107 



It needs science and great numbers to cultivate the best lands and 

 in the best manner." 



WHAT IS DRY-FARMING. 



At a recent lecture on "South Africa," delivered by the writer 

 before the Royal Colonial Institute, the question was asked: 

 "What is dry-farming?" Dry- farming may be defined as the con- 

 servation of soil-moisture during long periods of dry weather by 

 means of tillage, together with the growth of drought-resistant 

 plants. Dry-farming difTers from ordinary farming in that the 

 chief object of the dry-farmer is to prepare his lands to receive 

 and retain as much rain as possible. This is accomplished by 

 the use of moisture-saving fallows. 



"Dry-farming" is a new term wdiich was first used a few years 

 ago in Western America. In Utah and some other parts of the 

 United States it is called "arid-farming." Still another term is 

 "scientific soil culture." For the sake of uniformity, all experi- 

 ment stations, agricultural societies and the rural Press would do 

 well to speak of dry-farming and dry-land agriculture. 



It is sometimes said that dry-farming is a new agricultural 

 practice. But it is not so. Even in America the farmers of Utah 

 have been raising crops on their dry lands with a rainfall of less 

 than fifteen inches for over half a century. ]\Iore than that, dry- 

 farming has been practised since the dawn of civilization in Meso- 

 potamia, in Egypt, and in Northwestern India. And, as Professor 

 Hilgard, of California, remarked to the writer,* "the great depth 

 of soil in arid regions as compared with that of humid climates 

 undoubtedly explains how the ancient agriculturists could remain 

 in the same country for thousands of years without having any 

 knowledge of scientific agriculture." Most farmers are aware of 

 the fact that the roots of plants go far deeper in dry regions than 

 in damp climates. Now, if the roots of plants can penetrate to 

 great depths, so surely must both moisture and air. It would thus 

 seem as if an All-wise Providence had amply compensated the 

 agriculturist of the arid regions by giving him in many parts of 

 the globe great depth of soil combined wdth an almost inex- 

 haustible fertility. Such, at least, is the lesson of history. 



Summing up, we may say that desert regions are specially 

 adapted to dry-farming, because as a general rule desert lands are 

 deep lands, in which the scanty rainfall can be stored for a long 

 period ; and though arid soils are usually poor in humus, they are 

 much richer in nitrogen than the soils of humid regions. It has 

 been shown that the nitrogen-fixing germs are actively present in 

 large numbers in dry soils. Finally, desert lands are usually fr^e 

 from malaria, and are thus well suited to colonization. 



* See Dry Farming: Its Priiu-iples and Piactir-e, by \Villiam Mac- 

 ilonald, P. 10, London; T. Werner Laurie. 



