is practically continuous throughout the year, and in this respect is harder than farming in humid regions; but if the dry farmer must work harder, it is also true that he cultivates a smaller area, and that he receives a large return for his labor. But special methods of plowing and cultivation do not make up the whole of what is called dry farming. One of the most important elements is the choice of new crops and new varieties of old crops, which flourish with less moisture than those ordinarily grown in humid regions, and some of which will grow only in a land of little rain. The earliest and most important of these was macaroni or durum wheat, a very hard kind of wheat which requires a semiarid soil and climate for its successful cultivation. The first crop was harvested in 1901, but it has already become a standard product, and inany million bushels are grown each year. Other useful crops cultivated by dry farmers are dwarf milo maize, Kafir corn, Turkish red and Kharkof wheat, Turkestan alfalfa, Swedish oats, beardless barley, proso, emmer, sorghum, sugar beets, cowpeas, potatoes, and a number of native grasses. The selection varies with the soils and the climatic conditions; but in general the crops raised by dry-farming methods, besides grains, are what is known as "roughage," such as sorghum, Kaffir corn, emmer, proso, alfalfa, and other crops adapted to the feeding of live stock. It has apparently been demonstrated that by dry-farming methods a very large increase in the size of the crop, as well as greatly increased certainty of production, are secured. In many cases, where farming by the old method and the new has been carried on side by side, the new system has produced from three to five times as large a crop as the old. It is said that the average yield of wheat per acre has been tripled throughout the entire dry-farming region since the new methods came into general use. It is now not uncommon to harvest 60 bushels of corn, 50 of wheat, 40 of rye, 250 of potatoes, and a correspondingly large yield of forage crops per acre. Aside from the possibility of bountiful production, the semiarid region presents many attractions. It has generally a considerable elevation, dry, clear, pure air, many days of sunshine, and uniformly cool nights. Almost without exception the whole region is a most healthful one. The soils also are fertile and well adapted to the special form of agriculture practiced there. All of them are rich in lime, and most of them are rich in soluble salts and mineral plant foods. Since the larger part of these soils has never been wet to so great a depth as 2 feet, the rich plant foods have never been leached out by heavy rains, as is often the case in humid regions. The place where the average rainfall ceases to be sufficient for old methods of farming is, roughly speaking, the one-hundredth meridian. This limit, however, varies in different years, for the rain belt in some seasons sweeps far up the slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Not all the region lying west of this meridian is arid or even semiarid. Almost the whole of the State of Washington, the Pacific coast region from the southern line of Washington to central California, as well as many rich valleys scattered through the Intermountain States, have rain enough. Again, much of the area west of the onehundredth meridian is mountainous or absolute desert land which can never be reclaimed, and there are also large areas of wooded lands which must be conserved. Moreover, much of this territory has a rainfall so light that not even scientific soil culture can be depended upon to produce crops, and such lands are valuable only for grazing. It requires on the average from 20 to 30 acres of such grazing lands to support one animal; yet they are and will always remain a valuable asset, because they enable the dry farmer to supplement his intensive cultivation by keeping a few cattle at pasture. Possibly 100,000,000 acres of semiarid lands can be farmed by the new method, an area equal to that of two middle Western States and capable of supporting as large a population. AT THE DRY-FARMING CONGRESS. So great has become the interest in the new agriculture that six dry-farming congresses have already been held, the first at Denver in 1906, the second at Salt Lake City in 1908, the third at Cheyenne, Wyo., in February, 1909, the fourth at Billings, Mont., in October, 1909, and the fifth at Spokane, Wash., in October, 1910, while the sixth has just been held at Colorado Springs, Colo. Bulletins upon the subject have been issued by the Department of Agriculture and by various State experiment stations; three or four books have been published; and an animated discussion of the various elements of dry farming is carried on in the agricultural periodicals of the Middle West. Interest in it has spread from the Middle West, where it originated, to the Intermountain and Pacific Coast States. Meanwhile, the steady tide of immigration has caused a rapid rise in the prices of lands. Unimproved lands that a few years ago could have been bought for $2 an acre are now readily disposed of at from $10 to $25 an acre. Although the results of the new agriculture seem to hold out great promise for the future, it should not be forgotten that there are many conditions with which the dry farmer must contend. Not all soils are adapted to dry farming, and the methods must be varied to suit the conditions. The farmer must learn to judge accurately when the soil is in proper condition for plowing and cultivating, and neither wait too long nor begin too soon. Another source of difficulty is found in the rains which, in the arid and semiarid regions, are peculiar. There are few of the gentle, long-continued, soaking rains to which the farmer in the humid regions is accustomed; but the characteristic rain is a sudden gust, often accompanied by wind, with a brief but often very heavy fall of rain. A shower of this kind is locally known as a cloudburst, and often does great damage by cutting gullies in the plowed fields. This is especially the case where dry farming is practiced, on account of the loose condition in which the top soil must be kept. The problem of preventing this top soil from being washed away in such cloudbursts is one of the most difficult that the dry farmer has to face. At other times this top soil is blown away by high winds. Still another difficulty is found in the fact that the annual rainfall throughout that region is not merely light, but also irregular. It often falls to excess when not needed, and fails entirely just at the time when it is essential to save the crops. Again, although sufficient in quantity, it is restricted in area and confined to narrow strips, on both sides of which the drought continues. It should be added, however, that one of the most valuable qualities of the new agriculture is its tendency to equalize such irregularities in rainfall by carrying over the moisture from the wet year to the dry one. S D-63-2-vol 29- -30 It is to be hoped that the present movement may not grow into a "boom," and carry the line of settlement farther out than safety warrants. There is a limit beyond which the average rainfall is not, and doubtless never will be, sufficient to make even the most careful and scientific agriculture successful. Just where the limit lies no one precisely knows, and possibly nothing but long experience can determine it. It is a significant fact that the years since dry farming has been practiced have been years of unusual rainfall. The statistics collected and published by the Government show that on an average the rainfall for the region from Miles City, Mont., southward to Amarillo, Tex., in the past five years has been from 6 to 24 inches above the normal. A WORD OF CAUTION. It would be well, therefore, for any young man who thinks of engaging in this form of agriculture to be very careful. He should first secure a supply of trustworthy information upon the subject and study it thoroughly; he should not go too far out, or to a region. where the average rainfall for several years past has been too light; he should beware of unscrupulous agents who may selfishly misrepresent the value of land, the character of the climate, and the possibilities of profit; and he should, if possible, take with him enough means to prevent disaster in the event of failure to achieve early success. But above all-and upon this I wish to lay particular emphasishe should first inform himself fully upon the subject of irrigation, and then if he does not decide to settle upon irrigated lands he should at least firmly resolve to combine irrigation with his dry farming. Not only is this often done, but the greatest success always attends the efforts of the dry farmer who does it. Besides enabling him to raise a greater variety of crops and live more generously, it insures him against possible successive years of drought. It also enables him to cultivate many kinds of fruit, to grow his own fuel, and to beautify his home. A small irrigated area is specially valuable for the production of alfalfa in regions where the rainfall is not sufficient to produce it on a large scale. A large part of the Great Plains region is too arid to raise fruit trees and alfalfa successfully, for the reason that a single failure of the moisture kills both of them. The home of the dry farmer who does not irrigate can have few if any trees upon it, and is a bare and desolate spot. It is not necessary that the farmer should have a flowing stream from which to irrigate. If he has a little valley from which underground water can be pumped, or within which a dam can be constructed to catch the flood waters, much can be added to the comfort, beauty, and profit of the farm. There is nothing antagonistic between the two methods of farming; on the contrary, each supplements the other admirably. At several of the Government experiment stations dry farming and irrigation are carried on side by side. The real test of the new agriculture will come when there are again several successive years of drought in the semiarid region. In the hope that the new agriculture may stand the test and in rejoicing over the prosperity which it is already bringing we can all gladly join. DANISH AGRICULTURE ADDRESS UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE SOUTHERN COMMERCIAL CONGRESS ON DANISH AGRICULTURE, TOGETHER WITH By HON. RUDOLF SCHOU COUNSELOR OF STATE, COPENHAGEN. DENMARK PRESENTED BY MR. FLETCHER JUNE 26, 1914.-Referred to the Committee on Printing WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE REPORTED BY MR. FLETCHER. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, October 8, 1914. Resolved, That the manuscript submitted by Mr. Fletcher on June twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred and fourteen, entitled "Danish agriculture," an address delivered by Honorable Rudolf Schou, counselor of state, Copenhagen, Denmark, be printed as a Senate document. Attest: JAMES M. BAKER, Secretary. |