122 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Work with the s<)r<j:huiiis and other ih'oii^jht-i-osistant foraire crops 

 has continued to give results of great importance to the dry land 

 of the West. 



AIDING THE IRRIGATION AND DRY-LAND FARMER. 

 AID FOB IRRIGATION AGRICULTURE. 



The past few years have witnessed remarkable growth in the devel- 

 opment of agriculture in all that region lying west of the one hun- 

 dredth "meridian. The great irrigation projects undertaken by the 

 Government and private agencies have stimulated an interest in 

 agriculture to such an extent that the department has found it neces- 

 sary to give help along many lines of crop production. To do this, 

 investigational work was necessary. 



This has been carried on, in so far as relates to irrigation agricul- 

 ture, at eight field stations located in the Western and Southwestern 

 States. All these stations, with two exceptions, are operated in 

 cooperation with the Reclamation Ser^ace. The primary object of 

 these field stations is to furnish investigational bases at which the 

 various specialists of the Bureau of Plant Industry can work, with 

 a view to getting an understanding of agricultural conditions and 

 problems which characterize the different sections. They are also 

 intended to facilitate cooperation in the solution of problems relating 

 to irrigation agriculture, the improvement of existing industries, 

 and the investigation and establishment of promising new industries. 



In addition to the purely investigational work, a great deal has been 

 done in fostering community action with respect to the development 

 of industries especially adapted to the irrigated regions. 



The major portion of the work at the field stations is still in prog- 

 ress, but some lines have been completed, and in these and other lines 

 numerous specific results have been accomplished. 



At the San Antonio field station it has been found that the rav- 

 ages of the sorghum midge, which formerly did very great damage 

 to the grain-sorghum crop, can be entirely avoided b}^ the practice 

 of early planting; that the utilization of indigenous fruit plants as 

 stocks for cultivated varieties greath'^ improves the possibilities of 

 fruit production in that region, because the native stocks are better 

 able to withstand the conditions of soil and climate peculiar to the 

 locality; that certain varieties of forage sorghums, winter oats, and 

 annual legumes are very much more dependable as forage crops than 

 anything that was generally grown in the section prior to the estab- 

 lishment of the station; and that one variety of Canada field peas, 

 useful as forage, green manure, and as a winter cover crop, will suc- 

 cessfully withstand the winter temperatures and produce a satis- 

 factory yield. 



