232 CAMPBELL'S SOIL CULTI'KI; MANUAL 



CHAPTER XXVI. 



SEEKING NEW ARID PLANTS. 



The Department of Agriculture, which is expending 

 millions each year for the benefit of agriculture, has thus 

 far, in taking up a study of the problem of the arid and 

 semi-arid regions, confined itself to two things, namely, 

 irrigation and the seeking of new plants. 



All honor to those who have so well directed the ex-* 

 penditure of money to make irrigation farming possible 

 in rich valleys that were lying fallow! 



And to those who have earnestly sought new plants 

 that will be of value in dry regions, may they be successful 

 far beyond their fondest dreams ! 



But it will not do to place great dependence on the 

 finding of plants that will grow in the deserts without 

 application of special methods of cultivation. Indeed, Prof. 

 Hansen, the agent of the United States government, who 

 has been specially engaged in this work a number of years, 

 has warned against over-confidence in this regard. 



"We are going to extend the alfalfa belt as far north 

 as we can/' said Prof. Hansen on his return from Asia 

 in the autumn of 1906, "and we hope that these seeds 

 will prove all that we expect of them. But there is no 

 use in expecting too much. I would not risk my reputa- 

 tion on any positive predictions; I can only say that we 

 confidently hope that we have found the right thing." 



Prof. Hansen was referring especially to the seed of 

 alfalfa and clover which he sent back from northern Asia 



