CAMPBELL'S SOIL CULTURE MANUAL 33 



Colorado, Oklahoma and New Mexico; then having sec- 

 tions surrounding the Rocky mountains and the Coast 

 ranges, including large areas of Idaho, Washington, Ore- 

 gon, Utah, Arizona and California. Here is almost a 

 third of the United States where the rainfall is from 10 

 to 20 inches annually, where in many places farming by 

 the old methods has proved a failure. This is the semi- 

 arid region about which so much has been said. It is 

 the dream of the irrigationist to "reclaim" large portions 

 of this country. It has been the hope of the herdsman 

 that much of it would ever remain public land that he 

 might continue his grazing of large herds. 



It is a matter of common knowledge that the soil of 

 this region is of a texture admirably adapted to the best 

 farming. The fact of the small precipitation has been 

 the sole reason for the failure to develop this region. For 

 many years it was believed that this was in fact a desert 

 region. The gold seekers who followed the trails across 

 the plains sent back word that the climate was such that 

 this must ever be a worthless land. But as the years 

 wore on, here and there a farmer tried to do more than 

 herd his cattle and sheep on the short grass. A few suc- 

 cesses were recorded amid many failures. But the slow 

 plodding farmer has a way of winning success despite all 

 theories, and today, all through this semi-arid region are 

 to be found scattered farms where men have accomplished 

 a great deal for themselves. The soil is, in fact, fine and 

 rich, of loose texture, and generally free from objection- 

 able traits. 



It has been abundantly demonstrated that if farming 

 operations are carried on in this region under scientific 

 soil culture, if care is taken to conserve the moisture and 

 not to waste it, if the soil is so treated that its fertility 



