth from their labors. The important
question before the farmers of this district is that of methods for
securing the best results. From the Dakotas to Texas the farmers
bear the testimony that wherever the soil has been treated right,
according to approved methods, there have been no crop failures.
Canada
Dry-farming has been pushed vigorously in the semiarid portions of
Canada, and with great success. Dry-farming is now reclaiming large
areas of formerly worthless land, especially in Alberta,
Saskatchewan, and the adjoining provinces. Dry-farming is
comparatively recent in Canada, yet here and there are semiarid
localities where crops have been raised without irrigation for
upwards of a quarter of a century. In Alberta and other places it
has been now practiced successfully for eight or ten years, and it
may be said that dry-farming is a well-established practice in the
semiarid regions of the Dominion of Canada.
Mexico
In Mexico, likewise, dry-farming has been tried and found to be
successful. The natives of Mexico have practiced farming without
irrigation for centuries--and modern methods are now being applied
in the zone midway between the extremely dry and the extremely humid
portions. The irregular distribution of the precipitation, the late
spring and early fall frosts, and the fierce winds combine to make
the dry-farm problem somewhat difficult, yet the prospects are that,
with government assistance, dry-farming in the near future will
become an established practice in Mexico. In the opinion of the best
students of Mexico it is the only method of agriculture that can be
made to reclaim a very large portion of the country.
Brazil
Brazil, which is greater in area than the United States, also has a
large arid and semiarid territory which can be reclaimed only by
dry-farm methods. Through the activity of leading citizens
experiments in behalf of the dry-farm movement have already been
ordered. The dry-farm district of Brazil receives an annual
precipitation of about twenty-five inches, but irregularly
distributed and under a tropical sun. In the opinion of those who
are familiar with the conditions the methods of dry-farming may be
so adapted as to make dry-farming successful in Brazil.
Australia
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account